FISH analysis of microbial communities in a full‐scale technology for biogas production

Abstract

The anaerobic digestion is a biological process that consists of four stages. At the final step of the biodegradation of the organics the most sensitive to the ambient factors group of microorganisms – the methanogens, produces biogas with main component methane. Common problems of these technologies are low biogas yield, production of biogas with low quality or situations in which the plant gets out of exploitation. These problems are related to the lack of biological indicators of the process used in the practice and lack of understanding of the structure and functioning of the methanogenic consortium. Different fluorescent techniques have the potential to fulfill this gap and to contribute to the deep understanding of the structure of the microbial communities. In this study it was applied fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis for identifying and localization of microorganisms by the Archaea domain in digesters of wastewater treatment plant “Kubratovo”. High negative correlation between the quantity of Archaea and the biogas and methane production has been registered. This method has the potential to be used as a tool for analyzing the structure of the microbial communities in the digesters and thus to allow the adaptation of the consortium and the optimization of the whole process.

Potential Utilisation of Dark-Fermented Palm Oil Mill Effluent in Continuous Production of Biomethane by Self-Granulated Mixed Culture

“…The balance between methanogens and acidogens is the key for a successful BioH 2 and BioCH 4 production, together with the sufficient soluble component available in the substrate for the anaerobic digestion. Notably, several molecular techniques such as terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) 54 , ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (RISA) 55 , quantitative real-time PCR (q-PCR) 56 , fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH) 57 , denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) 18,32 and next generation sequencing (NGS) 58 have been extensively studied to identify the archaeal community population in biogas production systems. Although, NGS method has been recommended recently for the comprehensive analysis of bacterial community composition in heterogeneous environments.…”

The Readiness of the Water Utilities in Bulgaria for Transition toward a Circular Economy

“…On the basis of the data from a 1 year investigation, it was estimated that about 170-250 tons of recovered phosphorus per year can be achieved through sludge incineration and subsequent P-recovery technology [30]. Sofiyska Voda also collaborates with researchers for the development of methods for increasing the efficiency of biogas production, e.g., through fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of the structure of the microbial communities in the digesters [31]. Sofiyska Voda is also an associate partner in the Clean and Circle project (https://www.clean-circle.eu/, accessed on 2 May 2022) in the framework of which this study was developed.…”

Evaluation of the biogas potential of a lignocellulosic residue

“…The vials are hermetically closed with a rubber septum. In addition to the carbon source provided by the substrate, a nutrient medium with a ratio C/N/P ¼ 700/5/1 (Dinova et al 2018) is added to provide supplementary essential minerals for microorganisms development. Generally, the nutrient medium contains phosphate or carbonate ions which give it buffering capacity to reduce pH variations.…”