On April 3rd, from 9:30 to 11:30, a seminar titled “Biogas upgrading coupled with wastewater treatment in algal-bacterial photobioreactors” will take place in Room Fassò (Building 4A – Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32 – Milan).
The seminar will be conducted by María del Rosario Rodero (postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Sustainable Processes of the University of Valladolid, Spain).

Abstract

The intensification of the symbiosis between microalgae and heterotrophic/chemoautotrophic bacteria in photobioreactors represents an innovative platform for the simultaneous removal of CO₂ and H₂S from biogas. In these systems, microalgae use the light energy to fix the CO₂ via photosynthesis with the subsequent generation of oxygen. This oxygen is used for the oxidation of H₂S to sulfate. This biotechnology can also support the recovery of nutrients from wastewaters in the form of biomass, which could be used as biofertilizer. This lecture aims at providing an overview of the latest advances made in the photosynthetic biogas upgrading field. Particular attention is devoted to summarizing the key operational and environmental parameters impacting the microalgae-based biogas upgrading.

Speaker’s bio

María del Rosario Rodero is a postdoctoral researcher Margarita Salas at the Institute of Sustainable Processes of the University of Valladolid, Spain. She is a member of the Young Water Professionals Spanish Chapter, where she currently collaborates in the training area. María del Rosario Rodero studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Granada (Spain), and holds a PhD in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the University of Valladolid (Spain). She has received the “María Francisca García Usach” award from the DAM Chair for the Best Doctoral Thesis in Sustainable Management and Wastewater Resource Recovery in Spain. Her research mainly focuses on biological processes for converting waste gases, such as biogas, into value-added bioproducts.