As the world strives for a more diversified energy mix, renewable energies like biofuels and biogas are coming to the fore. Sustainability is driving the utilisation of natural resources such as biomass, the products and potential of which is unlocked through anaerobic digestion (AD).
The process of anaerobic digestion is nothing new. There is evidence to suggest that AD was in use as an agent of energy as far back as the 16th century, while it has been used in the UK since the late 1800s according to the NNFCC, a specialist Bioeconomy consultancy based in the UK. But as the world’s energy system appears set to go full circle and balance fossil fuels with greener, cleaner technologies based on natural resources, AD plants are firmly in demand.
AD is a natural process whereby plant and animal materials (biomass) are broken down by micro-organisms in the absence of oxygen. Many different forms of biomass exist and can be used, from food waste to manure and crops or crop residues in-between.
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