UPM and UCA researchers use dark fermentation to co-process brewery wastewater and municipal sludge, generating green hydrogen and volatile fatty acids while demonstrating a circular economy approach with predictive modelling for scale-up.
There’s a real buzz in the air when it comes to global hydrogen demand—industries are racing toward net-zero targets, but there’s a catch: sustainable production methods still have quite a way to go. Surprisingly, researchers are turning waste into resources, tapping into something we once considered a burden: brewery effluent and urban sludge. A dedicated team from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and Universidad de Cádiz (UCA) is showing us how co-processing these waste streams through dark fermentation not only makes use of overlooked organic matter but also generates green hydrogen and volatile fatty acids (VFAs). This exciting lab-scale proof-of-concept…
