The overall objective of the PHYCOVER project is to draw the scientific, technical and industrial contexts for an evolution of wastewater treatment plants, and urban wastewaters in particular. The project aims to identify an integrated and modular treatment process for the production of biogas while identifying opportunities to maximize the valorisation of residual material, the digestate. The method combines three modules. First, a high-rate algal pond is dedicated to the treatment of municipal wastewater. Then, an anaerobic digester capable of co- digesting biomass products (and others organic matter resources ) to significantly reduce biological and chemical contaminants while producing a sustainable energy as biogas is analysed. A final module aims to enhance the digestate valorisation to agricultural sectors (organic and mineral fertilizers) and cultures of high-value microalgae to aquaculture and green chemistry. Most recent studies indeed highlight the need to combine production of microalgae to liquid and gaseous effluents treatment, to decrease the cost and to limit the exogenous inputs of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon. However, there is currently no technology optimized solution for combining water purification and production of microalgae, while complying with discharge standards. To further enlarge the potential of industrial applicability of this approach, it is important to control the fate of pathogens organisms in effluents and the project PHYCOVER will tackle these aspects. Finally, biotic and abiotic potential emissions to the atmosphere associated with the deployment of mass cultivation systems must be evaluated to enrich Life Cycle Analysis approaches. To assess the resource recovery from waste and wastewater using this innovative approach, the PHYCOVER project will work on a number of scientific and technological obstacles. First, the selection of algal communities demonstrating a strong effluent treatment capacity and resilience of productivity considering the environmental fluctuations will be performed in Task 1 and studied at pilot scale, representative of the industrial potential of sewage treatment and biogas production. The specific study of biotic and abiotic emissions to the atmosphere as well as the assessment of hygienisation of the integrated process will be the subject of the work done in Task 2. The management of organic matter through anaerobic digestion will addressed in Task 3. Management methods and opportunities for the valorisation of the digestate as agricultural fertilizer and microalgae nutriment for green chemistry will be studied in Task 4. The assessment and prediction of the overall performances in terms of environmental and energy outputs will be assessed in Task 5, together with the optimal process design. Finally, a techno-economical and environmental assessment of the sector as a whole will be given in Task 6. Overall, the project will lead to scientific, technical and economic achievements that will contribute to the establishment of a new and innovative chain for the treatment and valorization of urban waste and wastewater.

WinSeaFuel aims to product biomethane (and bioproducts) from seaweeds cultivated in offshore conditions. Today, both the culture of marine biomass in offshore conditions in huge quantities and its associated valorizations are not well controlled. The project presents technical and scientific issues which require research and development in order to start a new industry economically viable and sustainable. Regarding the marine resource mobilization the goal is to develop our knowledge of the physiology of seaweeds (growth, reproduction...) and to design culture and harvest offshore technologies in order to gain our technical know-how. Regarding the seaweed valorizations, the aim is to study and develop bioenergy production (biogas by methanization) for biomethane fuel/grid injection applications. It presents research issues mainly on the pre-treatment, the yield optimization and co-digestion. Due to the richness of interesting molecules from the seaweeds and in order to ensure the economic viability of the industry, the study of the potential bioproducts and associated extraction process will be led within the biorefinery concept. The global target of WinSeaFuel is to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of this new sustainable production with a view to developing a gradual industrial exploitation from 2015 on an off-shore wind farm site.