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Description
Methane fermentation is becoming a key issue of the circularly economy. Polymeric material will have an increasing impact on the properties of the feed directed to bioreactors, and thus on the efficiency of biogas production, digestate quality and its susceptibility to composting, especially in terms of the presence of microplastics. The project draws attention to the growing problem with the appearance of a biodegradable polymers in the biomass used for methane fermentation, which in such configuration has not been thoroughly studied yet. The enhancement of biodegradable polymers decomposition during methane fermentation will be addressed with respect to intensification of microplastics degradation, thus selected biomass pre-treatment procedures will be used, which is in demand in existing and to be constructed biogas plants. Special focus is placed on digestate treatment by dewatering and composting, aimed at production of organic fertilizers. Process scale-up will be demonstrated and simplified method for estimation of fertilizing properties will be developed.
Gdansk University of Technology has extensive experience in the construction of pilot installations, both for the production of biomethane and its enrichment above 95% (i.e. the possibility of injection into the gas network). The methane fermentation process would not be complete without digestate treatment and composting, and this function will be performed by the Utilization Plant in Gdansk, which has a modern composting plant. The Utilization Plant will also supply biomass for the pilot installation at the GUT, which is a battery of two bioreactors with a volume of 1200 dm3 and 600 dm3 reactor for biomass thermolysis. Aquateam COWI AS has expert knowledge in the field of methane fermentation of biomass and, at the same time, experience in the characterization of microplastics, and will support the project in qualification and verification of technology performance.