NODES - SPOKE 6 Project FORMIDABILÆ - D3.4 Sensors for methane and acetate in biogas plants fed with animal manure and plant microbial composition

Anaerobic digestion (AD) in full-scale biogas plants is a complex and dynamic process influenced by multiple factors, including operational conditions, microbial community structure, and chemical composition. A comprehensive understanding of these interactions is essential for optimizing biogas production and methane yield, which are critical for enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of renewable energy generation. This study involved systematic collection and analysis of data and samples from full-scale biogas plants utilizing cattle and/or pig manure as their primary feedstock. The data encompassed multiple categories, including process parameters and general metadata recorded on-site at the selected plants. Additionally, digestate samples were analyzed to characterize microbial communities through high-throughput sequencing, followed by bioinformatics processing for data filtering, clustering, taxonomic classification, and community profiling. Furthermore, volatile fatty acids, such as acetate, were quantified using standard gas chromatography (GC) methods. These analyses served to compare and validate a biosensorbased approach currently developed by the UNIPV research group (Prof. Pasotti and collaborators). The collected data were integrated into a dedicated database to support the development of machine learning models by the UNIPV group (Prof. Toffanin and collaborators). These models aim to predict energy production and gas quality (methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide content) with high accuracy and have the potential to replace conventional physical sensors, thereby improving real-time monitoring and process optimization. This document is a deliverable of the project FORMIDABILÆ ("Forage system to make resilient Maize, Dairy and Biogas supply chains for a Lasting Agricultural Ecosystem"), which promotes approaches aimed at improving the smart, resilient, circular and diversified farm to ensure food security and social economic sustainability of dairy food chains with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in this sector. This document is part of the project NODES which has received funding from the MUR – Missione 4, Componente 2, Investimento 1.5 – Creazione e rafforzamento di “Ecosistemi dell’innovazione”, costruzione di “leader territoriali di R&S'' – del PNRR funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU with grant agreement no. ECS00000036