Project
Anaerobic processes for energy conservation and biotransformation of pollutants
When released to atmosphere, methane is a potent greenhouse gas, but is also a good renewable energy source if recovered in controlled processes. Therefore, anaerobic digestion (AD) for biogas production is attracting more attention lately.
AD is a well-known and established technology and shows some advantages when compared with other bioenergy production processes. It is a technologically simple process with low-energy requirements, it is suitable for the conversion of organic matter from different sources, such as wastes and wastewaters, and it is one of the most environmental beneficial processes for production of energy carriers.
Normally, the overall AD process is divided in four stages: hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis and methanogenesis. Different microorganisms, living in syntrophic interrelation and having different environmental requirements, are involved in AD of complex materials. In order to have a stable process, it is fundamental that all the stages are sufficiently coupled to avoid the accumulation of intermediate compounds that can inhibit the activity of some of the microorganisms involved in the process.
Environmental factors, such as pH and temperature, play also an important role in the AD process. The presence of some compounds, such as heavy metals, sulphur compounds and xenobiotics may interfere with the AD process as well. The effect of these compounds on methanogenesis is of concern because methanogenic archaea are considered to be the most sensitive group in the whole AD process.
This project will be mainly focused on the complete comprehension of methanogenesis, with concern to the taxonomic diversity and physiological/kinetic properties of methanogens. One of the main topics of study will be the effect of chlorinated compounds, heavy metals and sulphur compounds, frequently present in wastewaters, in the biogas production and, specifically, on methanogenic communities. New microorganisms able to bioremediate those toxic compounds will be isolated.
The project is part of the SANITAS - Sustainable and Integrated Urban Water System Management part of the 7th Framework Programme and Marie Curie Actions financed by European Commission.
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