Biogas production potential related to nutritional- and microflora compositions a base for process optimisation

Time: 2009-2010

Financed by: The Swedish Energy agency

Project led by: Anna Karlsson

Researcher involved at WES: Carina Sundberg, Madeleine Larsson, Bo Svensson

The project is performed in collaboration with Professor Søren Sørensen and his group at the department of Biology at Copenhagen University

Within this project we are evaluating 22 full scale biogas processes at 14 Swedish biogas plants. We are analyzing nutritional status (mainly trace elements), degradation capacity/process performance and microflora composition of the processes and also the relations between the measured parameters. The main goal with the project is to estimate the room for process improvements (i.e. increased organic loading rates and process stability) but the data collected will also deepen the understanding of microbial interactions within biogas processes.