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Project

Anaerobic digestion and microbial ecology: the road towards integrated resource recovery

The valorisation of organic waste streams allows the recovery of energy, valuable organics or nutrients within the concept of resource recovery. However, integrated recovery, i.e., simultaneous recovery of multiple resources, especially of challenging, e.g., saline, waste streams warrants both fundamental knowledge and application-driven research to allow their valorisation at the full-scale. Hence, the key objective of this research project is to engage integrated resource recovery of thus far “unexplored” or “untreatable” waste streams, with a key focus on the potential of anaerobic digestion microbiome. First, the valorisation of saline waste streams will be considered through anaerobic granular systems. Next, the simultaneous recovery of different resources, through a combination of methanogenic archaea and sulphate reducing bacteria will be considered. Both approaches will rely on the integration of microbial ecology in process engineering to move towards direct microbial community engineering.
Date:1 Oct 2020 →  30 Sep 2022
Keywords:Anaerobic digestion, Microbial ecology, Granulation, Resource recovery
Disciplines:Microbiomes, (Waste)water treatment processes