A study of the co-digestion of various urban and agricultural wastes for optimum biogas production

Supervisors: Professor Mohamed Pourkashanian, Dr Davide Poggio and Professor Lin Ma.

The proposed research would explore of the potential of anaerobic digestion to produce biogas from a number of different waste biomass sources that are ubiquitous throughout the world but are currently underutilised, and to co-digest them with more familiar anaerobic digestion feedstocks. A key objective will be to explore the relationship between digester design, scale and the ability to utilise biomass in a variety of co-digestion scenarios. This work would complement our current research into anaerobic digestion for electrification of rural communities in India.

The research will benefit from the available experimental facilities including laboratory-scale digesters, excellent analytical facilities, expertise in the computer modelling of AD process kinetics, mass balance and operational strategies and links with industry through our collaborative work with micro-AD development sites in the UK.

For further information contact Professor Derek B Ingham (d.ingham@sheffield.ac.uk).