Dr. Wolfgang Merkle

Experience

• Postdoc
  University of Hohenheim, State Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy
  03 / 2017 - 12 / 2019
• PhD Student
  University of Hohenheim, State Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy
  07 / 2013 - 03 / 2017

Education and Continuing education

Education

• Master of Science / Biobased Products and Bioenergy
  University of Hohenheim
  10 / 2011 - 07 / 2013
• Bachelor of Science / Biobased Products and Bioenergy
  University of Hohenheim
  10 / 2007 - 09 / 2011

Network

ORCID digital identifier

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1798-546X

Social media

• Linkedin
• ResearchGate

Projects

• Biological in-situ methanation / Team member / ongoing
• Micro-biogas plants in Switzerland: Analysis of performance, economic viability, and approval practices of a small-scale biogas system for tiny living concepts and applications in alpine regions under Swiss climate conditions / Deputy project leader / completed
• PURAMMON (Main Project) – Renewable Nitrogen-Mineral Fertiliser from Slurry / Team member / completed
• CarboPHOS – Phosphorous recovery through hydrothermal carbonisation of sewage sludge / Project leader / completed
• CarbonVALUE / Project leader / completed
• CarbonATE - microbiological methanation / Project leader / completed
• HYKOM – Combination of Hygienisation and Hydrolysis as Pretreatment steps for liquid Substrates prior to Anaerobic Digestion. / Team member / completed

Publications

• Kalbermatten, Claudio L.; Jordan, Sara; Pothier, Joël F.; Nägele, Hans-Joachim; Smits, Theo H. M.; Merkle, Wolfgang,

  2026.

  Optimizing trickle-bed reactor performance for hydrogenotrophic methane production in power-to-methane systems.

  Process Biochemistry.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2026.02.010

• Williams, Fred P.; Harris, Peter; Tait, Stephan; Mickan, Bede S.; Merkle, Wolfgang; Nägele, Hans-Joachim; McCabe, Bernadette K.,

  2025.

  Technoeconomic feasibility of integrated organics processing facilities with anaerobic digestion and composting : an analytical framework for regional Australia.

  Waste Management.

  208(115153).

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2025.115153

• Holl, Elena; Steinbrenner, Jörg; Merkle, Wolfgang; Krümpel, Johannes; Lansing, Stephanie; Baier, Urs; Oechsner, Hans; Lemmer, Andreas,

  2022.

  Two-stage anaerobic digestion : state of technology and perspective roles in future energy systems.

  Bioresource Technology.

  360(127633).

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127633

• Zhou, Lijun; Hülsemann, Benedikt; Cui, Zhiyang; Merkle, Wolfgang; Sponagel, Christian; Zhou, Yuguang; Guo, Jianbin; Dong, Renjie; Müller, Joachim; Oechsner, Hans,

  2021.

  Operating performance of full-scale agricultural biogas plants in Germany and China : results of a year-round monitoring program.

  Applied Sciences.

  11(3), pp. 1271.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/app11031271

Publications before appointment at the ZHAW

• Dissertation: Two-stage high pressure anaerobic digestion for biomethane production
• Influence of anaerobic digestion on the labile phosphorus in pig, chicken, and dairy manure
• Influence of Anaerobic Digestion Processes on the Germination of Weed Seeds
• Biomethane Potential Test: Influence of Inoculum and the Digestion System
• Utilization of process liquids with high organic loads in bioelectrochemical systems: Organic degradation rates & current densities
• Integration of membrane filtration in two-stage anaerobic digestion system: Specific methane yield potentials of hydrolysate and permeate
• Development of an innovative two-stage fermentation process for high-calorific biogas at elevated pressure
• Effects of high-pressure anaerobic digestion up to 30 bar on pH-value, production kinetics and specific methane yield
• Influence of pressures up to 50 bar on two-stage anaerobic digestion
• High-pressure anaerobic digestion up to 100 bar: Influence of initial pressure on production kinetics and specific methane yields
• Advanced green biorefining: effects of ensiling treatments on lactic acid production, microbial activity and supplementary methane formation of grass and rye
• Effects of temperature, pH and O2 on the removal of hydrogen sulfide from biogas by external biological desulfurization in a full scale fixed-bed trickling bioreactor (FBTB)

Other publications

Microbial Intervention in Waste Remediation for Bio-Energy Production

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