Li, Yuxuan;
Campos, Luiza C;
Hu, Yukun;
(2025)
The role of sludge microstructure in enhancing anaerobic digestion: a comprehensive review combining bibliometric and experimental insights.
Environment, Development and Sustainability
10.1007/s10668-025-06702-6.
(In press).
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Abstract
The increasing generation of organic waste driven by global population growth and industrialization necessitates sustainable management solutions. Anaerobic digestion (AD) stands out as an effective technology, converting organic waste into biogas and nutrient-rich digestate. This review integrates a bibliometric analysis of 841 peer-reviewed articles with detailed experimental insights from the 50 most-cited studies published between 2020 and 2024, focusing specifically on sludge microstructure’s role in enhancing AD performance. Bibliometric results highlight dominant research themes such as microbial community dynamics (32%), operational parameters (24%), biochar integration (22%), and co-digestion strategies (22%). Approximately 65% of experimental studies are predominantly at laboratory scale, with limited pilot-scale validation, underscoring a significant gap in the validation of laboratory findings at pilot and industrial scales. Experimental studies further demonstrate that sludge microstructure significantly influences microbial activity, and biogas yields through targeted pretreatment, biochar supplementation, optimal operational conditions, and strategic co-digestion. The integration of bibliometric and experimental evidence offers a novel dual-perspective approach that not only maps prevailing research trends but also connects them directly to measurable performance outcomes. This comprehensive framework clearly identifies critical knowledge gaps and offers actionable research priorities aimed at improving the scalability, economic viability, and environmental sustainability of AD technologies.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The role of sludge microstructure in enhancing anaerobic digestion: a comprehensive review combining bibliometric and experimental insights |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10668-025-06702-6 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-025-06702-6 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Sludge microstructure, Microbial activity, Waste management, Bibliometric analysis, Bioenergy |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Civil, Environ and Geomatic Eng |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10213851 |
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