PhD (Eng.) · environmental engineering · UWM in Olsztyn
Anna Nowicka
From biomass to methane — I study the processes that turn difficult waste into energy.
substrate pretreatment anaerobic digestion biogas (CH₄) — the axis around which most of my research revolves. Lignocellulose is remarkably good at guarding the energy locked inside it. I study how to destabilise its structure before digestion, so the microorganisms can do their work. Biogas and biomethane production from biomass — including macroalgae and agricultural waste. — the axis around which most of my research revolves.
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I work on anaerobic digestion and biomass pretreatment: from macroalgae, through maize silage, to lignocellulosic waste. I am based at the Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.
* Estimates from ResearchGate (August 2026). The complete, up-to-date list of works is maintained on ORCID.
What I work on
Anaerobic digestion
Biogas and biomethane production from biomass — including macroalgae and agricultural waste. Designing and evaluating anaerobic processes for methane yield.
Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass
Lignocellulose is remarkably good at guarding the energy locked inside it. I study how to destabilise its structure before digestion, so the microorganisms can do their work.
Disintegration techniques
Microwaves, ultrasound, acid-thermal treatment and pulsed electric field (PEF) — I compare the energy input against the real gain in biogas production.
Sorption and a second life for waste direction since 2024
Dye sorption on lignocellulosic materials — potato peels, conifer cones — followed by the reuse of post-sorption waste for methane production.
Substrates I work with
Selected works
The most-cited item in the record is a review article in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews — c. 212 citations*.
Papers from 2012–2015 were published under the name Anna Grala. The complete, continuously updated list of works — under both names — is maintained on ORCID.
Full publication list → ORCID 0000-0001-8507-1366Research grants
NCN PRELUDIUM 3 — principal investigator
„Badanie procesu mikrofalowej destabilizacji struktury lignocelulozowej” (a study of microwave destabilisation of the lignocellulosic structure) — an early-career project I led independently, then publishing as Anna Grala, MSc (Eng.).
Write to me
Research collaboration, projects with the biogas industry, reviews, joint publications:
anna.grala@uwm.edu.plDepartment of Environmental Engineering · Institute of Engineering and Environmental Protection
Faculty of Geoengineering · University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn