Wastewater treatment · Resource recovery
Smaller, more stable biological treatment for mining, municipal and industrial wastewater
Our microbial entrapment technology holds selected microorganisms inside a porous hydrogel that shields them from toxicity, low pH, temperature swings and washout. The result: more treatment from a smaller reactor, less sludge, and metals and nutrients you can recover.
The problem
Sludge drives the cost
Conventional biological treatment needs large reactors, and sludge management accounts for roughly 50–70% of operating costs.
Unstable biology
Suspended-growth systems are sensitive to biomass washout and environmental disturbances, which makes them hard to scale up.
Acid mine drainage
Low pH, high sulfate and dissolved metals are usually treated by lime dosing, which creates large volumes of sludge and 30–50% of operating costs.
The solution: protected microbes
Selected microorganisms are immobilised within a porous polymer hydrogel. The matrix keeps them in the reactor and protects them, so microbial activity stays high and stable where conventional systems struggle.
- Process intensification with a smaller reactor footprint
- Lower sludge production and chemical demand
- Integrated recovery of metals and nutrients
- Fast settling for easier solid–liquid separation
- Retrofits into existing infrastructure with minimal disruption
Lab-scale results so far
Validated at laboratory scale. Pilot validation is the next step. See all results.
Applications
Mining & acid mine drainage
Biological sulfate reduction and metal recovery that keeps working at low pH and high metal loads.
Mining →Municipal wastewater
More capacity from existing plants, less sludge, and phosphorus-rich streams ready for recovery.
Municipal →Industrial wastewater
Nutrient removal and resource recovery for industrial effluents.
Industrial →Backed by research
Developed by researchers at The University of Queensland, published in Bioresource Technology (2025), and protected by an Australian provisional patent application.
Interested in a pilot or co-development partnership?
We are looking for industry partners to take this technology from the lab to pilot scale. Partners gain early access and preferential positioning in future commercialisation.