Anaerobic digestion is an important renewable energy technology that has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the development of a sustainable energy system. However, as in many research fields, the research is extensive and fragmented, making it difficult to gain a comprehensive understanding of the technology and hindering progress.
Therefore, we concluded a large scoping review of the entire technology, from pretreatment to gas utilization, using a systematic PRISMA protocol, aiming to provide a comprehensive overview of the anaerobic digestion process. In addition, this research serves to highlight issues in the current research environment, to identify limitations. This information can serve as the basis for future standardization of work to increase the efficiency of biogas research.
In this paper, we highlighted multiple issues. For one, the field suffers from a lack of standardization in reporting and no clear definitions for certain terms. This leads to confusion and issues classifying information. This problem is only exacerbated by an exponential growth in published research which indicates a larger issue in science.
Overall, there is an urgent need to harmonize work and facilitate knowledge transfer to go beyond the traditional paper system. We need to transition to a more updatable and modular workflow using modern technologies for the increase in the standards for accessibility and visibility of work. By using open science and working with modern scalable database systems, science could benefit by reducing the burden on researchers and facilitating progress.
Citation: Bercy, A.; Roubík, H. A call for modernisation of science, the case of anaerobic digestion: A scoping review. Energy Conversion and Management. 2024. 316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2024.118816
BRT Authors: Ing. Antoine Bercy and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hynek Roubík
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