Autor(es):
Silva, Inês ; Lapa, Nuno ; Ribeiro, Henrique ; Duarte, Elizabeth
Data: 2025
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/185266
Origem: Repositório Institucional da UNL
Projeto/bolsa:
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT//2023.03381.BD/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/Concurso de avaliação no âmbito do Programa Plurianual de Financiamento de Unidades de I&D (2017%2F2018) - Financiamento Base/UIDB%2F04129%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/Concurso para Atribuição do Estatuto e Financiamento de Laboratórios Associados (LA)/LA%2FP%2F0092%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/Concurso para Atribuição do Estatuto e Financiamento de Laboratórios Associados (LA)/LA%2FP%2F0008%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/Concurso de avaliação no âmbito do Programa Plurianual de Financiamento de Unidades de I&D (2017%2F2018) - Financiamento Programático/UIDP%2F50006%2F2020/PT;
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/Concurso de avaliação no âmbito do Programa Plurianual de Financiamento de Unidades de I&D (2017%2F2018) - Financiamento Base/UIDB%2F50006%2F2020/PT;
Assunto(s): Additives; Biogas production; Biowaste management; CSTR; Digestate valorisation; Mesophilic conditions
Descrição
Funding Information: This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the strategic project UID/04129/2020 (LEAF) and a PhD grant to the first author (doi: https://doi.org/10.54499/2023.03381.BD). H. Ribeiro and E. Duarte acknowledge the support by national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P., under the projects UIDB/04129/2020 of LEAF-Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food, Research Unit (doi: https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/04129/2020) and LA/P/0092/2020 of Associate Laboratory TERRA (doi: https://doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0092/2020). N. Lapa acknowledges the support from FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia by national funds under the projects LA/P/0008/2020 (doi: https://doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0008/2020) UIDP/50006/2020 (doi: https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDP/50006/2020) and UIDB/50006/2020 (doi: https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/50006/2020).
Biowaste from livestock production is increasing globally because of the intensification of livestock farming and inefficient waste management practices. If mismanaged, biowaste can result in environmental problems, including increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Anaerobic digestion (AD) stands as an effective approach for managing livestock biowaste, simultaneously generating biogas for energy recovery and digestate for agronomic application, following the principles of the circular economy. Considered a biowaste-to-energy approach, AD mitigates GHG emissions, facilitates nutrient recovery, and reduces dependence on fossil fuels. Despite its acknowledged benefits and status as a mature technology, further research is required to identify the best route for optimising the process in terms of stability and performance. This review examines new research that explores innovative ways to enhance the mesophilic AD process in continuous-stirred tank reactors, including the use of additives, especially carbon-based ones like biochar. From this perspective, the key challenges are exploring new insights into future research routes to implement AD units at a real scale, and pursuing goals towards a circular economy model. Finally, new opportunities have arisen for farmers to create synergies across agro-industrial sectors, enabling them to minimise their environmental footprint and simultaneously earn additional revenue.
