We are working on several projects that optimize anaerobic digestion of waste to generate biogas (methane). The reactor microbiomes in anaerobic digesters are studied with next-gen sequencing studies, such as 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metagenomics. We are now especially interested in how to improve stability in digesters and what the effects are of co-digestion of animal wastes with industrial wastes. Projects span from having a local impact to a global impact. For example, on a local level we are working on how to operate, design, and trouble shoot anaerobic digesters on New York State dairy farms. On a global level we are collaborating with Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia (Prof. Wiratni).

A video with information on how to setup and operate an anaerobic digester for lab-scale studies is playing below and the accompanying paper can be found by clicking the HyperLink: Usack J. G., Spirito C. M. and Angenent L. T. (2012). Continuously-stirred anaerobic digester to convert organic wastes into biogas: system setup and basic operation. Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE), e3978, DOI: 10.3791/3978. [HyperLink to Video and PDF]