Abstract
Anaerobic digestion is a waste management process catalyzed by bacteria that converts organic material to a gaseous mixture of methane and carbon dioxide, often referred to as biogas. This process involves an intricate dependence on different bacteria groups and can be divided into four main steps: hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis, and methanogenesis. Additionally, organic waste usually contains sulfur and, therefore, supports the development of sulfur-reducing bacteria. Methane produced via anaerobic digestion can be used as a renewable fuel for cogeneration or for the production of chemicals such as hydrogen or methanol. In addition, the residual waste from digestion can be used as a liquid fertilizer. In recent years, due to the low cost of organic waste, anaerobic digestion has been sought as a biological source of carbon and renewable energy. The development and expansion of technologies such as pyrolysis, gasification, and electrolysis can offer interesting synergies to boost renewable energy production and carbon conversion. Thus, this chapter provides an overview of anaerobic digestion technology and applications.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Small Scale Power Generation Handbook : Towards Distributed Energy Systems |
| Editors | Umberto Desideri, Lorenzo Ferrari |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Publication date | 2025 |
| Pages | 127-141 |
| Chapter | 3.1 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-0-12-821672-9 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2025 |
