Educational Experience: Active Carbon as a “Bacteria Hotel” and Its Comparison with Insect Hotels to a Better Understanding of Sustainable Biogas Production

Sustainability in education is becoming more and more important nowadays, as future professionals (especially in STEM disciplines) should consider a sustainable approach when developing their tasks. Indeed, many steps such as the so-called Sustainable Development Goals have been taken by institutions and governments. On the other hand, engagement of students in STEM subjects is equally important, in order to improve their knowledge and skills and to promote these disciplines at higher educational levels. In that sense, the role of universities is vital in order to offer a wide and varied educational offer at different levels, such as university or master degrees, but also in exhibitions where the engagement of students in STEM disciplines applied to sustainability is equally important. The aim of this work was to propose a pedagogical guide to explain (in scientific exhibitions) how active carbons work to improve the yield of biogas production in sewage sludge biodigestion. Thus, a comparison between active carbon as “bacteria hotel” and typical insect hotels could be interesting to attract the interest of a wide range of audience (between primary education to undergraduate students or public in general). As a result, the methodology and the main resources required to carry out this exhibition were exposed, and students showed a general interest and understanding of the subject.