Enhancing methane production from food waste fermentate using biochar: the added value of electrochemical testing in pre-selecting the most effective type of biochar

摘要

BackgroundRecent studies have suggested that addition of electrically conductive biochar particles is an effective strategy to improve the methanogenic conversion of waste organic substrates, by promoting syntrophic associations between acetogenic and methanogenic organisms based on interspecies electron transfer processes. However, the underlying fundamentals of the process are still largely speculative and, therefore, a priori identification, screening, and even design of suitable biochar materials for a given biotechnological process are not yet possible.