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Two-stage anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) was carried out: hydrolysis and acidogenesis in a continuous anaerobic hydrolytic leach bed (AHLB) reactor loaded at different rates (Bv = 3.8-7 gVSSL⁻¹d⁻¹) and methanogenesis of leachates, diluted with municipal wastewater in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor at organic loading rates of 6.6-13 gCODLr⁻¹d⁻¹. In the AHLB reactor, 51-76% and 58-71% volatile solids and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies were obtained. During the hydrolysis and acidogenesis phases, the effluents were at pH 4.93, the leachate had a volatile fatty acids concentration of 35 g/L and the biogas was composed only of CO₂. The average methane production in the UASB in the load of 4.4 gVS L⁻¹ d⁻¹ in the AHLB was 3.32 LCH4Lr⁻¹d⁻¹ (yCH4 = 80%), with COD removal efficiency of 95% and methane yield 279 LCH4KgVS⁻¹OFMSW degraded.

The aim of this study was to contribute to the knowledge on the dynamic of the microbial community involved in anaerobic degradation of different concentrations of 2-chlorophenol (2CP, from 28 to 196 mg 2CP-C/L) and a mixture of 2CP and phenol (from 28 to 196 mg phenol-C/L) and its relationship with the respiratory process in two anaerobic sequencing batch reactors (ASBR). The dynamic of the microbial community was evaluated by denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and ecological indices (S and J indices). The respiratory process was evaluated by means of substrate consumption efficiency, biogas yield, and specific consumption rates as response variables. The high consumption efficiency (90%) and the constant biogas yields obtained at concentrations up to 140 mg C/L may be related with the evenness of microbial populations (J index=0.97±0.2) present in both reactors. Pseudomonas genus was present in all concentrations tested, suggesting a possible relationship with the dehalogenation observed in both reactors. The decrease in specific consumption rate and biogas yield as well as the accumulation of phenol and volatile fatty acids observed in both reactors at 196 mg 2CP-C/L might be associated with the disappearance of the bands related to Caulobacter and Bacillus. At these conditions, the disappearance of fermentative or acetogenic bacteria resulted in reduction of substrates required to carry out methanogenesis, which eventually might cause the declination in methanogenic populations present in the reactors.

In a previous paper, the authors showed that a slight aeration of a methanogenic reactor treating wastewater from the manufacture of polymeric resins could improve its performance, by increasing or allowing the removal of some of its contaminants, including vinyl acetate (VA). This paper reports the isolation under aerobic conditions of a VA-biodegrading axenic culture (strain C1) retrieved from the sludge of a slightly aerated methanogenic reactor at 1 mg L(-1) d(-1) of dissolved oxygen (DO). The axenic culture obtained was phenotypically (morphology, biochemical properties, VA consumption kinetics) and phylogenetically characterized. It formed white colonies with a branched and flat morphology on solid medium. The cell morphology of the isolate was bacillus with round endings and flagellate. The cells could form chains and were stained Gram-negative. The isolate required simple nutritional elements and had a growth rate of 0.024 h(-1). The phylogenetical analysis showed that the aerobic bacterium was identified as Brevibacillus agri, with 99.3% similarity. The VA consumption kinetics in the methanogenic sludge were: volumetric consumption rate (rVA) of 1.74 +/- 0.2 mg L(-1) h(-1), maximum specific consumption rate (qVAmax) of 3.98 mg g(-1) volatile suspended solids (VSS) h(-1) and affinity constant (Ks) of 457.1 mg L(-1). The same parameters in the axenic culture were 1.69 +/- 0.04 mg L(-1) (h-1), 4.09 mg g(-1) dry weight h(-1) and 421.9 mg L(-1), respectively. These results show evidence that the aerobic isolated bacterium, identified as Brevibacillus agri, carried out the VA hydrolysis in the slightly aerated methanogenic sludge, which is the limiting step in the degradation of this compound.