Rate My Professor Ana Soares

Professor Ana Soares is a Professor of Biotechnology Engineering at Cranfield University, specialised in environmental water protection and resource recovery. She holds an MEng in Biotechnology Engineering from the University of Algarve, Portugal, and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Lund University, Sweden, with a thesis entitled 'Biodegradation of the Recalcitrant Endocrine Disruptor Nonylphenol'. This doctoral work formed part of the national research program COLDREM on soil remediation in cold climates and was supported by MISTRA, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research, and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. Over 14 years at Cranfield, Soares has focused on municipal and industrial wastewater management, developing innovative and economically feasible solutions for high-quality effluents and product recovery. Her research explores the science behind bioreactors using new biological organisms, cultures, or pathways to optimise technologies and support the circular economy. She leads efforts in nutrient removal and recovery, including phosphorus via biomineralisation processes like bio-struvite and ammonia recovery through ion exchange and membrane contactors.

Soares bridges academia and industry, collaborating with water utilities such as Yorkshire Water, Thames Water, Severn Trent, and Scottish Water, as well as petrochemical firms like Shell and Huntsman Chemicals. As Cranfield Principal Investigator, she has delivered EU Horizon 2020 projects including SMART-PLANT, nextGen, and ENERWATER, alongside NERC CASE studentships, Environment Agency, and WRAP initiatives. An IWA Fellow, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Water and Environment Journal and Associate Editor for Water Research. She chaired the 3rd IWA Specialized International Conference on Ecotechnologies for Wastewater Treatment (2016) and the 16th IWA Leading Edge Conference on Water and Wastewater Technologies (2019), and is active in committees like the IWA Resource Recovery Cluster, IChemE UK Research Committee, and UK Water Industry Forum. Key publications include 'Microbial phosphorus removal and recovery by struvite biomineralisation in comparison to chemical struvite precipitation in municipal wastewater' (Leng & Soares, 2023, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering), 'Ammonia recovery from ion exchange brine via hollow fibre membrane contactors: operational insights and product formation' (Sakar & Soares, 2025, Chemical Engineering Journal), 'New opportunities for biologically and chemically mediated adsorption and precipitation of phosphorus from wastewater' (Pratt & Soares, 2025, Current Opinion in Biotechnology), and 'Demonstration of ion exchange technology for phosphorus removal and recovery from municipal wastewater' (Guida et al., 2021, Chemical Engineering Journal). Her contributions advance sustainable global wastewater solutions.