Biography
Prof Marcel Jansen is a plant ecophysiologist in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at UCC. Marcel received his training at Wageningen Agricultural University (MSc) and the Weizmann Institute of Science (PhD), and was a postdoctoral researcher at Wye College, Wageningen Agricultural University and the John Innes Centre. Following a lectureship at the University of Antwerp, Marcel Joined UCC in 2003. Marcel’s research focusses on the molecular-physiological mechanisms underlying acclimation responses of plants to hostile environments, including the accumulation of chemical elements from surface waters. Research on the capture of resources from wastewater is part of a multidisciplinary circular economy approach.
The current “take-make-waste” approach to finite resources is not sustainable, and leads to a depletion of key fossil resources. For example, economically extractable reserves of phosphate rock are dwindling, yet pollution of surface waters with this element, essential for food security, is common, and associated with eutrophication problems. By treating wastewater as a resource, a finite resource can be re-captured and re-used, and environmental problems are avoided. Our group at UCC develops innovative duckweed (Lemna) production systems, to capture phosphate and other elements as part of a circular economy approach.
Technical description
The current “take-make-waste” approach to finite resources is not sustainable, and leads to a depletion of key fossil resources. For example, economically extractable reserves of phosphate rock are dwindling, yet pollution of surface waters with this element, essential for food security, is common, and associated with eutrophication problems. By treating wastewater as a resource, a finite resource can be re-captured and re-used, and environmental problems are avoided. Our group at UCC develops innovative duckweed (Lemna) production systems, to capture phosphate and other elements as part of a circular economy approach.
Role
- Funded Investigator
Institution
- UCC
Research Area
- Earth System Change
Expertise
- Climate and Environment
