Diogo Borges de Sousa wins award for best oral presentation at ICOWEFS 2025

 The student, a member of MARE and LAQV-Requimte, was recognized for his study on the use of sludge from water treatment plants as an adsorbent for diclofenac. 

The PhD student in Environment and Sustainability at NOVA FCT and researcher at MARE – Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences and the Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry (LAQV-REQUIMTE), Diogo Borges de Sousa, was awarded the prize for best oral communication at the 5th edition of the International Conference on Water, Energy, Food, and Sustainability (ICOWEFS 2025), which took place in Leiria in May. His presentation stood out for its practical relevance and clarity in disseminating results that combine sustainability and innovation in water treatment.

The work presented addresses the presence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the aquatic environment—in particular diclofenac—and tests a low-cost solution for their removal: the use of sludge from drinking water treatment plants (LETA). The results obtained show that this sludge performs comparably to other adsorbents studied, demonstrating its potential as an economical and effective material for mitigating emerging contaminants in water.

The award recognizes not only the scientific rigor of the study, but also its applied component: transforming waste (sludge) into a useful resource is in line with the principles of the circular economy and can reduce costs and environmental impacts in treatment operations. As a next step, the researcher will test the effectiveness of LETA under continuous flow conditions, using a filter composed of this sludge, simulating scenarios closer to a real application in wastewater treatment plants.

Congratulations to Diogo and the team for the recognition and for their contribution to practical and sustainable solutions in water management!

Text by João Pequeno