Biomass Conversion and Nutrient Recycling

Bio- and thermo-chemical processes are used in plants or other technical processes in order to convert biomass into energy or to generate valuable materials. In most cases previous mechanical, thermal or combined treatment is necessary to provide sufficient degradation kinetics, i.e. at biogas or biofuel production. Furthermore it is essential to improve processing and purification of all products such as biogas as well as digestate.

• Development, testing and optimization in the following fields are main focus of the workgroup „Biomass Technology“:
• Processing technologies especially for utilization of lignocellulosic residues,
• Digestate tereatment for nutrient recovery,
• Methods for a more flexible and dynamic biogas production, i.e. due to integrated material stream separation or ultrasonic sound,
• Anaerobic degradation processes with optimized kinetics due to selective material separation from liquid or gaseous streams,
• Process development for biogas purification and biomethan production.

Workgroup „Water Technology“ focuses on the development of non-chemical and non-biological processes and integrated reactor systems for industrial and municipal wastewater treatment i.e. with the help of ceramic membrane technology or electrochemical and photocatalytical oxidation.

 

Services

 

• Situation- and system analysis onsite or in labscale
• Substrate pretreatment/disintegration
• Development and optimization of processes for energy recovery i.e. out of lignocellulosic residues
• Biogas potential measurement of biogenic substrates
• Reaction kinetics optimization for anaerobic degradation processes, i.e. due to material separation out of liquid or gaseous material flows
• Measurement-technology based system analysis for sewage and sludge treatment
• Concepts for improved wastewater treatment using ceramic membrane technology, AOP-processes and ultrasonic sound applications
• Separation process design from solid-liquid separation up to trace substance elimination
• Integrated reactor systems for industrial wastewater treatment as well as decentralized water supply and disposal
• Ultrasonic sound applications for degasing and disintegration
• Combination of membrane processes with further technologies
• Engineering of biogas plants using new and innovative procedures