OVERVIEW OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION TECHNOLOGIES IN EUROPE

ANAEROBIC digestion technology development has been underway in Europe for food residuals for over 30 years, driven by the issue of dwindling landfill space. Three distinct phases of technology development have occurred during these three decades. First, European governments funded university and academic research to initiate anaerobic digestion technology advancements, which resulted in a wide range of laboratory testing over about ten years. Second, pilot and demonstration-scale facilities were developed in the 1980s and into the 1990s. Third, this work led to the commercialization phase that was launched in the 1990s and continuing to today.