Contact Professor Ana Soares
- Tel: +44 (0) 1234 758121
- Email: a.soares@cranfield.ac.uk
- Twitter: @Soares_UK
- ORCID
Areas of expertise
- Energy and the Environment
- Systems Engineering
- Water Science and Engineering
Background
Professor Ana Soares holds a MEng in Biotechnology Engineering from Algarve University (Portugal) and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Lund University (Sweden) with a project entitled 'Biodegradation of the Recalcitrant Endocrine Disruptor Nonylphenol'. Her PhD formed part of national research program COLDREM (Soil Remediation in Cold Climate) and was supported by MISTRA (Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research) and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.
Current activities
Dr Ana Soares is a Professor of Biotechnology Engineering specialised in environmental water protection and resource recovery currently working at Cranfield University in the UK. She holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Lund University, in Sweden and a MEng in Biotechnology Engineering from Algarve University in Portugal.
Her work focuses in municipal as well as industrial wastewater management, proposing innovative and economically feasible solutions to produce high quality effluents and product recovery. Prof Soares research explores the underpinning science required to develop and manage bioreactors employing new biological organisms, cultures or pathways in order to develop or optimise technologies and deliver the circular economy. Her scientific findings have resulted in leading-edge processes and technological innovations that contribute, worldwide, to sustainable solutions for effluent treatment. She is particularly successful in bridging the gap between science and application, working in close collaboration with industrial and institutional stakeholders. Prof Soares is an IWA Fellow, active member of various national and international committees, the editor in chief of the Water and Environment Journal and associate editor for Water Research.
Prof Soares has a track record of winning and delivering research for: research council projects through a NERC CASE Studentship; organisations such as the Environment Agency (EA) and Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and European Union (EU) (COST ACTION WATER2020, Nov 2012) and Horizon 2020. She is the Cranfield PI in EU H2020 SMART-PLANT Project (https://www.smart-plant.eu) nextGen (https://nextgenwater.eu/) and the completed H2020 ENERWATER (http://www.enerwater.eu). Over her 14 years at Cranfield she had the opportunity to deliver projects to industrial clients such as water utilities (Yorkshire Water, Thames Water, Severn Trent, Scottish Water, etc.), petrochemical and chemical industries (Shell, Conoco Philips, Huntsman Chemicals, Nufarm, Tata Steel, etc.) as well as technical suppliers (Warden Biomedia). She has also chaired the 3th IWA Specialized International Conference on Ecotechnologies for Wastewater Treatment (2016) and the 16th IWA Leading Edge Conference on Water and Wastewater Technologies (LET2019). Dr Soares is an active member of various national and international committees (e.g.: IWA Resource Recovery Cluster, IChemE UK Research Committee, UK Water Industry Forum).
Clients
- Scottish Water
- Thames Water
- Yorkshire Water
- Anglian Water
- Severn Trent PLC
- Environment Agency
- Warden Biomedia
- Huntsman Corporation
- ConocoPhillips Company
- Tata Steel
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Innovate UK
Publications
Articles In Journals
- Mendizabal J, Vernon D, Martin B, Bajón Fernández Y & Soares A. (2025). Short-term memory artificial neural network modelling to predict concrete corrosion in wastewater treatment plant inlet chambers using sulphide sensors. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 69
- Pratt C & Soares A. (2025). New opportunities for biologically and chemically mediated adsorption and precipitation of phosphorus from wastewater. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 92
- Folkes M, Castro-Gutierrez VM, Lundy L, Bajón Fernández Y, Soares A, .... (2024). Campus source to sink wastewater surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Current Research in Microbial Sciences, 6
- Paissoni E, Jefferson B & Soares A. (2024). Hydrolytic enzyme activity in high-rate anaerobic reactors treating municipal wastewater in temperate climates. Bioresource Technology, 406
- Colston RE, Nair A, Vale PCJ, Hassard F, Stephenson T, .... (2024). Nutrient removal and recovery from urine using bio-mineral formation processes. ACS Sustainable Resource Management, 1(9)
- Leng Y & Soares A. (2023). Microbial phosphorus removal and recovery by struvite biomineralisation in comparison to chemical struvite precipitation in municipal wastewater. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 11(2)
- Soares A. (2023). Editorial. Water and Environment Journal, 37(1)
- Pinelli D, Bovina S, Rubertelli G, Martinelli A, Guida S, .... (2022). Regeneration and modelling of a phosphorous removal and recovery hybrid ion exchange resin after long term operation with municipal wastewater. Chemosphere, 286(Part 1)
- Ochs P, Martin B, Germain-Cripps E, Stephenson T, van Loosdrecht M, .... (2022). Techno-economic analysis of sidestream ammonia removal technologies: biological options versus thermal stripping. Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, 13(January)
- Bortone I, Sakar H & Soares A. (2022). Gaps in regulation and policies on the application of green technologies at household level in the United Kingdom. Sustainability, 14(7)
- Soares A. (2022). Editorial. Water and Environment Journal, 36(2)
- Ochs P, Martin BD, Germain E, Wu Z, Lee P-H, .... (2021). Evaluation of a full-scale suspended sludge deammonification technology coupled with an hydrocyclone to treat thermal hydrolysis dewatering liquors. Processes, 9(2)
- Guida S, Conzelmann L, Remy C, Vale PCJ, Jefferson B, .... (2021). Resilience and life cycle assessment of ion exchange process for ammonium removal from municipal wastewater. Science of The Total Environment, 783(August)
- Guida S, Rubertelli G, Jefferson B & Soares A. (2021). Demonstration of ion exchange technology for phosphorus removal and recovery from municipal wastewater. Chemical Engineering Journal, 420(September)
- Leng Y & Soares A. (2021). Understanding the mechanisms of biological struvite biomineralisation. Chemosphere, 281(October)
- Guida S, Van Peteghem L, Luqmani BA, Sakarika M, McLeod AJ, .... (2021). Ammonia recovery from brines originating from a municipal wastewater ion exchange process and valorization of recovered nitrogen into microbial protein. Chemical Engineering Journal, 427(January)
- Leng Y & Soares A. (2021). The mechanisms of struvite biomineralization in municipal wastewater. Science of The Total Environment, 799(December)
- Lizarralde I, Guida S, Canellas J, Jefferson B, Grau P, .... (2021). Development and calibration of a new mathematical model for the description of an ion-exchange process for ammonia removal in the presence of competing ions. Water Research, 206(November)
- Soares A. (2021). Editorial. Water and Environment Journal, 35(1)
- Leng Y, Colston R & Soares A. (2020). Understanding the biochemical characteristics of struvite bio-mineralising microorganisms and their future in nutrient recovery. Chemosphere, 247
- Simoes F, Colston R, Rosa-Fernandes C, Vale PCJ, Stephenson T, .... (2020). Predicting the potential of sludge dewatering liquors to recover nutrients as struvite biominerals. Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, 3
- Ochs P, Martin BD, Germain E, Stephenson T, van Loosdrecht MCM, .... (2020). Ammonia removal from thermal hydrolysis dewatering liquors via three different deammonification technologies. Science of The Total Environment, 755(Pt 1)
- Ribera-Pi J, Campitelli A, Badia-Fabregat M, Jubany I, Martínez-Lladó X, .... (2020). Hydrolysis and methanogenesis in UASB-AnMBR treating municipal wastewater under psychrophilic conditions: Importance of reactor configuration and inoculum. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 8
- Ochs P, Martin BD, Germain E, Stephenson T, van Loosdrecht MCM, .... (2020). Ammonia removal from mixed dewatering liquors by three different deammonification technologies. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 6(12)
- Guida S, Potter C, Jefferson B & Soares A. (2020). Preparation and evaluation of zeolites for ammonium removal from municipal wastewater through ion exchange process. Scientific Reports, 10(1)
- Wang K, Soares A, Jefferson B, Wang H, Zhang LJ, .... (2020). Establishing the mechanisms underpinning solids breakthrough in UASB configured anaerobic membrane bioreactors to mitigate fouling. Water Research, 176
- Soares A. (2020). Wastewater treatment in 2050: challenges ahead and future vision in a European context. Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, 2
- Huang X, Guida S, Jefferson B & Soares A. (2020). Economic evaluation of ion-exchange processes for nutrient removal and recovery from municipal wastewater. npj Clean Water, 3(1)
- Zhang M, Song T, Zhu C, Fan Y, Soares A, .... (2020). Roles of nitrate recycling ratio in the A2/O-MBBR denitrifying phosphorus removal system for high-efficient wastewater treatment: Performance comparison, nutrient mechanism and potential evaluation. Journal of Environmental Management, 270
- Zhang M, Zhu C, Pan T, Fan Y, Soares A, .... (2020). Nutrient metabolism, mass balance, and microbial structure community in a novel denitrifying phosphorus removal system based on the utilizing rules of acetate and propionate. Chemosphere, 257
- Soares A. (2020). Editorial. Water and Environment Journal, 34(2)
- Soares A. (2020). Editorial. Water and Environment Journal, 34(3)
- Soares A. (2020). Editorial. Water and Environment Journal, 34(4)
- Raper E, Stephenson T, Fisher R, Anderson DR & Soares A. (2019). Characterisation of thiocyanate degradation in a mixed culture activated sludge process treating coke wastewater. Bioresource Technology, 288
- Raper E, Fisher R, Anderson DR, Stephenson T & Soares A. (2019). Nitrogen removal from coke making wastewater through a pre-denitrification activated sludge process. Science of The Total Environment, 666
- Bajón Fernández Y, Soares A, Vale PCJ, Koch K, Masse AL, .... (2019). Enhancing the anaerobic digestion process through carbon dioxide enrichment: Initial insights into mechanisms of utilisation. Environmental Technology, 40(13)
- Longo S, Mauricio-Iglesias M, Soares A, Campo Moreno P, Fatone F, .... (2019). ENERWATER – A standard method for assessing and improving the energy efficiency of wastewater treatment plants. Applied Energy, 242
- Muhammad A, Soares A & Jefferson B. (2019). The impact of background wastewater constituents on the selectivity and capacity of a hybrid ion exchange resin for phosphorus removal from wastewater. Chemosphere, 224
- Wang K, Soares A, Jefferson B & McAdam E. (2019). Comparable membrane permeability can be achieved in granular and flocculent anaerobic membrane bioreactor for sewage treatment through better sludge blanket control. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 28
- Wang KM, Jefferson B, Soares A & McAdam EJ. (2018). Sustaining membrane permeability during unsteady-state operation of anaerobic membrane bioreactors for municipal wastewater treatment following peak-flow. Journal of Membrane Science, 564
- Wang KM, Martin Garcia N, Soares A, Jefferson B & McAdam E. (2018). Comparison of fouling between aerobic and anaerobic MBR treating municipal wastewater. H2Open Journal, 1(2)
- Dias J, Bellingham M, Hassan J, Barrett M, Stephenson T, .... (2018). Influence of carrier media physical properties on start-up of moving attached growth systems. Bioresource Technology, 266
- Raper E, Stephenson T, Anderson DR, Fisher R & Soares A. (2018). Industrial wastewater treatment through bioaugmentation. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 118
- Simoes F, Vale PCJ, Stephenson T & Soares A. (2018). The role of pH on the biological struvite production in digested sludge dewatering liquors. Scientific Reports, 8(1)
- Dias J, Bellingham M, Hassan J, Barrett M, Stephenson T, .... (2018). Impact of carrier media on oxygen transfer and wastewater hydrodynamics on a moving attached growth system. Chemical Engineering Journal, 351
- Wang KM, Cingolani D, Eusebi AL, Soares A, Jefferson B, .... (2018). Identification of gas sparging regimes for granular anaerobic membrane bioreactor to enable energy neutral municipal wastewater treatment. Journal of Membrane Science, 555
- Raper E, Stephenson T, Simões F, Fisher R, Anderson DR, .... (2018). Enhancing the removal of pollutants from coke wastewater by bioaugmentation: a scoping study. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology, 93(9)
- Raper E, Fisher R, Anderson DR, Stephenson T & Soares A. (2018). Alkalinity and external carbon requirements for denitrification-nitrification of coke wastewater. Environmental Technology, 39(17)
- Holloway TG & Soares A. (2018). Influence of internal fluid velocities and media fill ratio on submerged aerated filter hydrodynamics and process performance for municipal wastewater treatment. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 114
- Raper E, Soares A, Chen J, Sutcliffe A, Aries E, .... (2017). Enhancing the removal of hazardous pollutants from coke making wastewater by dosing activated carbon to a pilot‐scale activated sludge process. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology, 92(9)
- Manzano I, Dias JS, Cannon J & Soares A. (2017). Optimization of a full-scale site to achieve total nitrogen removal through implementation of a denitrification-submerged anoxic filter. Water and Environment Journal, 32(2)
- Simoes F, Vale PCJ, Stephenson T & Soares A. (2017). Understanding the growth of the bio-struvite production Brevibacterium antiquum in sludge liquors. Environmental Technology, 39(17)
- Bajón Fernández Y, Soares A, Koch K, Vale PCJ & Cartmell E. (2017). Bioconversion of carbon dioxide in anaerobic digesters for on-site carbon capture and biogas enhancement - A review. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 47(17)
- Alibardi L, Green K, Favaro L, Vale PCJ, Soares A, .... (2017). Performance and stability of sewage sludge digestion under CO2 enrichment: a pilot study. Bioresource Technology, 245(Pt A)
- Goodwin L, Carra I, Campo P & Soares A. (2017). Treatment options for reclaiming wastewater produced by the pesticide industry. International Journal of Water and Wastewater Treatment, 4(1)
- Longo S, d’Antoni BM, Bongards M, Chaparro A, Cronrath A, .... (2016). Monitoring and diagnosis of energy consumption in wastewater treatment plants. A state of the art and proposals for improvement. Applied Energy, 179
- Janson A, Santos A, Hussain A, Judd S, Soares A, .... (2015). Biotreatment of Hydrate-Inhibitor-Containing Produced Waters at Low pH. SPE Journal, 20(06)
- Bajón Fernández Y, Green K, Schuler K, Soares A, Vale PCJ, .... (2015). Biological carbon dioxide utilisation in food waste anaerobic digesters. Water Research, 87
- Bajón Fernández Y, Cartmell E, Soares A, McAdam E, Vale P, .... (2015). Gas to liquid mass transfer in rheologically complex fluids. Chemical Engineering Journal, 273
- Raper E, Davies S, Perkins B, Lamb H, Hermanson M, .... (2015). Ecological conditions of ponds situated on blast furnace slag deposits located in South Gare Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Teesside, UK. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 37(3)
- Cookney J, McLeod AJ, Mathioudakis V, Ncube P, Soares A, .... (2015). Dissolved methane recovery from anaerobic effluents using hollow fibre membrane contactors. Journal of Membrane Science, 502
- Belloir C, Stanford C & Soares A. (2015). Energy benchmarking in wastewater treatment plants: the importance of site operation and layout. Environmental Technology, 36(2)
- Warwick C, Guerreiro AR, Wood E, Kitson J, Robinson J, .... (2014). A molecular imprinted polymer based sensor for measuring phosphate in wastewater samples. Water Science and Technology, 69(1)
- Warwick C, Guerreiro A, Gomez-Caballero A, Wood E, Kitson J, .... (2014). Conductance based sensing and analysis of soluble phosphates in wastewater. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 52
- Bajón Fernández Y, Soares A, Villa R, Vale P & Cartmell E. (2014). Carbon capture and biogas enhancement by carbon dioxide enrichment of anaerobic digesters treating sewage sludge or food waste. Bioresource Technology, 159
- Soares A, Veesam M, Simoes F, Wood E, Parsons SA, .... (2014). Bio‐
S truvite: A New Route to Recover Phosphorus from Wastewater. CLEAN – Soil, Air, Water, 42(7) - Warwick C, Guerreiro A & Soares A. (2013). Sensing and analysis of soluble phosphates in environmental samples: A review. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 41(1)
- Martin Garcia I, Mokosch M, Soares A, Pidou M & Jefferson B. (2013). Impact on reactor configuration on the performance of anaerobic MBRs: Treatment of settled sewage in temperate climates. Water Research, 47(14)
- Paterakis N, Chiu TY, Koh YKK, Lester JN, McAdam EJ, .... (2012). The effectiveness of anaerobic digestion in removing estrogens and nonylphenol ethoxylates. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 199-200
- Bagnall JP, Ito A, McAdam EJ, Soares A, Lester JN, .... (2012). Resource dependent biodegradation of estrogens and the role of ammonia oxidising and heterotrophic bacteria. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 239-240
- Pratt C, Parsons SA, Soares A & Martin BD. (2012). Biologically and chemically mediated adsorption and precipitation of phosphorus from wastewater. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 23(6)
- McAdam EJ, Bagnall JP, Soares A, Koh YKK, Chiu TY, .... (2011). Fate of Alkylphenolic Compounds during Activated Sludge Treatment: Impact of Loading and Organic Composition. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(1)
- Martin I, Pidou M, Soares A, Judd S & Jefferson B. (2011). Modelling the energy demands of aerobic and anaerobic membrane bioreactors for wastewater treatment. Environmental Technology, 32(9)
- Soares A, Kampas P, Maillard S, Wood E, Brigg J, .... (2010). Comparison between disintegrated and fermented sewage sludge for production of a carbon source suitable for biological nutrient removal. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 175(1-3)
- Koh YKK, Chiu TY, Boobis AR, Scrimshaw MD, Bagnall JP, .... (2009). Influence of Operating Parameters on the Biodegradation of Steroid Estrogens and Nonylphenolic Compounds during Biological Wastewater Treatment Processes. Environmental Science & Technology, 43(17)
- Kampas P, Parsons SA, Pearce P, Ledoux S, Vale P, .... (2009). An internal carbon source for improving biological nutrient removal. Bioresource Technology, 100(1)
- Lester JN, Soares A, San Martin D, Harper P, Jefferson B, .... (2009). A novel approach to the anaerobic treatment of municipal wastewater in temperate climates through primary sludge fortification. Environmental Technology, 30(10)
- Soares A, Guieysse B, Jefferson B, Cartmell E & Lester JN. (2008). Nonylphenol in the environment: A critical review on occurrence, fate, toxicity and treatment in wastewaters. Environment International, 34(7)
- Guerreiro A, Soares A, Piletska E, Mattiasson B & Piletsky S. (2008). Preliminary evaluation of new polymer matrix for solid-phase extraction of nonylphenol from water samples. Analytica Chimica Acta, 612(1)
- Soares A, Murto M, Guieysse B & Mattiasson B. (2006). Biodegradation of nonylphenol in a continuous bioreactor at low temperatures and effects on the microbial population. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 69(5)
- Zilouei H, Soares A, Murto M, Guieysse B & Mattiasson B. (2006). Influence of temperature on process efficiency and microbial community response during the biological removal of chlorophenols in a packed-bed bioreactor. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 72(3)
- Soares A, Guieysse B & Mattiasson B. (2006). Influence of Agitation on the Removal of Nonylphenol by the White-rot Fungi Trametes versicolor and Bjerkandera sp. BOL 13. Biotechnology Letters, 28(3)
- Soares A, Jonasson K, Terrazas E, Guieysse B & Mattiasson B. (2005). The ability of white-rot fungi to degrade the endocrine-disrupting compound nonylphenol. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 66(6)
- Guieysse B, Autem Y & Soares A. (2005). Biodegradation of phenol at low temperature using two-phase partitioning bioreactors. Water Science and Technology, 52(10-11)
- Soares A. (2003). Aerobic biodegradation of nonylphenol by cold-adapted bacteria. Biotechnology Letters, 25(9)
- Soares A. (2003). Biodegradation of nonylphenol in a continuous packed-bed bioreactor. Biotechnology Letters, 25(12)
Conference Papers
- Mathioudakis VL, Soares A, Briers H, Martin-Garcia I, Pidou M, .... (2012). Treatment and Energy Efficiency of a Granular Sludge Anaerobic Membrane Reactor Handling Domestic Sewage
- Aguado García D, Haimi H, Mikola A, Soares A & Jeppsson U. Sustainable wastewater treatment solutions for water-smart circular economy
Books
- Soares A, Mota Filho CR, Fdz-Polanco F, Huang X, Passos F, .... (2024). Cerrando ciclos en sistemas anaeróbicos de tratamiento de aguas residuales municipales In Reactores Anaeróbicos para Tratamiento de Aguas Residuales. IWA Publishing.
- Colston R, Tait S, Vaneeckhaute C, Cruz H, Pikaar I, .... (2022). Nutrient recovery from water and wastewater In Resource Recovery from Water. IWA Publishing.
- Soares A, Filho CRM, Fdz-Polanco F, Huang X, Passos F, .... (2019). Closing cycles in anaerobic-based sewage treatment systems In Anaerobic Reactors for Sewage Treatment: Design, Construction and Operation. IWA Publishing.
- Fatone F, Baeza JA, Batstone D, Cema G, Crutchik D, .... (2017). Nutrient removal In Innovative Wastewater Treatment & Resource Recovery Technologies: Impacts on Energy, Economy and Environment. International Water Association.
- Soares A, Czajkowska J, Colprim J, Gali A, Johansson S, .... (2017). Nutrients recovery from wastewater streams In Innovative Wastewater Treatment & Resource Recovery Technologies: Impacts on Energy, Economy and Environment. International Water Association.
- Knops G, Pidou M, Kadewa W, Soares A, Jeffrey P, .... (2008). Reuse Of Urban Water: Impact Of Product Choice In Hlavinek P, Bonacci O, Marsalek J & Mahrikova I (eds), NATO Science for Peace and Security Series. Springer Netherlands.
