BioCH4eramics: Functionalized ceramics for hydrogenotrophic biomethanation
The production of biomethane offers the possibility of converting organic waste materials into a gaseous and easily storable energy source with a high energy density. In order to fulfil the required quality criteria for injecting biomethane into the established gas grid, the separation of impurities, primarily CO2, is necessary. The CO2 separated from raw biogas or sewage gas can be used as a secondary feedstock for methanation with renewable H2, which further maximises the injection capacities that can be achieved. To date, it has not been possible to implement such a circular CCU approach on a large scale due to high investment and operating costs and the persistent dominance of fossil fuels. The successive rollout of cost-efficient, volatile renewable energy will result in a seasonal shift requirement in the double-digit TWh range in the future. Biomethanisation could therefore be used to methanize hard-to-abate CO2 (e.g. from sewage treatment plants) in times of electrical overcapacity, which would lead to negative emissions on the one hand and the generation of a capacitive energy carrier on the other. The ‘BioCH4eramics’ project aims to establish the basis for a radical new type of bioreactor (‘plug-flow’) and a new biotechnological process for the production of biomethane. Through the targeted immobilisation of methanogenic microorganisms in the pore space of technical ceramics, the use of the ‘plug flow’ with large internal surface area as a potentially highly efficient production system for biomethane will be investigated experimentally.
Duration: 01.04.2026-31.03.2027
Funding agency: Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG): BioCH4eramics
Project coordination: Universität für Bodenkultur
Project partners:
