Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGBBiotechnological processes can be established economically and ecologically advantageous for the substance recycling along with waste treatment. The center of interest hereby is the use of anaerobic or substance producing aerobic microorganisms. The best known substance recycling process of organic materials such as bio-waste or sewage sludge (as a kind of residual biomass) is the recovery of biogas as a renewable energy source.
By integrating further appropriate process steps, additional value substances such as fertilizer salts (from nitrogen and phosphate ingredients of sludge, sludge water and waste) can be recovered.
Biogas from sludge and organic residues
Biogas – renewable energy with multifaceted potential
The generation of electricity from biogas, which is produced in biogas plants primarily from ensiled renewable raw materials, is an important pillar of renewable energies. Biogas occupies a special position in this context: While the generation of electricity from sun and wind is highly dependent on the weather, biogas can in principle be produced continuously, stored for a certain period of time and converted into electricity and heat in the combined heat and power plant by means of combined heat and power generation.
If biogas is purified accordingly, high-purity biomethane can be fed into the natural gas grid, used as a fuel (for natural gas vehicles) or used as a basic chemical substance.