- Exploring the potential of biological methanation for future defossilization scenarios: Techno-economic and environmental evaluation. Energy Conversion and Management 307, 2024, 118339 more…
- Preliminary gas flow experiments identify improved gas flow conditions in a pilot-scale trickle bed reactor for H2 and CO2 biological methanation. Bioresource Technology 371, 2023, 128648 more…
- Biological methanation in trickle bed reactors - a critical review. Bioresource Technology 385, 2023, 129383 more…
- Biogas upgrading in a pilot-scale trickle bed reactor – Long-term biological methanation under real application conditions. Bioresource Technology 376, 2023, 128868 more…
- A comprehensive study on the consequences of substituting energy crops by alternative substrates for biogas production in Germany. Renewable Energy 219, 2023, 119541 more…
- Stick or leave – Pushing methanogens to biofilm formation for ex situ biomethanation. Bioresource Technology 291, 2019, 121784 more…
- Load change capability of an anaerobic thermophilic trickle bed reactor for dynamic H2/CO2 biomethanation. Bioresource Technology 289, 2019, 121735 more…
- Anaerobic thermophilic trickle bed reactor as a promising technology for flexible and demand-oriented H2/CO2 biomethanation. Applied Energy 232, 2018, 543-554 more…
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TUM School of Engineering and Design
Chair of Urban Water Systems Engineering
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Drewes
The SWW is researching the microbiological methanation of hydrogen and carbon dioxide in a trickle bed reactor under thermophilic conditions. As the end product, CH4 should be as pure as possible.
The goal is to develop a simple and robust system for decentralized operation e.g. on wastewater treatment plants in order to use their existing infrastructure (gas storage, CHP, etc.) for energy storage. The gas-tight but pressureless system is inoculated with digestate from the digester of sewage or biogas plants.
Website: Research at SWW
Contact: Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Konrad Koch
Microbiological methanation - Transition to commercial application
As part of the project, we want to work with various companies from the field to bring biological methanation into commercial application. To this end, a variety of experiments are planned both on a laboratory scale at our chair and at the pilot plant installed at the Garching wastewater treatment plant. An important change to the previous DemoMeth project is the planned installation of an electrolyzer at the wastewater treatment plant. This will bring us even closer to practical application and allow us to gain experience in the interaction between the electrolyzer and the methanation system. We also want to investigate possible synergies with regard to the co-products process heat and oxygen at the wastewater treatment plant, which could buffer the investment and operating costs of the electrolyzer to some extent.
In addition, we are planning further tests on membrane-based separation of the metabolically produced water from the trickling liquid. Initial preliminary tests on a laboratory scale provided promising results that this should be possible with a combination of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis. The extent to which this is also economically feasible still needs to be investigated in more detail.
Completed previous projects:
MikMeth Demand-driven energy supply through microbiological methanation
OptiMeth Optimization of microbiological methanation
DemoMeth Demonstration of microbiological methanation on a pilot scale
Type: Collaborative project
Funding: Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy and Technology (StMWi)
Funding code: StMWi-93-9302b/39/5
Runtime: 01.01.2024 - 31.12.2026
Website: Energy-Efficient Wastewater Treatment - Chair of Urban Water Systems Engineering
Contact: Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Konrad Koch
The lecture "Anaerobic Processes and Energy Recovery" is part of the module "Advanced Water Treatment and Anaerobic Processes" and is designed for students on the Master's degree program in Environmental Engineering, who can take the course either as a compulsory module in Field of Study 1 or as an elective module (including the Sustainable Resource Management degree program). The lecture focuses in particular on approaches and processes for energy-efficient wastewater treatment with the aim of maximizing energy recovery, especially in the form of biogas. Part of the course is also dedicated to power-to-gas technology with a clear focus on biological methanation. The event also incorporates our own research results to give students a small insight into our research activities.
| Module ID | BGU38019 |
|---|---|
| Scope | 2 SWS, 3 ECTS |
| Semester | Summer semester |
| Language | English |
| Lecture Supervision | Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Konrad Koch |
More information: TUMonline