Technological Approaches for the Capture and Reuse of Biogenic Carbon Dioxide Towards Sustainable Anaerobic Digestion
Anaerobic digestion (AD) produces renewable energy but releases biogenic CO2 and generates digestate requiring management. This paper evaluates four emerging pathways for CO2 capture and reuse in AD systems: (1) in situ CO2 conversion to CH4 via microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), (2) hydrogenotrophic CO2 methanation using green hydrogen, (3) enzymatic CO2 capture coupled with autotrophic algae cultivation, and (4) digestate pyrolysis with syngas biomethanation. Each pathway is assessed in terms of technical feasibility, biocatalyst performance, system configuration, and key implementation challenges. Integrated scenarios demonstrate up to 98% CO2 emission reduction, substantial bioenergy yield improvements, and enhanced nutrient and biomass recovery compared to conventional AD. MEC-based and hydrogenotrophic pathways show the highest energy efficiency, while algae-based systems provide added bioproduct valorization. The remaining limitations include cost, process integration, and scale-up. The study defines development priorities to advance zero-emission AD technologies for the agri-food and waste management sectors.
Authors
- Rudolphus Antonius Timmers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8934-3868)
- İrini Angelidaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6357-578X)
- Panagiotis Kougias (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4416-2135)
- V. Vasilaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4670-5618)
- Maja Berden Zrimec (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4790-4034)
- Laura Treu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5053-4452)
- Dimitris Malamis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6472-6420)
- Dolores Hidalgo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0846-6924)
- Elli Maria Barampouti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4871-8786)
- Estelle M. Goonesekera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3196-0878)
- Sofia Mai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9919-8202)
- Maria Gaspari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8654-1144)
- Antonio Grimalt‐Alemany (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7652-743X)
- Anastasia Theodoropoulou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3227-5167)
- Robert M. Reinhardt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9151-0924)
- Stefano Campanaro
- Dimitra Antonia Bagaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1621-0123)
Institutions
- University of London (GB)
- University of Padua (IT)
- National Technical University of Athens (GR)
- Instituto Tecnológico Agrario de Castilla y León (ES)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- Brunel University of London (GB)
- Technical University of Denmark (DK)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Sustainability
- Published
- 2025-11-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/su172210385
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Production
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.01