The SEED Center is pleased to announce the doctoral defense of Mohammad Bardi, titled “Advancing Anaerobic Digestion – From Pre-treatment to Applying Additives: Investigating the Synergistic Effects of Hydrostatic Pressure in Ultrasonic Pretreatment, Biochar, Micronutrients, and CO₂ Enrichment.”

The defense will take place on Friday, 10 October at 13:00 (CEST) at the Chair of Urban Water Systems Engineering, TUM Garching. Those who wish to attend remotely can request access to the Zoom link. To request a link, please contact Bardi at m.j.bardi(at)tum.de.

In this dissertation, Bardi explores innovative strategies to enhance the performance and resilience of anaerobic digestion (AD) systems through a combination of advanced pre-treatment techniques and the use of targeted additives. The research demonstrates how pressure-assisted ultrasonication can transform pre-treatment from an energy-neutral to an energy-positive process while improving specific methane yield. It further highlights how the characteristics of biochar, influenced by pyrolysis temperature, can significantly affect methane production and process stability.

The study also investigates micronutrient availability, emphasizing that bioavailability - rather than total concentration - determines AD efficiency. Finally, the work presents promising results on CO₂ enrichment, which was shown to accelerate reaction kinetics, substantially increase methane yields, and support recovery in systems inhibited by ammonia stress.

The defense will be examined by Prof. Dr. Konrad Koch (Technical University of Munich), Prof. Nigus Gabbiye Habtu (Bahir Dar University), and Dr. Yadira Bajón Fernández (Cranfield University).

All SEED members are warmly invited to attend and support this milestone event!