PhD scholarship in Systematic quantification of biogas potential in urban organic waste

3/30155
label Burse autorenew 2025-09-29, 17:01 history_edu Maria Dumitru
The Department of Environmental Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is seeking a PhD student in relation to development of analytical methods enabling systematic quantification of biogas production and carbon and nutrient pools in urban organic waste streams. The PhD fellowship is part of a multi-disciplinary research project BIOCHAIN coordinated by University of Southern Denmark.

The main focus of the PhD project is to develop fast and reliable analytical methods for the systematic quantification of chemical components and organic matter pools and assessment of the biogas potential in urban organic waste streams in Denmark. The candidate is expected to work in close cooperation with a PhD student and a Postdoc at University of Southern Denmark (SDU), where research activities will focus on non-urban organic materials.



Responsibilities and tasks
According to the renewable energy targets set by the Danish government, biogas will become a major contributor to green energy production in the near future. Technology and resource management developments are needed for making large-scale biogas economically sustainable. In this context, better data about organic material composition is needed to determine the potential for biogas production, while improved analytical techniques are needed for optimizing process operations.

The PhD will plan and perform sampling of urban organic waste covering different socio-geographical conditions in Denmark. Batch tests will be used for determination of the biogas potential of the organic materials and the influence of pre-treatments. Based on an extensive review the existing methods, the PhD will develop an analytical procedure for rapid characterization of organic carbon pools in urban biomass used as feed for biogas production. The results will be organized in a sample archive. The outcome of the PhD will support other activities within the BIOCHAIN project, including value chain analysis and LCA of biogas production.