Gonzalo Agustin Martinez

Technical feasibility study on the valorization of an agro-industrial/urban waste/by-product through the production of organic acids and/or biogas.

A good starting point to approach the world of fermentations, evaluating different organic matrices as substrates to produce: a) short or medium chain carboxylic acids (from acetic to octanoic) and/or b) biogas rich in methane. You will learn to:

1. characterize the waste/by-products in terms of dry weight and volatile solids;
2.  set up and monitor experiments (volume and composition of biogas produced, concentration of organic acids produced), in which the main factors and operational parameters of fermentations are tested (inoculum, substrate concentration, pH, temperature, etc.);
3. Use analytical instruments (HPLC-RID and/or GC-FID and/or GC-TCD);
4. analyze and interpret data and trends;
5. optionally/eventually, the student could carry out a preliminary economic feasibility study of the process under study. 

This thesis is connected to the teachings of the courses:

• “BIOTECHNOLOGICAL VALORIZATION OF WASTE AND ORGANIC EFFLUENTS M” (73286; 3 credits) which belongs to the study plan (as an elective course) of the Master's Degree in Environmental and Territory Engineering
• Biotechnology, for different study plans (Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, Industrial Chemistry, etc.)