With a background combining Chemical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry, Alba’s career has been defined by a deep-seated commitment to water quality. Her journey has evolved from early research into micropollutant degradation, disinfection, and water quality sensor technology to doctoral work focused on transforming agricultural waste into functional filtration materials for wastewater. This dual perspective allows her to bridge the gap between complex laboratory analysis and practical engineering applications.
As an industrial postdoc in the DAWN project—a collaboration between the University of Copenhagen, VandCenter Syd, and BIOFOS—Alba applies this expertise to help wastewater treatment plants navigate the transition toward advanced quaternary treatment stages. Her work is designed to provide a practical roadmap for utilities facing the new EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. By developing comprehensive non-target screening methods and evaluating lab-scale experiments, her aim to provide treatment plants with the data-driven insights they need to select the most efficient, cost-effective technologies for their specific chemical profiles.
Alba Rodriguez Otero combined liquid chromatography with high resolution mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS) with hierarchical cluster analysis to interpret the non-targeted features to assess this novel workflow to asses novel materials for wastewater treatment.
