Aim:
Through its activities the WG aims to engage stakeholders from trade bodies, industry, water utilities and government departments such as Defra, DESNZ, the EA and others.
What’s Next for AD? – EBNet Anaerobic Digestion Working Group
Current generation anaerobic digesters provide a sustainable and low-carbon treatment of organic waste and wastewater sludges using mature technology, with growth in the sector predominantly determined by the increased capture of AD-appropriate organic wastes. Despite this there remain exciting opportunities both in the improvement of existing AD processes and technologies (e.g. emerging feedstocks, pre-treatment, process intensification), and in the development of novel applications and new markets beyond the current AD status quo (e.g. biorefining/high value products, green hydrogen, biomethanation). The group brings together relevant interdisciplinary expertise to explore ‘What’s next for AD?’ and how the wealth of historical and current research combined with existing expertise in this field can contribute to the next generation of anaerobic biotechnologies across the energy, food, agriculture, water and biomanufacturing sectors. The group aims to strengthen the link between the AD research community, policy makers and industry to ensure activities support both near- and long-term industrial needs. Initially the group will act as a hub for collaboratively assessing the opportunities, challenges and barriers, with more specific outcomes developed through these scoping activities.
Interested?
Contact the Working Group co-ordinator: Dr Mark Walker, University of Hull.
Mark is a lecturer in the Department of Engineering at the University of Hull and programme coordinator for the MSc Energy Engineering. Mark has over 10 years of research experience and has worked on 15+ academic and industrial innovation projects in the areas of bioprocessing, bio-based production, and bioenergy, with a particular focus on anaerobic digestion for waste and wastewater management and its integration into larger energy, biorefinery or agricultural systems. Mark’s research uses lab scale systems and process modelling to appraise and develop novel bioprocesses, to inform integrated models that can be used to design, analyse and optimise systems that involve combinations of technologies, and assess them against sustainability criteria using techniques such as technoeconomic assessment (TEA), carbon footprints and lifecycle assessment (LCA). Email mark.walker[at]hull.ac.uk with EBNet Working Group in the subject in the first instance.
WG Activities
The WG Activity Report is available HERE
Recent Activities
WEBINAR: Opportunities in Biogas – a IEA Task 37 perspective, Wednesday, 5th March 1-2pm (UK)
This webinar is on the activities of IEA Bioenergy’s Task 37 Bioenergy from Biogas, including its rich catalogue of reports and case studies. It includes two presentations: a general introduction to the Task and its outputs and work programmes by current Task Leader Jan Liebetrau, and an example of a recent study highlighting potential for application of anaerobic digestion in the food and beverage sector, presented by incoming Task Leader Bernhard Drosg. These were be followed by an opportunity for questions and discussion on the Task’s future plans and other areas of interest to participants.
Featuring:
Task Leader: Dr Jan Liebetrau, IEA TASK 37. Head of Department Consulting and Research, Rytec GmbH.
Bernhard Drosg, Dipl.-Ing. Dr.
Head of the Research Area ‘Biochemical Technologies’ at BEST – Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies GmbH and Senior Scientist at BOKU University of Vienna, Austria. He has represented Austria in IEA Bioenergy Task 37 since 2010 and has 17 years of experience in biogas research and development.
Chair: Andrew Brown, Technical Support Manager, ADBA.
A recent addition to the ADBA team, Andrew is a Process Engineer with over 5 years specialising in the AD industry, supporting investors and operators in all aspects of practical, global AD developments. Andrew’s focus has been on technical due diligence and AD plant design for investors, helping secure funding for new builds and plant upgrades for sites around the globe. Now, Andrew is supporting a range of initiatives at ADBA and their sister company WBA, to accelerate the global roll out of sustainable and efficient AD operations.
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Past Activities
EBNet workshop – ‘Emerging Biomethane‘ – 15-17 January 2025, Birmingham. With three other EBNet WG’s, this group ran a workshop bringing together key individuals in the field of biological production of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) (i.e. emerging biomethane). The aim was to assess new technologies and sources of production and put them in the context of national & international decarbonisation of energy and adjacent sectors (manufacturing, chemicals etc. Preliminary results are here, and more detailed outputs will be available soon.
Contributed to the Workshop: Exploring The Past, Present and Futures of Environmental Biotechnology as a Field, 11-17:00, 4 November 2024, Euston, Central London. Commented on the interim findings from the Social Science Working Group exploration of the field and explored some important and provocative questions about the future.
Several WG members attended the IEA TASK 37 workshop: Strategies for emission control on biogas upgrading plants – ZHAW Institute of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Switzerland (and online), 25 October 2023. More information is here.
Were you at the ADBA Spring meeting, hosted by EBNet at the University of Southampton? Connecting research/industry – 20/4/2023.
Photo by Monstera from Pexels
Did you catch Dr Mark Walker at the joint EBNet/Carbon Recycling Network webinar CO2 Biomethanation – 26/5/2022.
EBNet webinar, Chaired by Dr Mark Walker, on Advances in Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactors – Wed 7 Dec 2022 at 13-15.00. Webinar recording of Prof van Lier and Prof Jefferson is here; registered attendees who wish to listen to Dr Pacheco-Ruiz’s talk can contact us for the link.
EBNet funding has been obtained for the AD Working Group to assess Food Waste Behaviour within university systems to improve food/food waste behaviour and recycling rates. Outline here, contact the Chair for more information.
For information on many other activities, see the WG report above.
Selected publications
Experimental Evaluation of Continuous In-Situ Biomethanation of CO2 in Anaerobic Digesters Fed on Sewage Sludge and Food Waste and the Influence of Hydrogen Gas–Liquid Mass Transfer
By: Davide Poggio, Arman Sastraatmaja, Mark Walker, Stavros Michailos, William Nimmo and Mohamed Pourkashanian. In:Processes 2023, 11(2), 604