A bridge between research and commercial scale: our experience at the IWA AD-19 in Valencia
JUNE 22, 2026
A couple of weeks ago we were at the 19th IWA World Conference on Anaerobic Digestion, held in Valencia, and we came back with our batteries fully charged. Very interesting presentations, stimulating conversations, experts from all over the world sharing knowledge and meeting with old and new friends.
Workshop: From Research to Industrial Scale
On Tuesday we had the privilege of participating in the workshop "Bridging Research and Full-Scale Practices in Sewage Sludge Anaerobic Digestion", a session that lived up to its title, building a real bridge between lab research and full-scale plants.
The workshop was inaugurated by S. Alonso and coordinated by E. Zuriaga, both from FACSA. It achieved a perfect combination of academia and industry with a luxury panel that included J. Lema, H. Carrere, S.I. Pérez-Elvira, D. Miguel, D. Polanco, D. Parry, S. McClelland, D. Bolzonella, I. Pastor and JB. Van Lier.
The session began by identifying the barriers that slow down technology transfer in the water sector, to progressively close the focus on anaerobic digestion: first the sludge pretreatment strategies, then a specific block on thermal hydrolysis, and finally real success stories in operating plants. The second part of the workshop explored anaerobic digestion configurations beyond the conventional CSTR, and the day closed with a panel discussion with researchers, technology providers and operators.
The success story of thermal hydrolysis
teCH4+ presented, together with FACSA, the "Success case 1: Sewage Sludge Thermal Hydrolysis — Performance and operational experience at full scale", sharing real data from the thermal hydrolysis plant of the Copero WWTP in Seville.
The congress: three years of real results on the table
During the congress proper, and in collaboration with Global Omnium and SA Agricultores de la Vega, we wanted to bring the "Fueling Sustainability" conference motto to the field of facts. We did so via the oral presentation "Sustainability in action: three years of operational experience with a full-scale thermal hydrolysis plant at the Pinedo WWTP."
The Pinedo WWTP, the largest in Valencia, plays a vital role in safeguarding the biodiversity of the Albufera Natural Park while providing treated water and high-quality biosolids for rice farmers in the area. To optimize this cycle, a teCH4+ thermal hydrolysis plant was integrated in the sludge line as a pre-treatment to anaerobic digestion.
The full-scale operating results show that technical robustness and sustainability go hand in hand:
- Complete hygienisation achieved in all hydrolysed sludge samples, according to the microbiological indicators selected to ensure pathogen reduction.
- Increased energy yield. Methanogenic potential (BMP) test data confirms an increase in methane production of more than 30%, resulting in increased on-site power generation.
- Self-sufficiency and efficiency. During the energy efficiency tests, the plant recorded a specific consumption of 0.124 kg of steam per kg of treated sludge. Most notably, all the steam is generated from the engines hot exhaust gases, without the need to burn biogas in the hybrid boiler, making thermal hydrolysis an energy self-sufficient process.
This conference reaffirm something we firmly believe: that research has to be translated into robust, efficient and economically viable solutions on an industrial scale. Because being a reliable bridge between the university and the commercial reality is the raison d'être of teCH4+.
Thank you to the organizers and participants for generating an environment of trust and camaraderie in which it is much easier to share knowledge and generate good conversations.
See you at the AD-20 in Bucaramanga (Colombia)!
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