Descrizione del progetto
Ottimizzare il processo di produzione del biogas
Il progetto MICRO4BIOGAS, finanziato dall’UE, intende incentivare il settore del biogas in Europa incrementando il rendimento, la velocità, la qualità e la riproducibilità della produzione di biogas. A tal fine, il progetto svilupperà consorzi microbici altamente efficienti basati su ceppi naturalmente presenti nei digestori anaerobici (strategie di bioaumento). I microbi più efficienti verranno selezionati e combinati con consorzi microbici artificiali attraverso tecniche di modellizzazione cinetica, analisi di bilanciamento del flusso ed evoluzione adattativa. La digestione anaerobica industriale offre diversi vantaggi: una produzione di biogas utilizzabile come carburante per veicoli o al fine di generare elettricità o calore, il trattamento di rifiuti industriali, l’approvvigionamento di digestato, la riduzione delle emissioni di metano verso l’atmosfera e altro ancora. La promozione del biogas contribuirà fortemente a consolidare la tanto necessaria bioeconomia circolare.
Obiettivo
Anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic matter is a robust technology for biogas synthesis from different types of waste (sewage sludge from water treatment, animal slurry, bio-waste, etc.). The main goal of AD is the production of methane, a renewable energy source that can be used to generate electricity, heat or as vehicle fuel. Biogas is a mixture of methane (CH4; 55–70% of the total volume), carbon dioxide (CO2; 30–40%) and traces of other gases. In 2018, EU was the world’s largest producer of biomethane, reaching 2,28 bcm. However, from a purely engineering view, the microbial process underlying methane production is considered to be a black box: it is subjected to a degree of variability and it is an industrial process with a lot of room for improvement in the systematic optimisation of (1) yield, (2) quality, (3) speed and (4) robustness of the process.
MICRO4BIOGAS aims to tackle these 4 aspects by integrating, for the first time, the use of microbial consortia that naturally inhabit anaerobic digesters with synthetic microbial consortia with improved capabilities, setting the basis for a user-friendly kit for bioaugmentation of biogas production (activities will be implemented at TRL3 with a TRL target of 5-6).
Partners from 6 EU countries will work side by side to make a difference in the European biogas industry, that individually could not be achieved. By improving the biogas production in Europe, this project meets the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and the European Green Deal, helping to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG7: Affordable and clean energy; SDG13: Climate Action) and working towards the circularity, resource efficiency and sustainability of the European countries.
Campo scientifico
- engineering and technologyenvironmental biotechnologybioremediationbioreactors
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energy
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsbioeconomy
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryaliphatic compounds
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinatore
46010 Valencia
Spagna