Biological methanation in biofilm reactor

Duration:
10/2023 - 06/2025

Financing:
The Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), opens an external URL in a new window

national partner:
Competence Center CHASE GmbH, opens an external URL in a new window

Contact Person:
Jörg Krampe

Project Staff:
Kara Kobsik

Links:
https://projekte.ffg.at/projekt/4536647, opens an external URL in a new window

Brief information on the project

The growing share of renewable energy, with its temporal fluctuations, makes energy storage technologies indispensable. The FFG project BioMeFilm focuses on biological methanation: anaerobic microorganisms convert CO2 from the biogas of wastewater treatment plants into methane using green hydrogen. In the lab, we are testing a trickle-bed reactor in continuous operation that produces biomethane with nearly 100% methane content. In the future, this biomethane can supply on-site energy at treatment plants or be injected into the natural gas grid. The potential in Austria is substantial – around 220 GWh per year, equivalent to about 3% of renewable electricity production and 1% of total natural gas demand. Building on the predecessor project BioMAra, we are working with our project partner, Competence Center CHASE GmbH, to establish the foundation for pilot-scale deployment at wastewater treatment plants.

The research focuses on the following questions:

• What performance can be achieved for methanation in the mesophilic temperature range?

• What sensing and instrumentation are required for reliable monitoring?

• Do wastewater plant side streams cover the microorganisms’ nutrient needs, or are additional chemicals required?

• Is the system suitable for flexible on/off operation to support grid stabilization?