Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Production

Anaerobic digestion is a biological process in which microorganisms, particularly methanogenic archaea, break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen, releasing biogas — a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide — that can be captured and used as a renewable energy source. In the context of building and construction, this technology is increasingly relevant for managing organic waste streams generated by the built environment and for integrating on-site or district-scale energy recovery systems into sustainable infrastructure. Researchers are actively working to understand how the composition and stability of microbial communities affect process efficiency, and how operational conditions can be optimized to maximize methane or hydrogen yields from diverse feedstocks. Key open questions include how to mitigate inhibition caused by ammonia, volatile fatty acids, and other byproducts, and how to scale these systems reliably without sacrificing the microbial balance that makes the process work.

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Keywords

Anaerobic DigestionBiogas ProductionMethanogenic ArchaeaHydrogen ProductionWaste-to-EnergyMicrobial Community