Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Production

Anaerobic digestion is the process by which microorganisms break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen, producing biogas — a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide — that can be captured and used as a renewable energy source. In construction and building engineering contexts, this technology is increasingly relevant for managing organic waste streams from construction sites and for integrating on-site energy recovery systems into sustainable building design. Researchers are actively working to understand how communities of methanogenic archaea and fermenting bacteria interact, since the composition and stability of these microbial consortia directly determine how efficiently a digester converts waste into usable energy. Key open questions include how to optimize digester performance under varying feedstock conditions, how to suppress inhibitory compounds that slow methane production, and whether co-producing hydrogen alongside methane can make the overall process more energetically valuable.

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Keywords

Anaerobic DigestionBiogas ProductionMethanogenic ArchaeaHydrogen ProductionWaste-to-EnergyMicrobial Community