BioCompWaterClean Workshop
“New applications in wastewater treatment on the
way to zero-waste technology”
20 – 21. October 2025, Novi Sad

Invitation

We are pleased to invite you to the BioCompWaterClean Workshop „Novel wastewater treatment applications toward zero-waste technology“ which will take place on 20-21 October 2025 at the Science and Technology Park Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia. The workshop is organised within the BioCompWaterClean project (No 7464), Prisma programme, which is funded by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia.

The BioCompWaterClean workshop aims to bring together the academic community, researchers and scientists, as well as industry representatives to exchange knowledge and experience related to innovative materials and processes used in water treatment and environmental protection. The conference offers all participants the opportunity to network, exchange ideas and present their research results to the international community. Discussion on the latest achievements, trends, and challenges in these fields will also be encouraged.

Participation in the workshop is free of charge. All participants are invited to submit an abstract (one page) or a full paper (up to 5 pages) on the conference topics in English according to the Instructions for authors. It is necessary to fill in a Registration form indicating whether you prefer an oral or a poster presentation. Authors are requested to submit their abstracts by e-mail (office@biocompwaterclean.org) as an attachment to a Word file from 1 June to 30 September 2025.

Workshop topics:

• Innovations in water and wastewater treatment
• Smart materials for sustainable future
• Other processes suitable for environmental protection

Important dates:

• Registration deadline (extended): September 30, 2025.
• Abstract submission deadline (extended): September 30, 2025.
• Abstract Acceptance Notification: October 5, 2025.
• Full paper submission deadline: October 15, 2025.
• Full paper Acceptance Notification: October 20, 2025.

Scientific and Organising Committees

Meet the Plenary Speakers!

Workshop Program

Book of Abstracts

NEW! Book of Proceedings

Publication Ethics

All submitted papers must meet the recognised standards of academic and scientific integrity. By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm the following:

• Originality: the work must be original and must not have been published or submitted for publication elsewhere.
• Proper citation: All content taken from other sources must be clearly cited. Texts, data or illustrations taken from other works must be properly cited and, if necessary, used with permission.
• Freedom from plagiarism: Papers must be free from plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. All manuscripts will be screened and may be checked by plagiarism checking programmes.
• Ethical approval (if applicable): For studies involving humans, animals or sensitive data, appropriate ethical approval must be obtained and clearly stated in the manuscript.

The organisers reserve the right to reject any submission that does not meet these ethical standards.

The discussion on all aspects of the project, especially on the challenges of risk management in relation to the environment and ethics, monitoring the implementation of the Social Management Plan Checklist, was conducted in a very constructive and enthusiastic atmosphere, which pleased us all and further motivated the principal investigator and the rest of the BioCompWaterClean team present that day.

Contact person

Representatives of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, together with experts from the World Bank’s SAIGE project and experts on environmental and ethical issues, visited the Department of Analytical Chemistry of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Belgrade on November 22, 2024.

Jelena Arsenijević (WP2 Leader, FPHUB), Mirjana Petronijević (WP4 Leader, FOTNS), Jelena Črjepok (Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia), Stefan Đorđević (Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia), Slavica Ražić (Principal Investigator, FPHUB), Anđelka Mihajlov (expert on environmental and ethical issues), Ivana Jovanović (expert from the World Bank’s SAIGE project) and Biljana Lončar (Team Member, FOTNS)

This supervisory visit was a great challenge, but also a wonderful opportunity to present the status of the BioCompWaterClean project within the PRIZMA2023 programme.

The project leader Prof. Dr. Slavica Ražić introduced the project team (11) from five institutions from the University of Belgrade and Novi Sad and emphasised the importance of communication within the team and with the rest of the world. The ongoing research activities, related to the green extractions of biowaste, the physico-chemical characterization of the extracts obtained, the synthesis and characterization of new adsorbents and catalysts are just beginning, but the first promising results have already been presented. The equipment purchased from the project funds has significantly supported the technological approach in this multidisciplinary project. Bio-functionalization and, as a real challenge, the application of novel magnetite-geopolymers for removal of phenolic compounds from wastewater will follow.
We think green and sustainable and strive for solutions that lead to zero waste and helthier environment.

The discussion on all aspects of the project, especially on the challenges of risk management in relation to the environment and ethics, monitoring the implementation of the Social Management Plan Checklist, was conducted in a very constructive and enthusiastic atmosphere, which pleased us all and further motivated the principal investigator and the rest of the BioCompWaterClean team present that day.

Slavica Ražić participated in the panel discussion “Green Chemistry – Actions and Challenges”

The panel discussion “Green Chemistry – Actions and Challenges” was successfully organized at the 60th National Meeting of the Serbian Chemical Society (Niš, Serbia, 8 June).
In her capacity as a member of the Interdivisional Committee on Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development (ICGCSD), it was a real opportunity and pleasure for the project leader to present activities in the framework of a global program for green chemistry and innovation, both in the academic field (undergraduate and postgraduate studies) and in the BioCompWaterClean project.
On behalf of the team, Slavica Ražić presented to the scientific audience the mission and plans for the use of novel biofunctionalized magnetite-geopolymer composites for the removal of phenolic compounds from wastewater. Smart bio-waste management and promising innovative solutions for a zero-waste technology that will be tested in the lab and, if proven successful, will be scaled up to a pilot model and possibly to a larger scale.
Many thanks to the team of Green Chemistry Serbia for this enthusiastic action and the wonderful afternoon.

Panel discussion: Branko Dunjić (Faculty of Technology andd Metalurgy UB), Bojan Radak (Institute for General and Physical Chemistry), Slavica Ražić (Faculty of Pharmacy UB), Jelena Milić (Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy UB), Igor Opsenica (Faculty of Chemistry UB), Mariana Ponjavić (Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering UB) and Igor Petrović (E-reciklaža 2010 d.o.o.)