Britt-Marie Wilén

Britt-Marie Wilén is a Professor and Head of the Department of Water Environmental Technology at Chalmers University of Technology. She leads the research theme Wastewater Treatment and Resource Recovery (Bioresource Labs), focusing on developing sustainable, compact wastewater treatment processes. Her work integrates biotechnology, microbial ecology, and environmental engineering to address challenges in resource recovery, micropollutant removal, and process efficiency.

Key research areas include aerobic granular sludge, biofilm processes, anammox systems, and bioelectrochemical technologies. She has pioneered studies on microbial communities in wastewater systems and their roles in nutrient cycling, carbon management, and infrastructure protection (e.g., subsea tunnel biofouling). Over 100 peer-reviewed publications and 25+ funded projects reflect her leadership in advancing wastewater treatment science.

Recent article trends emphasize microbial ecology in biofilm systems, granular sludge resilience, and sustainability assessments. Projects span topics like pharmaceutical removal, anaerobic digestion optimization, and integrating biocathode systems for carbon reduction. Collaborations with industry and government bodies (e.g., Formas, Swedish Water) ensure practical applications of her research.

Grants include leadership in initiatives like AGNES II (aerobic granular sludge full-scale studies) and ICU (optimizing wastewater fermentation). She also oversees infrastructure studies on microbial concrete degradation in subsea tunnels, bridging environmental microbiology and civil engineering challenges.