"Post-doctoral position Bio-based materials and biodiversity for innovative constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment and reuse"

Job Description

To face the new challenges related to water management, both in terms of its quality and quantity, new paradigms have been emerging in recent years. Indeed, wastewater is now considered an important resource and its reuse after treatment is one of the solutions of the future to reintegrate it into the small water cycle and give it a second life. The Water Plan, launched by the French government in 2023, pays particular attention to the recovery of non-conventional water (NCW) and plans to increase its reuse from 1% to 10% by 2030.

Among the relevant solutions for wastewater management, phytoremediation technology appears to be an interesting alternative because of its low-tech nature and the co-benefits provided, such as increased biodiversity or air cooling thanks to the presence of plants as a central element of the process. Although this technology has been well known and well established in France since the 1990s, it still has obstacles that hinder its development on a larger scale, in particular its footprint and the significant use of mineral aggregates, the resource of which is under strong pressure, both globally and in France. Today, the use of alternative substrates to mineral aggregates, as well as the bioaugmentation of constructed wetlands (CWs), are emerging as avenues that have not yet been fully explored to intensify the sector and reduce the footprint of the soil.

This Post-doctoral fellowship is part of the PhytoReut project, funded by ADEME, led by an industrial partner (AQUATIRIS) and bringing together 4 academic partners (CRBE and LGC in Toulouse, G-EAU and HSM in Montpelier and Alès). This project is based on the development of a phytoremediation treatment device. The Post-doctoral fellowship will accompany a thesis aimed at the study of sustainable bio-based materials for the constitution of the substrate in CWs as a replacement for conventionally used mineral materials such as filter sand. The aim will be to test the purification capacities of these new substitute and bio-based substrates. The selection criteria (indicators) are the quality of the water produced in relation to the intended use ("reuse" irrigation regulations), the hydraulic performance of the filters, and their stability over time, the environmental constraints related to the supply and fate of bio-based materials, and the viability of biodiversity.

A mechanistic approach to the biophysical phenomena responsible for water remediation will be developed, distinguishing between them, such as the effect of the particle size of new biomaterials, the contribution of biodiversity in the intensification of water treatment (infiltration and biodegradation) and its robustness in the face of the presence of organic micropollutants (pharmaceutical molecules and PFAS).

Main missions:

The recruited post-doctoral fellow will oversee the implementation, monitoring and optimization of a laboratory scale CW pilot, as part of the PhytoReut project. At the same time, a doctoral student will be in charge of similar experiments in Toulouse, with different materials. A synergy between the different teams of the project is expected and the Post- doctoral fellow will also benefit from this data to support his or her work. This work will involve a strong experimental component, including participation in the construction and improvement of the pilot (solving technical problems, proposing constructive solutions, instrumentation of the device), and thus requires a strong appetite for manual work and in pilot conditions.

The project is based on an integrated scientific approach aimed at linking the hydraulic and purifying properties of bio- based materials to microbial dynamics and the effects of bioaugmentation, to understand the biophysical and biological mechanisms controlling the removal of nutrients, pathogens and micropollutants in CWs. A first experimental year is dedicated to the materials alone and their choices based mainly on their hydraulic, filtering and purifying properties. Bio-augmentation will be applied and studied during the second year with a follow-up of the colonization of the substrates, the structure and functions of the microbial communities (biodegradation, enzymatic activities) and their impact on the quality of the treated water.

The project is part of a global context of partnership with other laboratories already engaged in research on the coupling between non-conventional water production and irrigation (BIOROC project, WOc (Water Occitanie); BIOAUGMENTATION project, UNESCO ICIREWARD centre) and which cover environmental sciences, process engineering, physics, chemistry and computer science: CRBE, LGC, G-EAU, SME (EpurAqua, Aquatiris group).

Desired profile and general evaluation criteria

Minimum level of education and/or experience required :

• PhD in one of the fields related to chemical/process/environmental engineering with a good knowledge of effluent treatment
• Publications & Conferences

Skills, knowledge and experience required:

• Strong background in environmental chemistry and/or process engineering applied to wastewater treatment
• Good knowledge of regulatory issues related to the reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation
• Skills in analytical chemistry and/or microbiology
• Process Engineering
• Environmental chemistry
• Scientific exploitation of results through the writing of reports and articles Analysis and interpretation of data

Skills, knowledge and experience appreciated:

• Knowledge of microbiology/microbial ecology and/or analytical chemistry
• An interest in the physico-chemical evaluation of bio-based materials at the end of their life
• Appetite for experimental work and transdisciplinarity
• Knowledge of Open Data Management
• Integration into a multidisciplinary team

Technical and transversal skills required:

• Dynamism
• Autonomy
• Involvement
• Teamwork
• Organizational skills
• Rigour and methodology
• Initiative
• Adaptability
• Intellectual curiosity
• Creativity and innovation

Application

Administrative conditions for application

The position offered by IMT Mines Alès is a 24-month, full-time, fixed-term contract, under public law under the provisions of the management framework of the Institut Mines-Télécom, profession P, Post-doctoral fellow, category II.

Salary: €35,400 gross per year.

How to apply

Applications (CV and cover letter) should be sent exclusively to: Apply now

Recruitment schedule

Deadline for applications: April 5, 2026

Expected indicative date of the jury: April 15,2025 Desired start date: June 1,2026