Remarkable contribution of a Ukrainian scientist to research on biogas production at the Czech University of Life Sciences

Dr Yelizaveta Chernysh came to the Czech Republic from the Sumy State University in Ukraine last year in March and immediately took on a long term collaboration with the Biogas Research Team led by docent Hynek Roubík from the Faculty of Tropical Agriculture CZU. “In the Czech Republic, I especially like Prague and its history, but my main goal has always been continuing my research,” said Dr Chernysh.

Together with the Biogas Research Team, Dr Chernysh is working on the Czech-Ukrainian project regarding biogas production and ways of recycling chemical waste, which arise from, for example, the manufacture of industrial fertilisers.

 

“I deal mainly with processes of anaerobic digestion/fermentation of organic waste for biogas production. Other than that I am interested in the possibility of using phosphogypsum. I have dedicated more than 10 years already to research on phosphogypsum recycling in Ukraine. Now I am continuing it here in the Czech Republic. For example, in the Sumy region there are as many as 15 million tonnes of this by-product, which is, in all fairness, waste, at the landfills. Given that docent Hynek Roubík already has some experience with recycling phosphogypsum and its usage in the manufacture of eco-friendly fertilisers and iin the bioprocesses for producing natural gas, I expect that our research will have valuable results,” continued Dr Chernysh.

 

The storage and recycling of phosphogypsum, which arises mainly as a by-product of manufacturing industrial phosphoric fertilisers, is a worldwide problem. It also exists in Poland, Spain and Germany, for example. So, the Biogas Research Team focusses on making this by-product further usable. “There are many ways of using phosphogypsum. According to us, it can be used, for example, to support the growth of bacteria in scope of anaerobic fermentation, which in turn will produce biogas. And, as I have already mentioned, we want to achieve the benefit of recycling it for using phosphogypsum in the manure. It is a very current topic from a food security perspective and also from the perspective of so-called green energy. We are, therefore, trying to combine all these topics under one project, with the help of bioprocesses.”

The results of the research could contribute to the reduction of dumpsite with phosphogypsum. In fact, they are often open and can cause chemical emissions to the surroundings. The production of biogas from anaerobic digestion also reduces the greenhouse gasses, and for this reason it can also positively influence the so-called circular bioeconomy. As a result, the findings of this research can be used not only in agriculture, but also in the chemical industry.

From May 2023 onwards, Dr Chernysh has the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme. It is a reference programme of the European Union that supports talented scientists, and recently has also aimed to support scientists from war-affected Ukraine: “I am very grateful that received this support. It allows me to not just continue my research for at least two more years, but also makes it easier to fund it and deal with the expenses.”

Dr Yelizaveta Chernysh originally came to Czechia with her sister and her children. Her sister’s husband, however, stayed in Ukraine, which made her sister’s life in Prague difficult and more expensive. In the end, she decided to go back home: It is very hard. Moreover, Sumy is approximately just 50 km away from the Russian borders. Which is why I immensely appreciate the friendly aid from the whole Biogas Research Team and, of course, that from the Czech University of Life Sciences. I believe that results of our research will be benefit all sides that are participating,” adds Dr Chernysh in the end

Author: Věra Klimšová                                                        Translator: Ranjodh Singh Arora

Photo: Petr Zmek

 

 

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