Dana Pokorna
Assistant Professor
University of Chemistry and Technology Prague
Czech Republic
Biography
Dr. Dana Pokorna is Assistant Prof. at the Department of Water Technology and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Technology of Environment Protection, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague. She has lectures on subjects "Biodegradability and Ecotoxicity" and "Technology of biogas and biohydrogen production". Main activities in research area are anaerobic wastewater treatment and sludge stabilization, the anaerobic biodegradability of organic compounds, methods for the determination of anaerobic biomass activity, special analytical methods (gas chromatography and capillary isotachophoresis) for the monitoring of anaerobic metabolism and the anaerobic biodegradability of organic compounds, the removal of hydrogen sulfide from biogas both using sulfur oxidizing bacteria immobilized on biofilter and by autotrophic denitrification combined with the removal of nutrients from wastewater. Currently, she is interested in upgrading biogas to biomethan utilizing stored renewable energy in the form of hydrogen and the biological transformation of CO2 to biomethane. She is the author or co-author of tens of papers and conference presentation on renewable energy and the production and cleaning of biogas. She has participated in solving a number of projects dealing with anaerobic process and biogas production. Dr. Pokorna is the member of International Water Association (IWA) and European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB), the member of Czech Biogas Association and Czech Water Association and the member of the Czech Biotechnology Society Committee.
Research Interest
Main areas of her interest – anaerobic biodegradation of organic substrates, determination of anaerobic biomass activity, analytical determination of byproducts and end products of anaerobic degradation, biogas cleaning (H2S removal), upgrading biogas to biomethan and transformation of CO2 to biomethan.