Bioelectrochemical system stabilizes methane fermentation from garbage slurry.

Methanogenic bioreactors, which are packed with supporting material, have attracted attention as an efficient means of degrading garbage. We aimed to increase bioreactor performance by using an electrochemical system to regulate the electrical potential on supporting material. At an organic loading rate of 26.9g dichromate chemical oxygen demand (CODcr)/L/day, reactors with a potential of -0.6 or -0.8V, generated by a cathodic electrochemical reaction, showed greater removal of CODcr and methanogenesis than reactors with a potential of 0.0 or -0.3V, generated by anodic reaction, or control reactors without electrochemical regulation. 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed that the same methanogens were present in all our reactors, but quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that higher prokaryotic and methanogenic copy numbers were present on cathodic electrodes than on anodic or control electrodes. These results indicate that cathodic electrochemical regulation can support methane fermentation from garbage.

[1]  Luis Isidoro Romero-García,et al.  Thermophilic anaerobic digestion of source-sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste. , 2008, Bioresource technology.

[2]  Bruce E Logan,et al.  Direct biological conversion of electrical current into methane by electromethanogenesis. , 2009, Environmental science & technology.

[3]  D. Lane.  16S/23S rRNA sequencing , 1991 .

[4]  S. Okabe,et al.  Layered Structure of Bacterial and Archaeal Communities and Their In Situ Activities in Anaerobic Granules , 2007, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[5]  T. Lueders,et al.  Enhanced sensitivity of DNA- and rRNA-based stable isotope probing by fractionation and quantitative analysis of isopycnic centrifugation gradients. , 2003, Environmental microbiology.

[6]  K. Kida,et al.  Microbial community analysis of mesophilic anaerobic protein degradation process using bovine serum albumin (BSA)-fed continuous cultivation. , 2005, Journal of bioscience and bioengineering.

[7]  J. Coates,et al.  Biological Control of Hog Waste Odor through Stimulated Microbial Fe(III) Reduction , 2005, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[8]  B. Ahring.  Perspectives for anaerobic digestion. , 2003, Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology.

[9]  Craig S. Criddle,et al.  Flexible Community Structure Correlates with Stable Community Function in Methanogenic Bioreactor Communities Perturbed by Glucose , 2000, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[10]  A. Stams,et al.  Metabolic interactions between methanogenic consortia and anaerobic respiring bacteria. , 2003, Advances in biochemical engineering/biotechnology.

[11]  J. C. Thrash,et al.  Review: Direct and indirect electrical stimulation of microbial metabolism. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[12]  S. Sawayama,et al.  Effect of ammonium addition on methanogenic community in a fluidized bed anaerobic digestion. , 2004, Journal of bioscience and bioengineering.

[13]  H. Saiki,et al.  Numerical simulation for electrochemical cultivation of iron oxidizing bacteria. , 2002, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[14]  E. Stackebrandt,et al.  Nucleic acid techniques in bacterial systematics , 1991 .

[15]  T. Lueders,et al.  Effects of Amendment with Ferrihydrite and Gypsum on the Structure and Activity of Methanogenic Populations in Rice Field Soil , 2002, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[16]  B L Maidak,et al.  The RDP-II (Ribosomal Database Project) , 2001, Nucleic Acids Res..

[17]  H. Saiki,et al.  Extension of logarithmic growth of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans by potential controlled electrochemical reduction of Fe(III). , 1999, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[18]  J. C. Thrash,et al.  Electrochemical stimulation of microbial perchlorate reduction. , 2007, Environmental science & technology.

[19]  C. Rivard,et al.  Isolation and Characterization of a Thermophilic Marine Methanogenic Bacterium, Methanogenium thermophilicum sp. nov.† , 1982 .

[20]  J. Zeikus,et al.  Microbial Utilization of Electrically Reduced Neutral Red as the Sole Electron Donor for Growth and Metabolite Production , 1999, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[21]  Kengo Sasaki,et al.  Microbial population in the biomass adhering to supporting material in a packed-bed reactor degrading organic solid waste , 2007, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[22]  Koji Sode,et al.  Production of hydrogen and methane from organic solid wastes by phase-separation of anaerobic process. , 2007, Bioresource technology.

[23]  K. Sasaki,et al.  Effect of adding carbon fiber textiles to methanogenic bioreactors used to treat an artificial garbage slurry. , 2009, Journal of bioscience and bioengineering.

[24]  H. Saiki,et al.  Electrochemical Regeneration of Fe(III) To Support Growth on Anaerobic Iron Respiration , 2002, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[25]  M. P. Bryant,et al.  Isolation and Characterization of Methanobacterium formicicum MF , 1987 .

[26]  John Aurie Dean,et al.  Lange's Handbook of Chemistry , 1978 .

[27]  E. Delong.  Archaea in coastal marine environments. , 1992, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[28]  K. Horikoshi,et al.  Rapid Detection and Quantification of Members of the Archaeal Community by Quantitative PCR Using Fluorogenic Probes , 2000, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[29]  S. Zinder,et al.  NOTES: Methanosarcina thermophila sp. nov., a Thermophilic, Acetotrophic, Methane-Producing Bacterium , 1985 .

[30]  Eoin L. Brodie,et al.  A novel ecological role of the Firmicutes identified in thermophilic microbial fuel cells , 2008, The ISME Journal.

[31]  J. Reeve,et al.  Phylogenetic analysis of 18 thermophilic Methanobacterium isolates supports the proposals to create a new genus, Methanothermobacter gen. nov., and to reclassify several isolates in three species, Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus comb. nov., Methanothermobacter wolfeii comb. nov., and Methanot , 2000, International journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology.