Enhancement of Anaerobic Digestion with Nanomaterials: A Mini Review

Abstract

In recent years, the number of articles reporting the addition of nanomaterials to enhance the process of anaerobic digestion has exponentially increased. The benefits of this addition can be observed from different aspects: an increase in biogas production, enrichment of methane in biogas, elimination of foaming problems, a more stable and robust operation, absence of inhibition problems, etc. In the literature, one of the current focuses of research on this topic is the mechanism responsible for this enhancement. In this sense, several hypotheses have been formulated, with the effect on the redox potential caused by nanoparticles probably being the most accepted, although supplementation with trace materials coming from nanomaterials and the changes in microbial populations have been also highlighted. The types of nanomaterials tested for the improvement of anaerobic digestion is today very diverse, although metallic and, especially, iron-based nanoparticles, are the most frequently used. In this paper, the abovementioned aspects are systematically reviewed. Another challenge that is treated is the lack of works reported in the continuous mode of operation, which hampers the commercial use of nanoparticles in full-scale anaerobic digesters.