Introduction

More than 140 billion tons of organic wastes including agricultural and municipal waste streams are produced annually in the world representing an untapped biomass resource. Utilizing these traditional wastes as biomass resources can significantly contribute towards meeting the ever-growing demand for energy while alleviating the negative impact on the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emission and protecting water resources. However, less than 10% of the waste’s streams are currently utilized for energy production and other usage. Diverse waste streams, relatively small amount of individual wastes, logistics and cost of collection, and transportation and lack of public awareness are the main factors that lead to low utilization of waste streams. Addressing these issues creates a great opportunity for both scientific and industrial communities to make significant contribution to global sustainable development.

Therefore, the mission of the Michigan State University Anaerobic Digestion Research and Education Center (MSU ADREC) is to provide platform for multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, and multi-national collaborations that develop sustainable waste-to-resource solutions to address current and future waste utilization challenges. The research and development activities in the center are focusing on developing the technologies that are able to economically address waste utilization needs of our global community. The specific objectives are to: 1) develop novel waste-to-resource technologies capable to convert organic wastes into value-added products, 2) fulfill commercialization and technology transfer of new waste-to-resource concepts, and 3) educate the next generation of engineers, scientists and policymakers on waste utilization design and practice.

Facilities for the ADREC cover a total of over 6,000 sq. ft. with:

  • Two laboratories
  • Large pilot facilities (two with 3,000 sq. ft. each)
  • A constant temperature room for small anaerobic biogas assays
  • A 35-person conference facility 

Follow this link to their website to learn more: https://www.egr.msu.edu/bae/adrec/

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