The Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), through its Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (IIAMA-UPV), had a prominent presence at the 1st IWA-YWP Iberoamerican Conference 2026, held in Madrid. The event brought together over 250 international professionals to share knowledge and solutions in water management.
Marina Santonja, Silvia Hernández, and Lydia Fernández, researchers from the CALAGUA-IIAMA group, presented three oral communications focused on innovative technologies for improving wastewater treatment and resource recovery. Laura Ruíz Cosgaya, also from the CALAGUA group, and Alberto Mena, from the Water Resources Engineering group, presented their research in poster format.
In the field of circular economy, Marina Santonja presented research from the VALOREM project (funded by IVACE+i) on the energy valorization of PET plastic waste through anaerobic codigestion. Silvia Hernández presented a study from the READAPT project (funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities) on nitrogen and phosphorus recovery using a hybrid membrane system. Lydia Fernández presented work from the INNOCUA project (funded by IVACE+), focusing on the use of carbon as an adsorbent material for removing emerging contaminants.
In poster format, Laura Ruíz Cosgaya addressed the application of ion exchange columns for nitrogen and phosphorus recovery in treatment plants, while Alberto Mena presented research on flow disaggregation methods in the Júcar basin to improve decision-making in water resource management.
The conference, organized by Young Water Professionals Spain (YWP) in collaboration with DAQUAS, the Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineers of the Polytechnic University of Madrid, and Canal de Isabel II, runs until October 30th. IIAMA-UPV's participation reinforces the international projection of its young research staff and their contribution to more sustainable water management.
