How to deal with sewage sludges? Can they be safely used in agriculture?
A new project aimed at the "Comprehensive assessment of the application of altered sewage sludge in agriculture with a special focus on micropollutants" has been funded by the National Agency for Agricultural Research (NAZV) (Project Leader: Michael Komárek). The project participants, namely the Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the CAS, Institute of Microbiology of the CAS and the National Institute of Public Health, endeavour to evaluate the suitability of altered sewage sludge (composted, pyrolysed) application to agricultural soils with the emphasis on so-called micropollutants (i.e., pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors, perfluorinated compounds, microplastics) and "traditional" pollutants (metals, metalloids, PAH, PCB). 
Have you heard about nanosorbents?
A new project focusing on the "Performance comparison of innovative metal(loid) nanosorbents in smelter-polluted soils: Geochemical and ecotoxicological benchmarks" has been funded by the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR) (Project Leader: Michael Komárek). It is an international project in cooperation with Peoples' Friendship University of Russia and Charles University in Prague. The objective is to evaluate the suitability of nano zero-valent iron and manganese, in combination with other amendments, for metal(loid) stabilisation and promoting plant and microorganism development in soils polluted by non-ferrous smelters.
How to bring the research into practice?
An applied project on the "Nanoremediation of contaminated soils: Technology implementation with respect to ecotoxicological aspects" has been funded by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR) (Project Leader: Michael Komárek). The project strengthens the research through international collaboration with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norwegian Institute for Water Research, Charles University in Prague and DEKONTA, a.s. A multidisciplinary approach will be applied to comprehensively investigate the use of different nanomaterials for soil and groundwater remediation, also answering open questions regarding their toxicity and behaviour in the environment.
See the Projects section for a detailed description.