Industries
Water
What changes this industry: bio-solutions with evidence, technologies, suppliers and open money.
Overview of the industry
Chemical water treatment (alum/PAC, ferric chloride, synthetic polyelectrolytes, over-chlorination) and untreated organic effluents, paired with proven biological alternatives: anaerobic/aerobic biological treatment, bio-coagulants (Moringa, chitosan, microbial bioflocculants), wetlands and algal polishing.
Water and effluent standards are national (in Russia: SanPiN, water-discharge permits); chlorination of drinking water remains WHO-recommended. The articles are overviews, not plant design advice.
Built with a direct join to the 1,320-company vendor index: 112 active companies carry the water-bioremediation tag.
Articles#
| ID | Problem → alternative | Replaces | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| W01 | Effluent treatment → anaerobic/aerobic biology + Moringa/chitosan/bioflocculant coagulation | Alum/PAC, ferric chloride, synthetic polyacrylamide (acrylamide monomer), part of chlorine demand | Partial (coagulation) / Replace (many agro-industrial effluents) |
| W02 | Farm runoff → denitrifying woodchip bioreactors, wetlands, microalgal nutrient recovery | End-of-pipe ferric/alum P-stripping; untreated tile-drain nitrate | Replace (edge-of-field nitrate) / Partial (catchment P) |
| W03 | Cooling/process water → biofilm-dispersive enzymes, phage cocktails, sensor-driven dosing | Continuous oxidizing/non-oxidizing biocide programs | Partial (emerging) |
| W04 | Oilfield produced water → biological treatment and reuse | Chemical-only conditioning, overloaded ponds | Partial |
| W05 | Phosphorus limits → enhanced biological phosphorus removal (metal salts −55–59 %) | Ferric/aluminium salt precipitation | Replace or reduce |
| W06 | Biogas H₂S → biological desulfurisation (>200 Thiopaq units) | Caustic scrubbing, chemical scavengers | Replace for biogas |
Related articles elsewhere#
- Constructed wetlands for decentralized wastewater: E05
- Oil-pollution bioremediation: E03; mine water: M03
- Biogas from effluent: EN01
Reviewed but SKIPPED (no proven bio-alternative)#
| Substance / use | Hazard | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Chlorine disinfection of drinking water | Disinfection by-products (THMs) | Where water safety depends on it, no substitution recommended (WHO); manage by removing organics upstream biologically |
| PFAS in water | “Forever chemicals” | Microbial PFAS degradation is still research — same verdict as in ecology |
| Membrane antiscalants (phosphonates) | Persistence | Chemical; no proven biological substitute |
Buyers
29 buyers in the Bioecon database · Armenia (8), Kazakhstan (7), Belarus (5), Russia (5), Kyrgyzstan (4)
| Water / municipal utility Territory RU/EAEU (2026-10-06): vodokanal-type utilities run wastewater and sludge plants — buyers of biological treatment, bio-coagulants and digestion technology. |
Names are kept private; Bioecon makes the introduction.
What it replaces 6
| D2 | Biological desulfurisation of biogas and sour gas instead of chemical scrubbing Replaces: Caustic (NaOH) scrubbing, iron-based scavengers and liquid-redox processes for removing hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) from biogas, landfill gas and some sour … | 2 | EAC |
| D2 | Enhanced biological phosphorus removal instead of chemical precipitation with metal salts Replaces: Chemical phosphorus precipitation with ferric chloride, ferrous sulfate or aluminium salts in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment | 6 | SERV |
| D1 | Biofilm control by enzymes and bacteriophages instead of oxidizing and non-oxidizing biocides in cooling and process water Replaces: Oxidizing biocides (chlorine, bromine, chlorine dioxide, peracetic regimes) and non-oxidizing ones (isothiazolinones, quats, DBNPA, glutaraldehyde) … | 4 | WATER |
| D1 | Biological wastewater treatment and bio-coagulants instead of alum, ferric chloride and synthetic polyelectrolytes Replaces: Aluminium sulfate (alum) and PAC coagulants; ferric chloride; synthetic polyacrylamide flocculants (residual acrylamide monomer); part of chlorine … | 8 | WATER |
| D1 | Farm nitrate and phosphate runoff controlled by biology — denitrifying bioreactors, wetlands and algal uptake — instead of end-of-pipe chemical dosing Replaces: End-of-pipe chemical treatment of nutrient-rich drainage (ferric/alum P-stripping, ion exchange); untreated tile-drain nitrate; part of inorganic … | 6 | SERV |
| D0 | Oilfield produced water treated biologically instead of chemical-only conditioning and disposal Replaces: Continuous chemical conditioning of produced water (biocides, scale inhibitors, emulsion breakers, demulsifiers) ahead of disposal/injection; … | 4 | SERV |
Screened candidates 3
| W05 | biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) instead of chemical phosphorus precipitation with metal salts write — EBPR at ~30 of 429 Swedish plants; one plant cut metal-salt use 59%. | D2 |
| W06 | anammox deammonification instead of conventional nitrification-denitrification with methanol dosing drop — Only market-research, company or pilot figures verified — no article without evidence. | D1 |
| W07 | biological desulfurisation of biogas and sour gas (Thiopaq, biotrickling filters) instead of chemical scrubbing write — >200 Thiopaq biodesulfurisation installations (peer-reviewed). | D2 |
Technologies 13
| Bio-microplastic filtration from wastewater A genuinely thin, emerging vendor market for filtering microplastic fibers and particles out of wastewater at the household, municipal, and industrial scale — … | Bioremediation |
| Bioremediation of hazardous industrial effluents (metal bio-precipitation, MBR, enzymatic dye & phenol degradation) Biological treatment of toxic industrial wastewater — heavy metals, azo dyes, phenols and hydrocarbons from oil-and-gas, mining, textiles and microelectronics — … | Bioremediation |
| Biosynthetic acrylamide (flocculants & bio-acrylamide) Enzymatic conversion of acrylonitrile to acrylamide via immobilized Rhodococcus rhodochrous cells, replacing copper-catalyzed synthesis for water-treatment, … | Platform chemicals |
| Chitin & chitosan Chitin from crustacean shells and fungal biomass, converted to chitosan for water-treatment flocculants, medical hemostatics, agricultural biostimulants and … | Fibers & textiles |
| Living filtering materials Living filtering materials use living organisms or biological molecules, not inert media, as the active filtration or treatment element: California's BioFiltro … | Polymers & materials |
| Microbial bioremediation (enzymatic degradation, PFAS destruction, MBR wastewater) Microbes and enzymes that degrade or destroy pollutants — waste plastic, PFAS, industrial effluents and municipal wastewater — a remediation value chain from … | Bioremediation |
| Microbial fuel cells & bioelectrochemical systems Electrogenic bacteria oxidize organic matter at an anode and hand off electrons to an external circuit, turning wastewater, soil or plant root exudate directly … | Biofuels & bioenergy |
| Municipal wastewater bio-treatment Biological treatment of municipal sewage — activated sludge, membrane bioreactors, nitrogen/phosphorus nutrient removal, anaerobic digestion of sludge to … | Bioremediation |
| Online water-quality biosensors Continuous in-situ sensors — UV-Vis spectrophotometric probes, optical turbidity and dissolved-oxygen sondes, IIoT-connected multi-parameter platforms — that … | Sensors |
| PFAS biodegradation Advanced bioremediation targeting per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) using engineered proteins, specialized microbial consortia, and bio-based … | Bioremediation |
| Real-time bio-toxin monitoring in water In-situ and lab-based instruments purpose-built to detect cyanobacteria and their toxins in surface and drinking water — phycocyanin-fluorescence probes for … | Sensors |
| Stormwater bio-treatment (bioretention and biofiltration systems) Engineered soil-media and plant-based bioretention systems — compact, prefabricated cells installed at curb-side inlets, parking lots and roadways — that filter … | Bioremediation |
| Urban biorefineries & biowaste processing Turning the wastewater treatment plant itself into a multi-product factory — extracting struvite fertilizer, recovered cellulose and PHA bioplastic from sludge … | Bioremediation |
Opportunities 0
No open tender or grant matched right now.