Coupling electric energy and biogas production in anaerobic digesters – impacts on the microbiome

Koch, Christin; Kuchenbuch, Anne; Kretzschmar, Jörg; Wedwitschka, Harald; Liebetrau, Jan; Müller, Susann; Harnisch, Falk

doi:10.1039/c5ra03496e

Cited by 46 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…An electroactive biofilm, comparable to the biofilms used in this study, has been shown to exhibit decreasing current with a decreasing VFA concentration in a batch AD process using sieved inoculum from a biogas plant and dried and grounded maize silage as substrate 20. Therefore, the biosensor behavior in a continuous AD process using untreated substrates, e.g., fresh maize silage, needs to be examined in a next step.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The anticipated costs for such a sensor are comparably low as the recognition element of the biosensor is a mixed‐species microbial biofilm that can be formed from the autochthonous reactor community. A proof‐of‐principle on using mixed‐species electroactive biofilms as sensing elements within the AD process has already been provided 20.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Microbial Biosensor Platform for Inline Quantification of Acetate in Anaerobic Digestion: Potential and Challenges

et al. 2016

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Real‐time measurement of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in anaerobic digestion (AD) is crucial for process monitoring and management. It is essential for establishing demand‐driven biogas production, however, to date it is not commercially available. A novel microbial electrochemical sensor for inline measurement of acetate and other VFA in AD is proposed. The measurement range as well as the measurement resolution and dynamic behavior of the biosensor were investigated under flow conditions. For application in AD the achieved measurement range is still too low, therefore, measures to improve it as well as further application properties of the sensor are discussed.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Microbial Biosensor Platform for Inline Quantification of Acetate in Anaerobic Digestion: Potential and Challenges

et al. 2016

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“…Because of the outstanding features, MEC system has been modified and combined with several anaerobic processes for different purposes. The stimulatory effect on enhancing the performance and stability of the reactors has been indeed demonstrated in a number of MECcombined anaerobic systems (Koch et al, 2015;Li et al, 2016;Zhen et al, 2016a). Shen et al (2014) evidenced that the combination of a bioelectrochemical system with an UASB improved the p-nitrophenol removal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Continuous micro-current stimulation to upgrade methanolic wastewater biodegradation and biomethane recovery in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor

et al. 2017

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The dispersion of granules in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor represents a critical technical issue in methanolic wastewater treatment. In this study, the potentials of coupling a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) into an UASB reactor for improving methanolic wastewater biodegradation, long-term process stability and biomethane recovery were evaluated. The results indicated that coupling a MEC system was capable of improving the overall performance of UASB reactor for methanolic wastewater treatment. The combined system maintained the comparatively higher methane yield and COD removal efficiency over the single UASB process through the entire process, with the methane production at the steady-state conditions approaching 1504.7 ± 92.2 mL-CH L-reactor d, around 10.1% higher than the control UASB (i.e. 1366.4 ± 71.0 mL-CH L-reactor d). The further characterizations verified that the input of external power source could stimulate the metabolic activity of microbes and reinforced the EPS secretion. The produced EPS interacted with Fe liberated during anodic corrosion of iron electrode to create a gel-like three-dimensional [-Fe-EPS-] matrix, which promoted cell-cell cohesion and maintained the structural integrity of granules. Further observations via SEM and FISH analysis demonstrated that the use of bioelectrochemical stimulation promoted the growth and proliferation of microorganisms, which diversified the degradation routes of methanol, convert the wasted CO into methane and accordingly increased the process stability and methane productivity.

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“…Some authors already proposed the coupling of BES with AD in single reactors to increase the yield of the whole process. [6][7][8] This work proposes a new promising application for BES, which is the replacement of the stripping tower of a water scrubbing unit for biogas upgrading. The possibility of coupling water scrubbing and BES opens the door to an innovative hybrid process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deciphering the electron transfer mechanisms for biogas upgrading to biomethane within a mixed culture biocathode

et al. 2015

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a Biogas upgrading is an expanding field dealing with the increase in methane content of the biogas to produce biomethane. Biomethane has a high calorific content and can be used as a vehicle fuel or directly injected into the gas grid. Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) could become an alternative for biogas upgrading, by which the yield of the process in terms of carbon utilisation could be increased.The simulated effluent from a water scrubbing-like unit was used to feed a BES. The BES was operated with the biocathode poised at À800 mV vs. SHE to drive the reduction of the CO 2 fraction of the biogas into methane. The BES was operated in batch mode to characterise methane production and under continuous flow to demonstrate its long-term viability. The maximum methane production rate obtained during batch tests was 5.12 AE 0.16 mmol m À2 per day with a coulombic efficiency (CE) of 75.3 AE 5.2%.The production rate increased to 15.35 mmol m À2 per day (CE of 68.9 AE 0.8%) during the continuous operation. Microbial community analyses and cyclic voltammograms showed that the main mechanism for methane production in the biocathode was hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis by Methanobacterium sp., and that electromethanogenesis occurred to a minor extent. The presence of other microorganisms in the biocathode, such as Methylocystis sp. revealed the presence of side reactions, such as oxygen diffusion from the anode compartment, which decreased the efficiency of the BES. The results of the present work offer the first experimental report on the application of BES in the field of biogas upgrading processes.

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Coupling electric energy and biogas production in anaerobic digesters – impacts on the microbiome

Abstract: Microbiome based anaerobic digestion combined with microbial electrochemical technologies exploits biomass efficiently and flexibly by concurrent conversion to methane and electrons.

Cited by 46 publications

References 35 publications

A Microbial Biosensor Platform for Inline Quantification of Acetate in Anaerobic Digestion: Potential and Challenges

A Microbial Biosensor Platform for Inline Quantification of Acetate in Anaerobic Digestion: Potential and Challenges

Continuous micro-current stimulation to upgrade methanolic wastewater biodegradation and biomethane recovery in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor

Deciphering the electron transfer mechanisms for biogas upgrading to biomethane within a mixed culture biocathode

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