Process Intensification of Anaerobic Digestion of Biowastes for Improved Biomethane Production: A Review

Sahil Sahil and Sonil Nanda ()
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Sahil Sahil: Department of Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, Canada
Sonil Nanda: Department of Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS B2N 5E3, Canada

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 14, 1-35

Abstract: Anaerobic digestion is a widely adopted technique for biologically converting organic biomass to biogas under oxygen-limited conditions. However, several factors, including the properties of biomass and its complex structure, make it challenging to degrade biomass effectively, thereby reducing the overall efficiency of anaerobic digestion. This review examines the recent advancements in commonly used pretreatment techniques, including physical, chemical, and biological methods, and their impact on the biodegradability of organic waste for anaerobic digestion. Furthermore, this review explores integrated approaches that utilize two or more pretreatments to achieve synergistic effects on biomass degradation. This article highlights various additives and their physicochemical characteristics, which play a vital role in stimulating direct interspecies electron transfer to enhance biomethanation reaction rates. Direct electron interspecies transfer is a crucial aspect that accelerates electron transfer among syntrophic microbial communities during anaerobic digestion, thereby enhancing biomethane formation. Finally, this article reviews potential approaches, identifies research gaps, and outlines future directions to strengthen and develop advanced pretreatment strategies and novel additives to improve anaerobic digestion processes for generating high-value biogas.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion; biochar; biogas; biomass; biomethane; biomethanation; additives; direct interspecies electron transfer; biohydrogen; volatile solids (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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