The invention relates to a method for producing biogas from lignocellulose-containing biomass, preferably from straw, and to a plant for carrying out said method.

The present invention relates to a method for cultivating a microorganism capable of utilizing an organic feedstock, comprising the steps of: (i) cultivating the microorganism in one or more bioreactors (1); (ii) capturing CO.sub.2 from the one or more bioreactors (1) and reducing the CO.sub.2 to an organic feedstock in a reduction unit (3); and (iii) feeding at least a part of the organic feedstock from the reduction unit (3) into one or more bioreactors (1).

A methanisation unit includes a culture substrate to be used in a method for methanising liquid effluents with structured packing, the culture substrate being made up of more than 50% of wood elements, of which at least one dimension is greater than 80 mm, the porosity of the culture substrate being greater than 50%. Embodiments relate to a method for preparing a culture substrate intended to be used in a methanisation unit according to the invention, and a methanisation method in a methanisation unit.

The invention relates to a biogas plant for fermenting organic materials and for generating biogas, having a plurality of containers and/or tanks, which form at least one slurry store (7), at least one fermenter container (8) downstream of the slurry store (7), at least one post-fermenter container (9) downstream of the fermenter container (8) and/or at least one final storage container (10) downstream of the fermenter container (8). According to the invention it is provided that the entire functional biogas plant is, as a floating biogas plant, a component of a one-part or of a multi-part connected floating body.

[Problem]

To provide a microorganism deodorizing device capable of sufficiently exhibiting a decomposition-deodorization function while suppressing an increase in manufacturing cost, even in a large-scale device including a large-sized deodorizing tank.

[Solution]

A deodorizing tank 1 of a microorganism deodorizing device 1A forms an airflow passage 20 through which air passes from a chamber unit 3 to an opening portion 19; and the airflow passage 20 is provided with a deodorizing unit 5 in which a foam material 17 is filled, a ventilation resistance layer 4 arranged close to or adjacent to the deodorizing unit 5 and configured to increase ventilation resistance of the air flowing through the airflow passage 20, and a chamber unit 3 arranged close to or adjacent to the deodorizing unit 5 and/or the ventilation resistance layer 4 as a chamber which temporarily stores the air fed to the deodorizing tank 1; and the air is fed to the deodorizing unit 5 in a state of being spread in the chamber unit 3 over a substantially entire surface of the deodorizing unit 5 as a result of that the ventilation resistance of flow of the air flowing through the airflow passage 20 is increased by the ventilation resistance layer 4.

A waste treatment system comprises: a first hydrothermal treatment device for performing hydrothermal treatment of waste; a first solid-liquid separation device for separating a first reactant of the first hydrothermal treatment device into a solid and a liquid or slurry; a second hydrothermal treatment device for performing hydrothermal treatment of the solid of the first reactant; a second solid-liquid separation device for separating a second reactant of the second hydrothermal treatment device into a solid and a liquid or slurry; and a fermentation device for fermenting the liquid or the slurry of the first reactant and the liquid or the slurry of the second reactant.

A readily erectable installation for recycling organic waste into biogas and liquid fertilizer, on an industrial scale, implementing essentially anaerobic digestion processes, is described; the readily erectable installation includes: a cylindrically shaped assemblable enclosure and a pliant collapsible anaerobic digester, suspendable from the enclosure; a compact kit-of-parts for erecting the installation and respective method using the readily erectable installation for recycling organic waste into biogas and liquid fertilizer are described.

Culture systems and methods of using same. The systems include a housing defining an inner space. The inner space includes a headspace and at least a portion of a reservoir. A surface for immobilizing cells is moveable between the headspace and the reservoir. The systems can be used for coculturing methanotrophs and phototrophs for processing biogas and wastewater, particularly from anaerobic digesters.

Provided in the present invention is an incubator capable of producing pressure fluctuations. The incubator comprises an incubator body and a variable pressure apparatus, the incubator body having a variable pressure interface, the variable pressure apparatus being connected to the incubator body by means of the variable pressure interface, and the variable pressure apparatus being used for inputting fluctuating or constant air pressure into the incubator body.

The invention includes methods, apparatus, and systems for the conversion of hydrogen together with carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide to methane using a population of microbes and a defined liquid medium. The microbial population maintains the amount of nutrients in the liquid medium within a relative range without requiring replenishment of the nutrients. Methods and apparatus for enriching the microbial population are also described.