SPbPU: fertilizing landfills with algae will help produce biohydrogen
A new technology for producing biohydrogen from municipal solid waste (MSW) has been proposed in Russia. To do this, scientists from SPbPU have proposed fertilizing landfills with microalgae, according to a study published in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.
The authors of the work proposed to increase the energy efficiency of using gas generated at MSW landfills by adding residual biomass of microalgae of the genus Chlorella. They say this will speed up the decomposition of waste and increase the yield of biogas, which can then be purified and converted into biohydrogen, an environmentally friendly fuel. Scientists believe that this approach will help reduce harmful emissions and reduce dependence on oil.
Adding microalgae to organic waste (at a ratio of 1 to 3) can increase biogas production by 30-50 percent. At the same time, due to the processing of microalgae and waste, disposal costs will be reduced by 20-30 percent. Additionally, fuel production can generate additional revenue and increase landfill profitability by 15 to 25 percent.
“And the resulting hydrogen is capable of replacing up to 10-15 percent of the fossil fuel consumed in regions using this technology,” added co-author of the work, SPbPU engineer Ksenia Velmozhina.
Earlier, a student from Chelyabinsk developed eco-friendly packaging from algae. He called his invention “algocardboard”. This material is biodegradable and can become a replacement for plastic and cardboard.
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