On 19 May 2026, the University of Barcelona (UB) / MAiMA team, Spanish partner of the NPP-SOL project, took part in the Scientific Conference for the Creation of Sustainable Social Scenarios in Barcelona, an interdisciplinary meeting space for researchers working on sustainability challenges.
The team presented the poster “Sustainable nitrate remediation techniques within a circular economy framework“.
Nitrate from fertiliser use remains a widespread pollutant of water resources, with risks for human health and aquatic ecosystems. The UB / MAiMA team is testing a nature-based response: stimulating microbial denitrification, the natural process that converts nitrate into inert nitrogen gas, using whey, a dairy by-product, instead of costly pure compounds.
The poster showed NPP-SOL results from the Spanish case study: the constructed wetland of the Lerma basin, in Ejea de los Caballeros (Zaragoza), which treats agricultural runoff. It traced how nitrate concentrations and isotopic composition evolved during the biostimulation experiments. The results indicate that whey can substantially reduce nitrate concentrations when dosing and hydraulic conditions are properly managed, and that stable isotope analyses are essential to quantify the efficiency of the treatment in the field.
By reusing agro-industrial residues and lowering remediation costs, the approach offers a transferable solution for agricultural areas facing chronic nitrate pollution.
NPP-SOL is part of the PRIMA Programme supported by the European Union.