Conversion of biomass through anaerobic digestion and hydrothermal methanation
The biomass to biogas routes which are explored in the SCCER BIOSWEET relate primarily to the use of household, food industry, and agricultural waste to produce biogas via anaerobic digestion and hydrothermal methanation. A strong focus is hold on manure as a feedstock.
Description of Research Area
The objective of this research area is to optimize existing and to develop new technologies for microbial anaerobic digestion and hydrothermal gasification. As a result, a higher bioenergy yield from wet biomass can be realized. The following innovation challenges are being addressed:
- Increase the conversion efficiency of anaerobic digestion through substrate specific pre-treatment.
- Initiate pilot and demonstrator facilities for specific pre-treatment processes.
- Promotion and development of scenarios and technologies for in-situ biological methanation
- Adapt anaerobic digestion to Swiss agriculture addressing the need for small scale digesters and the application of SOFC fuel cells
- Identify and divert selected biomass streams to hydrothermal gasification for additional energy recovery
- Initiate a pilot facility for hydrothermal gasification of biomass
- Develop analytical methods and instruments to support process control in anaerobic digestion and hydrothermal gasification
Research Partners
Michael Studer
Group leader and lecturer for energy engineering at the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences of Bern University of Applied Sciences.
Jan Van Herle
Lecturer in the Industrial Energy Systems Laboratory at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne. Large Expertise in the field Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Frédéric Vogel
Head of the Catalytic Process Engineering Group at PSI and Lecturer at the School of Engineering of University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
Urs Baier
Leader of the SCCER BIOSWEET research area “biogas” and head of the Environmental Biotechnology Group at Zurich University of Applied Sciences
Jeremy Luterbacher
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor and head of the Laboratory for Sustainable and Catalytic Processing at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
Roger Röthlisberger
Professor at the Institute of Thermal Engineering of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland
Pamela Principi
Cooperation Partner of the SCCER BIOSWEET and research scientist in environmental microbiology at University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland
Dominik Refardt
Cooperation Partner of the SCCER BIOSWEET and head of the Section Aquaculture Systems at Zurich University of Applied Sciences
Outreach Material
Fachstelle Umweltbiotechnologie
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