As a part of a large project at Norrmejerier, a biogas production plant has been constructed at Umeå Dairy. In this plant wastewater, residual milk and whey are decomposed and biogas is produced. The biogas is burned in a steam boiler. The biogas plant is designed as an anaerobic contact process, with sludge separation and recirculation by a clarifier. The fat in the substrate is treated in a separate reactor. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the design and start-up of this biogas production plant. Further, the interaction with the contractor responsible for construction and start-up is evaluated. The plant is generally well designed, the process conditions are suitable and the objectives are realistic. However, the seed sludge is unsuitable and the time plan is too optimistic. At the end of the period of this study, the plant was running and all central components are performing as intended. Still, the objectives have not been reached. This is mainly attributed to the poor quality of the seed sludge. The management of the plant and the interaction with the contractor has generally been good. Most problems that arose were of typical start-up nature. Others were due to insufficient planning or lack of communication. Further, several design flaws were identified during start-up. Washout of sludge has been one of the most significant drawbacks during start-up. This inconvenience seems to be the result of improper seed sludge and a too hasty increase of the organic loading rate. / Norrmejerier har som en del av ett större projekt låtit uppföra en anläggning för biogasproduktion vid Umeå mejeri. I anläggningen, som är utformad som en anaerob kontaktprocess, behandlas avloppsvattnen och andra organiska restprodukter från mejeriet tillsammans med vassle från både Umeå och Burträsk mejeri. Fettet i substratet avskiljs och behandlas separat. Den biogas som produceras vid nedbrytningen av det organiska materialet bränns i en brännare och ånga produceras. Syftet med den här studien är att utvärdera anläggningens design, valda processförhållanden och förfarandet under uppstarten av biogasanläggningen. Dessutom utvärderas interaktionen med den tyska entreprenör som är ansvarig för konstruktion och uppstart. Anläggningens utformning och valda processbetingelser är passande och de uppsatta målen är rimliga. Däremot är valet av ymp olämpligt och tidsplanen för uppstarten är för optimistisk. När denna studie avslutades var anläggningen i bruk och biogas producerades. Alla de mål för som formulerats hade dock inte uppnåtts. Ympens dåliga kvalitet är den mest bidragande orsaken till att uppstartsperioden har blivit förlängd. Arbetet under uppstarten och samarbetet med entreprenören har generellt sett varit lyckat. Man har dock stött på många komplikationer, varav de flesta har varit av typisk uppstartsnatur. Andra har varit resultatet av bristande planering och kommunikation. En rad konstruktions- och designfel har också identifierats under uppstarten. Slamflykt från reaktorerna har varit det mest betydande problemet hos den biologiska processen. Denna förlust av slam förmodas bero på olämpligt val av ymp och en alltför hastig ökning av den organiska belastningen i reaktorerna under uppstarten.

Technologies for pretreatment of waste activated sludges (WAS) prior to digestion are of increasing interest to wastewater treatment utilities because of their promise for improving sludge digestibility and reducing the mass of biosolids remaining after digestion. While there has been considerable study of pretreatment processes, a common approach to describing the impact of pretreatments on sludge biodegradability has not been developed. The overall objective of this study was to develop protocols that can be employed to characterize the impact of pretreatment processes on WAS digestion. Sonication and ozonation were employed as models of physical and chemical pretreatment technologies respectively. A range of physical, chemical and biological responses were evaluated to assess the impact of pretreatment on WAS properties as well as digestibility. WAS samples that were generated over a range of solids residence times (SRTs) under controlled operating conditions were employed to facilitate an assessment of the interaction between pretreatment and WAS properties on digestibility. The VS, COD and soluble TKN responses indicated that a significant fraction of the WAS solids were solublized by sonication and ozonation, however, it appeared that the types of materials which were solublized was affected by the SRT at which the WAS was generated and the level of pretreatment. The results indicated that the impact of pretreatment on biodegradability of WAS was not described by solublization values exclusively without considering the SRT of the sludge and the level and type of pretreatment. A higher level of proteinaceous materials was preferentially solublized as the result of pretreatment. Respirometry revealed that both sonication and ozonation substantially reduced the viable heterotrophs in the sludge and modestly increased the readily biodegradable fraction of COD. The ultimate yields of CH4 and NH4 in BMP tests and VFAs in BAP tests revealed that pretreatment marginally increased the ultimate digestibility of the sludges. Only a high dose of ozonation substantially increased the digestibility of the 15 day SRT sludge. However, both sonication and ozonation substantially increased the rate of hydrolysis which is typically the rate limiting process in WAS digestion. The BMP test was not a useful test to evaluate the rate of methane generation due to inhibition of methanogens in the early days of BMP test for pretreated sludges. The comparison between VFA and ammonia responses in day 10 of BAP test and ultimate values of these responses after 60 days in BMP test revealed linear relationships between these responses. According to these relationships, a set of models were introduced in this study. The models can be employed to predict the ultimate methane and ammonia generation using soluble COD, VFA or ammonia responses in day 10 of BAP tests. The BAP test was determined to be a shorter test (10 days) than the BMP (55 to 60 days) test and could provide information on the rates of hydrolysis and acidification/ammonification processes. Characterization of biodegradable and non-biodegradable material in WAS samples was conducted using a simplified ADM1 model. The characterization also revealed that proteins are a substantial fraction of biodegradable materials. The estimated ammonia, VFA and methane values from the stoichiometric model were similar to the corresponding values from the experiments. This supported the validity of the simplified model for all sludges employed in this study.

Title: Food waste from grocery stores in Umeå- the potential for taking care of and reducing the amount of food waste. Author: Helene Myhrberg Abstract Food waste from grocery stores is an increasing problem in Sweden, and amounts to roughly 67 000 ton per year. This has consequences both for sustainability in general, but also for achieving the targets stipulated by the EU. Given this, it should be relevant for the society that grocery stores both decrease the amount of food waste but also develop better ways of dealing with food waste. Although there exist methods for this, the practicability of such measures are unknown. In this thesis I assess these issues by conducting interviews with owners and employees at five grocery stores in Umeå, asking them how they think about these questions. In particular, I focus on how to take care of and prepare food waste for anaerobic digestion and how to decrease volumes of food waste. In essence, I find that both the knowledge of, and interest in, these issues vary substantially between grocery stores. Further, for these measures to be feasible, it requires the process to be both economically efficient while not requiring too much time of work. With this in mind, it seems necessary to have a facility that can take care of both packed and unpackaged food waste, making it as cheap and simple as possible for the grocery stores. For reducing volumes of waste, most grocery stores agrees on better planning as the way to go. Key words: food waste, grocery stores, anaerobic digestion, decreasing of food waste.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_jep_me_bot.pdf: 2003164 bytes, checksum: d776b0516852a32e5763381a780cbe16 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-24 / Tendo em vista os problemas ambientais relativos as contaminações do solo e da agua oriundas dos dejetos produzidos em propriedades rurais, objetivou-se avaliar economicamente um biodigestor de fluxo contínuo, instalado na Escola Técnica Estadual “Orlando Quagliato”, situada no município de Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo-SP, bem como o processo de biodigestão anaeróbia e consequente produção de biofertilizante e biogás, oriundos dos dejetos de suínos e humanos. Os dejetos foram provenientes da suinocultura, que conta com 15 matrizes totalizando 148 animais, e dejetos humanos referente aos blocos de alojamentos para 200 alunos residentes, os quais diariamente são enviados para o biodigestor. O biodigestor em questão foi instalado com intuito de diminuir a contaminação do meio ambiente, produzir biogás e biofertilizante para utilização nos projetos produtivos da própria instituição escolar. Foram realizadas análises físico-químicas e microbiológicas do biofertilizante com a finalidade de avaliar a sua qualidade, no que tange a composição química e presença de microorganismos patogênicos para definição de sua utilização na agricultura. Considerando a produção de dejetos, realizou-se estimativa da produção de biogás, objetivando o potencial das receitas do processo. Foram analisados os custos de implantação, manutenção e depreciação. Os benefícios anuais foram dados pelo valor econômico dos nutrientes presentes no biofertilizante e pela produção de biogás estimada. Também foram estimados indicadores de viabilidade econômica, como Valor Presente Líquido (VPL), Taxa Interna de Retorno (TIR), PayBack (PB) e Ponto de Equilíbrio, utilizando uma taxa de desconto de 10,38% a.a. O investimento inicial para implantação atualizado foi de R$ 184.601,84 e os custos anuais do sistema foram de R$ 1.218,12 com manutenção e R$ 18.460,00 com depreciação. O benefício obtido com o emprego do biofertilizante foi de R$ 6.267,05.ano-1 e com produção de biogás equivalente estimada em R$ 24.594,86.ano-1, totalizando uma receita de R$ 30.861,91, expondo benefícios superiores aos custos anuais. Ficou evidenciado que tanto o biogás quanto o biofertilizante não são aproveitados plenamente, demonstrando ainda que o projeto foi superdimensionado na sua implantação considerando o plantel de suínos existentes, embora existam perspectivas para aumento do setor suinícola. / In view of the environmental problems of soil contamination to and from the water coming from the waste produced in farms aimed to economically evaluate a continuous flow digester, installed in the State Technical School "Orlando Quagliato", located in the municipality of Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo-SP, as well as the process of anaerobic digestion and consequent production of bio-fertilizer and biogas, derived from pig manure and human. The waste came from pig farming, which has 15 arrays totaling 148 animals, and human waste relating to the accommodation blocks for 200 resident students, who every day are sent to the digester. The biodigester in question was installed in order to reduce contamination of the environment, produce biogas and biofertilizers for use in productive projects of their own educational institution. physico-chemical and microbiological analyzes of biofertilizers were conducted in order to assess their quality, with respect to chemical composition and the presence of pathogenic microorganisms to define its use in agriculture. Considering the production of waste, there was estimated biogas production, aiming the potential revenue in the process. deployment costs, maintenance and depreciation were analyzed. The annual benefits were given the economic value of the nutrients present in biofertilizers and the estimated biogas production. Were also estimated economic viability indicators, such as net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), Payback (PB) and Balance, using a discount rate of 10.38% p.a. The initial investment was estimated at R$ 184,601.84 and the system annual costs were R$ 1.218,12 with maintenance and R$ 18.460,00 with depreciation. The benefit obtained by biofertilizer use was R$ 6.267,05.ano-1 and biogas production equivalent around R$ 24.594,86.ano-1, totaling a revenue of R$ 30.861,91, exhibiting superior benefits annual costs. This study revealed that as much biogas as biofertilizers are not used fully, further demonstrating that the project was oversized in its implementation, considering the amount of existing animals, although there are prospects for increased this sector.

Global warming along with energy demand and rising prices of natural energy resources have motivated studies to find some renewable and clean energy. The use of algae as third generation biofuel can avoid the competition for farmland and algae can be considered as a potential future source of renewable energy. Algae can be used for biogas production through anaerobic digestion (AD). Fucus vesiculosus and Fucus serratus are the two dominating species of brown seaweed growing in the Baltic sea in the southwest of Sweden. Pretreatment can significantly affect the biogas production since hydrolysis of algae cell wall structure is a rate-limiting step in AD process. In this study, four different pretreatments: mechanical, microwave (600W, 2min), ultrasonic (110V, 15min), and microwave combined with ultrasonic (600W, 2min;110V, 15min) were applied to the seaweed and then co-digested with biogas plant leachate. The aim was to investigate the biogas production and methane yield from AD after these pretreatments. The results showed when comparing with mechanical pretreated only, that the ultrasonic, ultrasonic combined with microwave and microwave pretreatments could obtain increased cumulative methane yields with 167%, 185% and 156% , respectively. The maximum methane yield was 260 ml/g∙VS with combined pretreatment after 20 days of digestion. The ultrasonic combined with microwave pretreatment showed a significant improvement of methane yield when comparing with mechanical pretreatment.

La digestion anaérobie représente un élément clé dans la dynamique de développement durable contribuant à la valorisation verte des déchets organiques sous forme de biogaz et d'engrais. Dans le cadre de ce travail de thèse franco-libanais, nous cherchons à valoriser le marc de raisin, déchet majeur et principal sous-produit issu de la viniculture, par la digestion anaérobie, afin de générer de l’énergie dite verte sous forme de méthane. Dans un premier temps, le potentiel méthane du marc de raisin est démontré, validant notre biomasse végétale comme source potentielle d’énergie. Des informations détaillées sur les productions maximales de méthane à partir du marc entier, des pulpes et des pépins, séparément, sont obtenues en mode batch à 37 °C. La faisabilité technique du procédé est alors validée suite à une extrapolation au mode continu. De plus, des essais d’acclimatation du digesteur continu à la température moyenne de la vallée de la Bekaa (25 °C) permettent de simuler et d’adapter le système au milieu libanais. D’autre part, nous avons mené une caractérisation bio-physico-chimique de différents cépages de marcs de raisins en provenance de différentes régions viticoles. La diversité du contenu lignocellulosique et du potentiel méthanogène des substrats choisis a été mise en évidence. Une corrélation négative existe, en particulier, entre le potentiel méthane et les teneurs en lignine et en cellulose. Afin d’intensifier la production de méthane, le dimensionnement des digesteurs anaérobies en mode continu est optimisé en déterminant un optimum de fonctionnement pour une charge appliquée de 3,7 kg DCO m-3 j-1 et un temps de séjour de 20 jours. Enfin, nous évaluons les effets d’une variété de prétraitements (congélation, traitement alcalin, traitement acide, ultrasons et champs électriques pulsés) sur la production de méthane et sur la biodégradabilité des fractions. Le couplage du traitement alcalin à 10% NaOH avec la congélation à -20 °C s’avère être le meilleur procédé d’intensification. / Anaerobic digestion is considered to be a crucial part of a sustainable development strategy, contributing to the green valorization of organic waste as biogas and fertilizers. As part of this doctoral thesis, we explored the valorization of grape pomace, the major waste and main by-product of winemaking, by anaerobic digestion, to generate green energy in the form of methane. Firstly, the methane potential of grape pomace is demonstrated, validating our vegetal biomass as a potential source of energy. Detailed information on the maximum production of methane from whole pomace, pulps and seeds are obtained in batch mode at 37 °C. The technical feasibility of the process is then validated following an extrapolation to the continuous mode. Moreover, the acclimation of the continuous digester at the average temperature of the Beqaa valley (25 °C) allowed to simulate and adapt the current system to the Lebanese environment. On another note, we carried out a bio- physico-chemical characterization of different grape varieties from different wine-growing areas. The diversity of the lignocellulosic content and the methane potential of the selected substrates was highlighted. A negative correlation exists, in particular, between the methane potential and the lignin and cellulose fractions. In order to intensify methane production, we conducted an optimization of anaerobic digesters dimensioning in continuous mode by determining an optimum of operation for an applied load of 3.7 kg COD m-3 d-1 and a residence time of 20 days. Finally, we evaluated the effects of a variety of pretreatments (freezing, alkaline treatment, acid treatment, ultrasounds and pulsed electric fields) on the methane production and the biodegradability of lignocellulosic fractions. The coupling of the alkaline treatment using 10% NaOH with freezing at -20 °C seems to be the best intensification process.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:27:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-02-28Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:16:38Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 bruno_m_me_jabo_prot.pdf: 2616643 bytes, checksum: 97247720aae07e408b197a60a6613f6a (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Neste trabalho avaliou-se o desempenho de reatores anaeróbios de fluxo ascendente com manta de lodo (UASB), em dois estágios, em escala de bancada (volumes de 20 L e 10 L, respectivamente), alimentados com água residuária do beneficiamento de café por via úmida, submetidos à quatro cargas orgânicas volumétricas (COV) de 5,76; 3,62; 3,86 e 2,16 kg DQO total (m3 d)-1 no primeiro reator, R1. As concentrações médias de DQO do afluente variaram de 8626 a 23041 mg L-1, e dos efluentes dos reatores 1 e 2, 1095 a 11506 mg L-1 e de 424 a 9030 mg L-1, respectivamente. As eficiências médias de remoção de DQO total e SST variaram de 66 a 98% e de 93 a 97% respectivamente, no sistema com reatores (UASB) em dois estágios. O teor de metano no biogás variou de 69 a 89% para o reator 1 e de 52 a 73% no reator 2. A produção volumétrica máxima de metano, 0,563 m3 CH4 (m3 reator d)-1 foi obtida com COV de 3,86 kg DQO (m3 d)-1 e TDH de 124 h. Os valores médios de pH variaram na faixa de 4,7 a 7,7 e 4,9 a 8,0 nos efluentes dos reatores 1 e 2, respectivamente. A concentração de ácidos voláteis totais manteve-se estável à níveis inferiores a 200 mg L-1 nos ensaios 2, 3 e 4. As concentrações médias de fenóis totais do afluente variaram de 79,7 a 97,4 mg L-1, e as eficiências médias de remoção no conjunto de reatores UASB em dois estágios variaram de 72 a 90%. / In this work it was evaluated the performance of two stage upflow anaerobic sludge blanquet (UASB), in lab scale, treating a liquid effluent from the coffee pulping, submitted to organic load rate of 5,76; 3,62; 3,86 and 2,16 kg COD (m3 d)-1 in the first reactor. The medium values of total COD affluent varied from 15439 to 23041 mg L-1, and in the effluent from the reactors 1and 2, 1095 to 11506 mg L-1, and 424 to 9030 mg L-1, respectively. The medium values of removal efficiences of total COD and TSS varied from 66 to 98% and 93 to 97%, respectively, in the system of treating with reactors UASB, in two stages. The content of methane varied from 69 to 89% in reactor 1 and 52 to 73% in reactor 2 . The maximum volumetric methane production 0,563 m3 CH4 (m3 reactor d)-1 was obtained with OLR of 3,86 kg COD (m3 d)-1 and HDT of 124 hours. Average pH values ranged from 4,7 to 7,7 and 4,9 to 8,0 for effluents of first and second reactors. Total volatile acid concentration was kept below 200 mg L-1. The medium values of total phenols of affluent ranged from 79,9 to 97,4 mg L-1, and the average removal efficiency ranged from 72 to 90% in the two stages upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB).

Problems about greenhouse gas emissions attributed to cattle production and improvements in the productivity of these animals has been growing and becoming increasingly important. Cattle releases methane as part of their digestive process, and this represents loss of energy for the animal. The decomposition of feces releases methane and it can be recovered by digester and transformed into different types of energy. Thus, aiming to quantify the potential production of enteric methane and anaerobic fecal decomposition, as well as to evaluate ruminal and behavioral parameters of cattle fed with cottonseed and vitamin E. Six cannulated cows (864±16 kg) were distributed in a replicate 3x3 Latin square. Treatments were: 1) control diet; 2) CS: basal diet plus 30% cottonseed and 3) CSVitE: basal diet plus 30% of cottonseed plus 500 UI of vitamin E. Results were compared through orthogonal contrast and values were considered significant when P0,05. No differences were observed for dry matter intake (DMI), as well as digestibility of DM and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Animals supplemented with cottonseed spent more time eating and ruminating and less time in idles. Reduction in the concentration and production of acetate, butyrate and the acetate: propionate ratio was observed in animals fed cottonseed compared to the control. Enteric methane mitigation was observed for the cottonseed treatments compared to the control. Changes in the substrates characteristics used to load the digesters were observed. However, no differences were verified for the total biogas production, methane yield and capacity to recover the energy of the feces in the form of methane. Inclusion of 30% cottonseed can be used as a strategy to mitigate enteric methane, without causing losses in the DMI, nutrients digestibility and anaerobic digestion of feces. In addition, it promoted favorable changes in the ingestive behavior, ruminal fermentation products, as well as in the energy partition of the gastrointestinal tract. Vitamin E when is used as antioxidant had not effect on ruminal fermentation, feeding behavior and feces anaerobic digestion, thus the inclusion is not advised due absence of positive results. / A problemática das emissões de gases de efeito estufa atribuída à produção de bovinos e melhorias na produtividade desses animais vem crescendo e se tornando cada vez mais importante. Bovinos emitem metano como parte do seu processo digestivo, e isto representa perda de energia para o animal. A decomposição das fezes gera metano, este pode ser recuperado por biodigestores e transformado em diferentes tipos de energia. Assim, objetivou-se quantificar o potencial de produção do metano entérico e da decomposição anaeróbia das fezes, bem como avaliar parâmetros ruminais e comportamentais de bovinos alimentados com caroço de algodão e vitamina E. Foram utilizadas seis vacas fistuladas não gestantes e não lactantes (876 kg±16). Os tratamentos foram: 1) Controle: dieta basal; 2) CA: dieta basal mais 30% de caroço de algodão; 3) CAVitE: dieta basal mais 30% de caroço de algodão mais 500 UI vitamina E. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o quadrado latino. Os resultados foram comparados por contrastes ortogonais e foram considerados significantes valores de P0,05. Não foram verificadas diferenças para o consumo de matéria seca (MS), bem como digestibilidade da MS e da fibra em detergente neutro (FDN). Os animais suplementados com caroço de algodão passaram maior tempo comendo e ruminando e menor tempo em ócio. Houve redução na concentração e produção de acetato, butirato e da relação acetato:propionato dos animais que receberam caroço de algodão comparado ao controle. A inclusão do caroço de algodão provocou mitigação das emissões de metano entérico. Houve alteração nas características dos substratos utilizados para abastecer os biodigestores. No entanto, não foram verificadas diferenças para a produção total de biogás, rendimento de metano e capacidade dos biodigestores em recuperar a energia das fezes na forma de metano. A inclusão de 30% caroço de algodão pode ser utilizada como estratégia para mitigar metano entérico, sem causar perdas no consumo, digestibilidade dos alimentos e na biodigestão anaeróbia das fezes. Além disso, sua inclusão promoveu alterações favoráveis no comportamento ingestivo, nos produtos da fermentação ruminal, bem como na partição de energia do trato gastrointestinal. A vitamina E quando utilizada como antioxidante não possui efeitos sobre a fermentação ruminal, comportamento ingestivo e biodigestão anaeróbia das fezes, assim sua inclusão não é indicada devido a ausência de resultados favoráveis a sua utilização.

Neste trabalho a composição do biogás produzido em digestão anaeróbia foi avaliada em função da variação da carga aplicada específica (CAE) medida em termos da relação DQO/sólidos suspensos voláteis. Foram feitos ensaios de digestão anaeróbia utilizando vinhaça como fonte de carbono e lodo adaptado proveniente de reator UASB em 10 frascos reagentes contendo as seguintes variações de CAE: 0,20; 0,28; 0,34; 0,55; 0,95; 3,15; 6,58; 7,00; 9,60; 12,98 g.O2/g.SSV. Os melhores resultados obtidos com relação à produção volumétrica de biogás foram 263,79 mL de volume acumulado de metano para a CAE de 0,34 g.O2/g.SSV, e uma produção máxima acumulada de hidrogênio de 558,06 mL para a CAE de 6,58 g.O2/g.SSV. O resultado não se repetiu com relação ao rendimento de produção de biogás, atingindo um máximo rendimento de 80,68 LCH4/L vinhaça para a CAE de 0,20 g.O2/g.SSV, e 7,98 LH2/L vinhaça para a CAE 3,15 g.O2/g.SSV. A variação da CAE também teve influência direta na rota metabólica da digestão anaeróbia, alterando a concentração de metabólitos dissolvidos. / In this research, the composition of the biogas produced in anaerobic digestion was evaluated according to the variation of the applied load specific (ALS) measured in terms of the ratio COD/volatile suspended solids. Assays were done using anaerobic digestion of vinasse as a source of carbon and sludge obtained from UASB reactor adapted in 10 bottles for the following of ALSs: 0,20, 0,28, 0,34, 0,55, 0,95; 3,15, 6,58, 7,00, 9,60, 12,98 g.O2/g.VSS. The best results concerning to the volumetric biogas production were 263,79 ml cumulative volume of methane for ALS equal to 0,34 g.O2/g.VSS, and a maximum cumulative hydrogen production of 558,06 mL for ALS of 6,58 g.O2/g.VSS. The same was not observed with respect to yield biogas production, reaching a maximum yield of 80.68 LCH4/Lvinasse for ALS of 0,20 g.O2/g.VSS and 7,98 LH2/Lvinasse for ALS of 3,15 g.O2/g.VSS. The variation of ALS also has a direct influence on the metabolic pathway of anaerobic digestion, altering the concentration of dissolved metabolites.

The use of alternative feedstock sources to enhance the energy production of anaerobic systems, and thus their economic value, is one of the current research areas in the field of bioenergy production. Marine biomass represents a unique source of organic matter for the optimisation of anaerobic digestion systems and can be regarded as a sustainable alternative to purposely grown energy crops requiring significant amounts of water, fertiliser and land for their cultivation. Seaweeds are of particular interest as they are characterised by high biomass yields and interesting conversion rates. In temperate seas, brown seaweed species generally dominate the flora and their relative abundance on the sublittoral zone of the British coastline make them a substrate of choice for anaerobic digestion. However, little information is available on commercial-scale anaerobic digestion of seaweed for biogas production and the potential factors that could impair its successful conversion. This work was proposed in order to establish the potential and optimise the use of seaweed as an additional source of organic matter for anaerobic digesters. The study also investigated the use of the Anaerobic Digestion Model No.1 (ADM1) as a platform for process simulation. The model original structure is inadequate to accurately represent the anaerobic co-digestion of seaweed and was therefore updated with the addition of specific processes. The study was carried out in three main experimental stages. In a first stage, the effect of seaweed salinity (represented by sodium ions) on anaerobic digestion was investigated using a mesophilic laboratory-scale anaerobic digester. It was found that a rapid increase in sodium ion levels can negatively impact on biogas production and result in the accumulation of volatile fatty acids. The ADM1 does not originally take into account the inhibitory effect of sodium and was therefore modified to include a function representing the effect of sodium ions on the rate of acetate uptake. The extended model was able to reproduce experimental observations and was used to predict the effect of sodium ions in the presence of other process inhibitors. Microbial adaptation to salinity was also investigated during batch assays. It was found that a suitable period of adaptation can significantly reduce the adverse effect of salinity on methanogens. The phenomenon was successfully implemented in the model through the addition of a specific inhibition function and the calibration of kinetic parameters. The second stage of this research focused on the effect and mode of action of phlorotannin (a phenolic compound found exclusively in brown seaweed) on mixed microbial cultures through the monitoring of intracellular material leakage and transmission electron microscopy observations. Results suggested that phlorotannin induces strong extra- and intra-cellular effects on cells exposed to the compound, thus adversely impacting on energy requirements and final methane yields. The effect of phlorotannin was found to be dependent on both the degree of polymerisation of the compound and the morphology of microorganisms. Furthermore, the effect of phlorotannin during the anaerobic co-digestion of brown seaweed (Laminaria digitata) and vegetable residues was also investigated. Experimental results were successfully modelled using an extensively modified version of the ADM1, which introduces an uncompetitive function to the rate of acetate uptake in order to represent the inhibition of methanogenesis by phlorotannin. The model was also updated with a combination module for the simulation of co-digestion processes. The third stage focused on establishing operational guidelines for the anaerobic co-digestion of brown seaweed and non-saline feedstocks. Results suggested that although seaweed can be an alternative organic substrate in anaerobic digestion systems, phlorotannin content might limit its use for commercial-scale application. Whilst this study identified salinity and phlorotannin as key barriers to the use of brown seaweed as a substrate for anaerobic systems, the adaptation of operating conditions to favour microbial adaptation could lead to its effective use in large-scale applications.