PhD (Eng.) · environmental engineering · UWM

Structure that powers energy.

I study how to pretreat lignocellulosic biomass so that difficult waste yields more biogas.

  • microwaves
  • ultrasound
  • PEF
  • acid-thermal pretreatment
  • BMP

From cell wall to methane.

Lignocellulose is remarkably good at guarding the energy locked inside it. I study how to destabilize its structure before digestion, so the microorganisms can do their work: with microwaves, ultrasound, acid-thermal treatment and a pulsed electric field. Each time I compare the energy input against the real gain in biogas production.

A new thread opened in 2024: dye sorption on lignocellulosic materials, potato peels and conifer cones, followed by the reuse of post-sorption waste for methane production. Earlier I led the NCN PRELUDIUM project „Badanie procesu mikrofalowej destabilizacji struktury lignocelulozowej” (a study of microwave destabilization of the lignocellulosic structure, 2013–2015).

Close-up of the structure of a plant cell wall
Cell wall · macro

Substrates · maize silage · chicken manure · macroalgae · lignocellulosic waste · potato peels · conifer cones

Selected works

  1. 2024–2026

    Dye sorption on lignocellulosic materials and the reuse of post-sorption waste for methane production

    A series of papers · Materials (2026) · Molecules (2025) · Energies (2024)

  2. 2023

  3. 2021

  4. 2012

    First papers on anaerobic digestion of macroalgae and ultrasonic treatment of biomass, published under the name Anna Grala

    Archives of Environmental Protection · Rocznik Ochrona Środowiska · Ecological Chemistry and Engineering

The most-cited item in the record is a review article in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. According to ResearchGate it has around 212 citations (as of August 2026, approximate figure).

Full publication list → ORCID 0000-0001-8507-1366

[DOI numbers and full citations to be filled in from the ORCID or Scopus export.]

Anna Nowicka, PhD (Eng.)

I work on anaerobic digestion and biomass pretreatment: from macroalgae, through maize silage, to lignocellulosic waste. I have been in biogas research since 2012.

[Placeholder: one or two sentences from Anna on where this topic came from and what keeps her in it.]

Affiliation
Department of Environmental Engineering · Institute of Engineering and Environmental Protection · Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn
Name
Papers from 2012–2015 were published under the name Anna Grala (maiden name).

Write to me

Research collaboration, projects with the biogas industry, reviews, joint publications:

anna.grala@uwm.edu.pl

Department of Environmental Engineering · Institute of Engineering and Environmental Protection
Faculty of Geoengineering · University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn

Write to me