Syntrophy in biogas: the key relationship between bacteria and archaea

Sintrofia en biogás · artículo Smallops sobre la relación entre bacterias y arqueas

Syntrophy is the mutually dependent relationship between acetogenic bacteria and methanogenic archaea that makes anaerobic digestion possible. The bacteria can only degrade fatty acids (such as propionic acid) if the archaea remove the hydrogen they produce; if H₂ builds up, the reaction becomes thermodynamically impossible and the process blocks. Propionic acid is the key indicator […]

What is methanogenesis: archaea, biochemical pathways and operational control

Qué es la metanogénesis · artículo Smallops sobre arqueas, rutas bioquímicas y control operativo

Methanogenesis is the last of the four phases of anaerobic digestion and the one that produces methane. It is carried out by methanogenic archaea, of two types: acetoclastic (from acetic acid) and hydrogenotrophic (from H₂ and CO₂). They are slow microorganisms, sensitive to pH, temperature, redox potential and free ammonia, which is why methanogenesis is […]

History of biogas: from the 19th century to today’s industrial plants

Historia del biogás · artículo Smallops sobre la evolución del biogás del siglo XIX a hoy

Biogas is not a new technology: the first documented digester dates from 1859, in a leper colony in Bombay. Since then it has gone from solving urban sanitation (the large wastewater plants of the 20th century) to becoming a piece of the energy transition, driven by the 1970s oil crisis and German leadership. Today Europe […]

Anaerobic digester instability: symptoms, causes and prevention

Inestabilidad en el digestor anaerobio · artículo Smallops sobre síntomas, causas y prevención

An unstable digester is one that has lost the balance between the bacteria that produce acids and the archaea that produce methane. The symptoms appear in a predictable order: first the propionic acid and the FOS/TAC ratio rise, then biogas production falls and the pH drops; if nothing is done, the reactor acidifies and collapses. […]

Biogas process engineering: what it is and why it decides your plant’s performance

Ingeniería de procesos de biogás · artículo Smallops sobre qué es y por qué decide el rendimiento de la planta

Biogas process engineering is the discipline that designs and optimises what happens inside the digester: the biology and the process conditions (substrates, load, retention time, temperature, control), not the civil works or the mechanics. It is what decides whether a plant delivers 100 % of its potential or stays at 70 %. Unlike EPC engineering, […]

Biogas composition: CH4, CO2, H2S and minor compounds

Composición del biogás · artículo Smallops sobre CH4, CO2, H2S y compuestos minoritarios

Biogas is a gaseous mixture dominated by methane (50-65 %) and CO₂ (35-45 %), with a handful of minor components that decide its quality and treatment cost: H₂S (50-6,000 ppmv), ammonia, siloxanes, VOCs, water vapour and traces. Methane is the energy; the rest are problems to manage. Its calorific value is around 6 kWh/Nm³ at […]

Anaerobic co-digestion: fundamentals, benefits and mixture design

Codigestión anaerobia · artículo Smallops sobre fundamentos, ventajas y diseño de mezclas

Anaerobic co-digestion means digesting two or more substrates at the same time in the same reactor instead of just one. Well designed, it balances the digester’s diet: one substrate provides what the other lacks (carbon, nitrogen, moisture, micronutrients), which stabilises the process and raises methane production by 15-30 % compared with mono-digestion. The key lies […]

Types of anaerobic digesters: CSTR, UASB, plug-flow and hybrid configurations

Tipos de digestores anaerobios · artículo Smallops sobre configuraciones CSTR, UASB, plug-flow y híbridas

There is no universal digester: the right configuration depends on the substrate, the scale and the objective. CSTR reactors (fully mixed) are the standard for agro-industrial and livestock waste; UASB reactors treat industrial wastewater at high speed; plug-flow reactors suit very solid substrates; covered lagoons are the low-cost, high-volume option; two-stage configurations separate phases for […]

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