Prof. Ing. Jan Bartáček, Ph.D.

 
 
 

He completed his master’s degree in 2002 and his PhD in 2006, both at the Institute of Water and Environmental Technology at UCT Prague (VŠCHT Praha). In previous years, he held postdoctoral positions at Wageningen University (2006–2008) and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education (2008–2010) in the Netherlands. Since June 2010, he has served as an assistant professor at the Institute of Water and Environmental Technology (UCT Prague), and since June 2015, he holds the title of associate professor.

His research focuses on various resource recovery processes from wastewater, particularly energy-positive or energy-efficient technologies such as: Anaerobic fermentation, Bioflocculation, Nitritation-anammox, Greywater recycling, Nitrogen recovery in the form of N₂O, Production of specific organic compounds (e.g., ladderanes, methanol). Since 2010, he has worked intensively on hydrogen sulfide removal from biogas through microaeration, exploring the topic from technological, microbial, and mathematical modeling perspectives. He also investigates the effects of trace metals (micronutrients) on anaerobic fermentation in granular biofilm environments and the transport of metals within anaerobic biofilms.


Running projects:


Publications in the last 5 years:

  • Podzimek, T., Císařová, T., Dvořák, M., Vokatá, B., Karmann, C., Hanuš, J., Balouch, M., Malý, M., Hajšlová, J., Kouba, V., Bartáček, J., Štěpánek, F. and Lipovová, P.  2025.  Isolation of anammoxosomes from the aggregate culture of Ca. Brocadia sapporoensis and assembly of ladderane liposomes. Biotechnology and Bioengineering accepted.
  • Karmann, C., Navratilova, K., Behner, A., Noor, T., Danner, S., Majchrzak, A., Šantrůček, J., Podzimek, T., Lopez Marin, M.A., Hajšlová, J., Bartáček, J., Lipovová, P. and Kouba, V.  2025.  Mechanisms of Anammox Adaptation to High Temperatures: Increased Cyclization of Ladderane Lipids and Proteomic Insights. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering accepted.
  • Karmann, C., Čadková, D., Behner, A., Šantrůček, J., Podzimek, T., Cenjar, P., Lopez Marin, M.A., Hajšlová, J., Lipovová, P., Bartáček, J. and Kouba, V.  2024.  Outstanding enrichment of ladderane lipids in anammox bacteria: overlooked effect of pH. Journal of Environmental Management accepted.
  • Ojobe, B., Okeowo, I., Rathousky, J., Brabec, L., Maříková, T., Mikysková, E., Kofroňová, J., Vurm, R., Smrčková, Š., Ashtiani, S., Friess, K., Džuman, Z., Kouba, V. and Bartáček, J.  2024.  Efficient degradation of recalcitrant pharmaceuticals in greywater using treatment of MBR and immobilized TiO2 porous layers. ACS ES&T Water accepted.
  • Dostálková, A., Zdeňková, K., Bartáčková, J., Čermáková, E., Kapisheva, M., Lopez Marin, M., Kouba, V., Sýkora, P., Chmel, M., Bartoš, O., Dresler, J., Demnerová, K., Rumlová, M. and Bartáček, J. (2024) Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Prague wastewater determined by nanopore-based sequencing. Chemosphere accepted.
  • Ilic, A., Kouba, V., De Vrieze, J., Du Laing, G., Bartáček, J. 2024. Diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) as a robust and reliable technique to measure bioavailable metals in digestates. Environmental Technology & Innovation accepted.
  • Rutten, S., Ojobe, B., Hernandez Leal, L., de Grooth, J., Roesink, H.D.W., Bartáček, J. and Schmitt, H.  2023.  Evaluation of Membrane Integrity Monitoring Methods for Hollow Fiber Nanofiltration Membranes:  Applicability in Gray Water Reclamation Systems. ACS EST Water accepted.
  • Teixeira, A.M., Vaz-Moreira, I., Calderón-Franco, D., Weissbrodt, D., Purkrtová, S., Gajdoš, S., Dottorini, G., Nielsen, P.H., Khalifa, L., Cytryn, E., Bartáček, J., Manaia, C.M. 2023. Candidate biomarkers of antibiotic resistance for the monitoring of wastewater and the downstream environment. Water Research accepted
  • Karmann, C., Mágrová, A., Jeníček, P., Bartáček, J. and Kouba, V.  2023.  Advances in nitrogen removal and recovery technologies from reject water: economic and environmental perspectives. Bioresour. Technol. accepted
  • Bartackova, J., Kouba, V., Dostalkova, A., Čermáková, E., Lopez Marin, M.A., Chmel, M., Milanová, M., Demnerová, K., Rumlová, M., Sýkora, P., Bartáček, J. and Zdeňková, K.  2023.  Monitoring of monkeypox viral DNA in Prague wastewater. Sci. Total Environ. accepted.
  • Zdenkova, K., J. Bartackova, E. Cermakova, K. Demnerova, A. Dostalkova, V. Janda, J. Jarkovsky, M. A. Lopez Marin, Z. Novakova, M. Rumlova, J. R. Ambrozova, K. Skodakova, I. Swierczkova, P. Sykora, D. Vejmelkova, J. Wanner and J. Bartacek (2022). "Monitoring COVID-19 spread in Prague local neighborhoods based on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater collected throughout the sewer network." Water Research 216: 118343.
  • Andreides, M., P. Dolejš and J. Bartáček (2022). "The prediction of WWTP influent characteristics: Good practices and challenges." Journal of Water Process Engineering 49: 103009.
  • Kouba, V., Hůrková, K., Navrátilová, K., Vejmelková, D., Benáková, A., Laureni, M., Vodičková, P., Podzimek, T., Lipovová, P., van Niftrik, L., Hajšlová, J., van Loosdrecht, M.C.M., Weissbrodt, D.G. and Bartacek, J.  2022.  On anammox activity at low temperature: effect of ladderane composition and process conditions Chem. Eng. J. accepted.
  • Kouba, V., Hurkova, K., Navratilova, K., Vejmelkova, D., Benakova, A., Laureni, M., Vodickova, P., Podzimek, T., Lipovova, P., van Niftrik, L., Hajslova, J., van Loosdrecht, M.C., Weissbrodt, D.G., Bartacek, J. 2022. Effect of temperature on the compositions of ladderane lipids in globally surveyed anammox populations. Science of the total environment, accepted.
  • Kouba, V., Vejmelkova, D., Zwolsman, E., Hurkova, K., Navratilova, K., Laureni, M., Vodickova, P., Podzimek, T., Hajslova, J., Pabst, M., van Loosdrecht, M.C.M., Bartacek, J., Lipovova, P. and Weissbrodt, D.G.  2021.  Adaptation of anammox bacteria to low temperature via gradual acclimation and cold shocks: distinctions in protein expression, membrane composition, and activities. Water Research, accepted.
  • Andreides, M.; Pokorná-Krayzelová, L.; Bartáčková, J.; Bartáček, J., 2021. Stirring-based control strategy for microaerobic H2S removal in sequencing batch anaerobic digesters. Fuel 306. 10.1016/j.fuel.2021.121696
  • Paulu, A.; Bartáček, J.; Šerešová, M.; Kočí, V., 2021. Combining process modeling and LCA to assess the environmental impacts of wastewater treatment innovations. Water (Switzerland) 13(9). 10.3390/w13091246
  • Photocatalytic Removal of Pharmaceuticals from Greywater (2021): B. Ojobe, R. Zouzelka, B. Satkova,  M. Vagnerova, A. Nemeskalova, M. Kuchar, J. Bartacek, J. Rathousky. Catalyst 11 (9)
  • Kamila Zdenkova, Jana Bartackova, Eliska Cermakova, Katerina Demnerova, Alzbeta Dostalkova, Vaclav Janda, Zuzana Novakova, Michaela Rumlova, Jana Rihova Ambrozova, Klara Skodakova, Iva Swierczkova, Petr Sykora, Dana Vejmelkova, Jiri Wanner, Jan Bartacek (2021). "Monitoring COVID-19 spread in Prague local neighborhoods based on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater collected throughout the sewer network." medRxiv: 2021.2007.2028.21261272.
  • Vojtech Kouba, Juan Camilo Gerlein, Andrea Benakova, Marco Antonio Lopez Marin, Eva Rysava, Dana Vejmelkova & Jan Bartacek (2021) Adaptation of flocculent anammox culture to low temperature by cold shock: long-term response of the microbial population, Environmental Technology, DOI: 10.1080/09593330.2021.1950842
  • Andreides M, Pokorná-Krayzelová L, Říhová Ambrožová J, Volcke EIP, Bartáček J. Key parameters influencing hydrogen sulfide removal in microaerobic sequencing batch reactor. Biochemical Engineering Journal. 2021;168.
  • Tobo, Y. M.; Bartacek, J.; Nopens, I., Linking CFD and kinetic models in anaerobic digestion using a compartmental model approach. Process. 2020, 8 (6).
  • Tobo, Y. M.; Rehman, U.; Bartacek, J.; Nopens, I., Partial integration of ADM1 into CFD: Understanding the impact of diffusion on anaerobic digestion mixing. Water Sci. Technol. 2020, 81 (8), 1658-1667.
  • Valdés, F.; Camiloti, P. R.; Bartacek, J.; Torres-Aravena, Á.; Toledo-Alarcón, J.; Zaiat, M.; Jeison, D., Micro-oxygenation in upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactors using a silicon membrane for sulfide oxidation. Polym. 2020, 12 (9), 1-11.