Anaerobic Digestion Network

This proposal is for a Network in Anaerobic Digestion (AD) that will promote and facilitate the scientific research needed to support the UK's growing AD industry. The research will both address immediate challenges in terms of improving process efficiencies and broadening the range of acceptable feedstocks; and encourage diversification into the novel area of industrial anaerobic biotechnology through the development of new bio-based products and processes. The underpinning research required is interdisciplinary, with molecular biologists and microbial ecologists working on the role of metabolic pathways and community structure, through to process scientists and technologists translating these insights into practical processes. Process engineers will consider how these can best be implemented in novel reactor designs and operating protocols, and how to maximise resource efficiency by advance process integration and optimisation; while environmental and social scientists will analyse the potential benefits and impacts of these new technologies and evaluate their implications for industry, society and the environment. The purpose of the Network is to create an integrated AD research community which draws these specialists together. To achieve this, support is needed for integration and expansion of the existing research base, along with effective means of dissemination and stronger engagement of the academic community with the various industry stakeholders. The Network will encourage academic/industry interaction by means of themed workshops organised in conjunction with the main trade associations, including the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA) and the Renewable Energy Association (REA). All potential Network members were initially canvassed concerning their interest in proposed working groups. More than 120 positive responses have been received from ~85 organisations (~70 academic, ~50 industry). Once officially launched, the Network is expected to expand further as research students and junior researchers become involved in its activities. The Network itself will be based around research-focused working groups with co-Chairs from industry and academia. These will identify the research needed to support end-user businesses in developing competitive bio-based technologies in both the bioenergy and biorefinery fields. Proof-of-concept funding will be provided for a range of highly innovative projects. This with other networking activities will encourage the formation of cross-disciplinary consortia, and thus put UK teams in a prime position to respond to national and international research calls such as the BBSRC IBBE Catalyst and the EU's Horizon 2020 programme. Through its prestigious International Advisory Group it will also raise the profile of UK scientists and help to establish the UK's position as a leader in this branch of industrial biotechnology. The Network is thus a vital element in developing the UK's position as a world leader in innovative anaerobic technology with the potential to open up new markets and research areas. A 5-year duration has been chosen to ensure long-term development of strong collaborative research at both UK and international levels, reinforced by research events, secondments and exchanges. The proposed scale is essential both to encompass all the required disciplines and types of expertise, and to secure the establishment of an effective and interactive AD research community that will endure beyond the BBSRC funding.

The Network addresses scientific and technical challenges in the development of anaerobic biotechnology, drawing on the expertise of leading academics underpinned by new tools and concepts. As well as enhancing the performance of anaerobic digestion (AD) as a second generation bioenergy process, these open up new areas of application in the creation of value-added bio-based products, widening the process scope to a biorefinery. The Network promotes the use of meta-omic approaches to explore systems biology and community structure, and map its metabolic function. By these techniques a fundamental understanding of interactions related to product groups can be achieved, leading to the development of a synthetic biology with enhanced functionality and control. Scientists using these techniques will be able to develop hypothesis-driven research, in conjunction with engineering academics who will be faced with the practicalities of design and operation of such systems. Key challenges include the creation of alternative products from the intermediate VFA pool generated in the conventional AD process. Concepts such as bioelectrochemical harvesting, reductive hydrogenation and chain elongation and formation of PHA polymers create the prospect of advanced liquid fuels and bioplastics by innovative manipulation of metabolic pathways. Bio-molecular tools open up the possibility of improved diagnostics and advanced on-line process control, topics of immediate interest to industry. The Network is expansive and includes a knowledge base on alternative biomass sources. Process technologists are thus brought together with plant breeders, algologists, and soil scientists to develop sustainable feedstocks, either directly or using innovative pre-treatments. The technical agenda will be formulated by industry/academic working groups funnelling information and suggestions to steering and international advisory groups, who will sift these for areas in which major advances can be made.

The Anaerobic Digestion Network has been specifically planned and designed to achieve the following impacts:
- It will lead to major improvements in interaction between the key players in the field of anaerobic biotechnology. This sector is currently fragmented, with poor links both between research disciplines (fundamental/applied, upstream/downstream) and between the academic and business communities. The latter represents a particular challenge due to the high proportion of SMEs with little expertise in making use either of research output or of the various sources of UK and EU funding designed to provide access to research. The Network activities and resources are explicitly design to address these issues and the level of interest already shown indicates a high likelihood of success from this timely initiative.
- It will facilitate a step-change in integrated cross-disciplinary research involving biosciences, biochemistry and engineering in combination with marine and agro-technologies and environmental and social sciences. These interactions will initially be promoted through the interlinked working groups, and subsequently through the preparation of joint project proposals and formation of consortia to address major research challenges in the field.
- It will make a major contribution to establishing the UK as an internationally recognised partner of choice in the area of anaerobic biotechnologies. This will be achieved both by the formation of a unique interlinked community of scientific expertise; and by promotion of high-level interaction with a spectrum of leading international scientists on the International Advisory Group.
- In particular, it will showcase UK expertise in research utilising genomic, systems biology and synthetic biology approaches; while also driving forward the research agenda in these areas by creating an ideal locus for the identification of links between genetics and functionality, supported by the two-way flow of data between 'deep science' approaches and pilot or full-scale industrial practice.
- It will provide a significant boost to innovative cross-disciplinary research through the provision of proof-of-concept funding to stimulate the exploration of new ideas and the generation of initial data as a basis for constructing competitive research funding proposals
- It will facilitate the construction of high-quality full-scale consortium proposals to a range of national and international funding sources, including the IBBE Catalyst and the EU Horizon 2020 programme.
-It will promote knowledge exchange and the translation of research from fundamental science to practical applications in the field of applied biotechnology, creating business opportunities for industry and SME partners to develop novel bio-based products and provide process control tools based on new concepts of metabolic functionality.
- It will provide a source of evidence and expertise in support of UK and EU policy in the fields of industrial biotechnology and bioenergy, through the direct participation of bodies such as the Environment Agency (EA), the Waste and Resources Action Programmme (WRAP) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
- It will support the personal development of Network members at all levels, by providing opportunities for interaction between industry and academic researchers, and creating lasting links (both nationally and internationally) between different disciplines and communities.