Prokaryotic Community Dynamics during the Start-Up of a Full-Scale BIO4GAS Digester
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 1
Abstract
The full-scale start-up of a novel BIO4GAS digester system, a highly economic, small-scale biogas plant was monitored for 6 months. The digester was loaded with cattle manure, and a new slow temperature increase strategy (12–37°C at ) was tested, rendering a daily methane yield of volatile solids. Stable biogas production, pH, and high reduction of volatile fatty acids (from 5.2 to ) indicated a well working process. The prokaryotic community was monitored by cloning and quantitative real-time PCR of the 16S rRNA gene. Archaeal diversity decreased at the taxonomic class level, whereas the bacterial community was affected only up to the family level. A shift from hydrogenotrophic methanogens toward a consortium dominated by metabolically versatile methanogens occurred with Methanosarcina outcompeting Methanobrevibacter under the changing conditions of volatile fatty acid concentrations. Main bacterial phyla (Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria) did not change during the start-up; however, minor populations of cellulose-degraders (Ruminococcaceae), syntrophic fatty acid oxidizers (Syntrophomonas), and acetogens (Sedimentibacter) established. The results provide experimental evidence of a dynamic archaeal community and a relatively stable bacterial community during dramatic environmental changes of a successful reactor start-up.
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Acknowledgments
Financial support was provided by the EU Marie Curie Programme (MEIF-CT-2006-041034) to M. Goberna and HI and the Austrian Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF-FP200010) to SMP and IFW. SMP was further supported by the doctoral fellowship (LFU Doktoratsstipendium) of the University of Innsbruck, Austria. We would like to thank the staff of the agricultural school Rotholz for their kind help at the biogas plant during the whole experimental phase. We want to thank Michael Schön and Daniel Sperl for their help during the sampling period and the COD analysis. Further thanks go to Sieglinde Farbmacher for conducting the HPLC measurements of VFAs. We would further like to thank the four anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on this manuscript.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 1 • January 2016
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© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Sep 29, 2014
Accepted: Jun 24, 2015
Published online: Sep 2, 2015
Published in print: Jan 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Feb 2, 2016
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