Inês Maia holds a Master’s degree in Molecular and Microbial Biology, where her research focused on optimising the growth of Emiliania huxleyi for the production of novel compounds. Her interest in the potential of microalgae for sustainable applications led her to work on projects exploring their use in wastewater treatment and biomass valorisation.

She is currently a PhD student at CCMAR, as part of the Marbiotech research group, where her work focuses on developing a microalgae-based circular economy approach to the bioremediation of nutrient-rich drainwater from soilless cultivation and the subsequent valorisation of the biomass into sustainable products for aquaculture and agriculture.

Throughout her PhD, Inês has also been actively involved in several CCMAR initiatives and research projects, including Vertical Algas and Algae4IBD, contributing to the centre’s broader work on microalgae biotechnology, sustainability and circular bioeconomy approaches.

Her doctoral research addresses a key challenge of soilless farming systems. While soilless cultivation can combine high crop productivity with reduced water consumption, it also generates nutrient-rich drainwater that needs to be managed to avoid environmental contamination. Inês’ work investigates how microalgae can be used not only to remove and recover these nutrients, but also to transform the resulting biomass into valuable products, connecting water treatment with resource recovery in an integrated biorefinery approach.

During her research, Inês explored how two selected microalgal species could be grown at industrial scale and processed through a biorefinery approach, turning nutrient-rich drainwater into biomass with potential applications far beyond water treatment. Her work then investigated what this biomass could offer across aquaculture and agriculture, from its effects on fish intestinal health and its potential as a partial alternative to fishmeal, to applications in plant growth and crop production.

The results point to an integrated circular approach in which a waste stream can become a resource, but the full potential of these microalgal fractions, and what they revealed in trials with fish and plants, will be explored during her PhD defence.

Inês Maia’s PhD thesis, entitled: 

Bioremediation of hydroponic production drainwater using a microalgae-based circular economy approach for sustainable aquaculture and agriculture products will be defended on 7 October 2026 at 14:30 h (Lisbon time), in Room 0.10, Building 1, Campus de Gambelas.

Let’s support Inês at this important milestone in her scientific career and discover how microalgae can help connect water remediation, resource recovery and the production of more sustainable food and agricultural products.