Two microbial consortia obtained through purposive acclimatization as biological additives to relieve ammonia inhibition in anaerobic digestion

Transitioning weathered oil fields towards new energy: A review on utilizing hydrogenotrophic methanogens for petroleum hydrocarbons remediation

The weathering process can cause the volatilization of light components in crude oil, leading to the accumulation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in weathered oil field soils. These TPH compounds are relatively resistant to biodegradation, posing a significant environmental hazard by contributing to soil degradation. TPH represents a complex mixture of petroleum-based hydrocarbons classified as persistent organic pollutants in soil and groundwater. The release of TPH pollutants into the environment poses serious threats to ecosystems and human health. Currently, various methods are available for TPH-contaminated soil remediation, with bioremediation technology recognized as an environmentally friendly and cost-effective approach. While converting TPH to CO2 is a common remediation method, the complex structures and diverse types of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHs) involved can result in excessive CO2 generation, potentially exacerbating the greenhouse effect. Alternatively, transforming TPH into energy forms like methane through bioremediation, followed by collection and reuse, can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. This process relies on the synergistic interaction between Methanogens archaea and syntrophic bacteria, forming a consortium known as the oil-degrading bacterial consortium. Methanogens produce methane through anaerobic digestion (AD), with hydrogenotrophic methanogens (HTMs) utilizing H2 as an electron donor, playing a crucial role in biomethane production. Candidatus Methanoliparia (Ca. Methanoliparia) was found in the petroleum archaeal community of weathered Oil field in northeast China. Ca. Methanoliparia has demonstrated its independent ability to decompose and produce new energy (biomethane) without symbiosis, contribute to transitioning weathered oil fields towards new energy. Therefore, this review focuses on the principles, mechanisms, and developmental pathways of HTMs during new energy production in the degradation of PHs. It also discusses strategies to enhance TPH degradation and recovery methods.

Genome-centric metagenomics and methanogenic pathway analysis for acclimated anaerobic digestion of chicken manure with high ammonia stressed under thermophilic condition

Thermophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) of animal manure offers various environmental benefits but the process requires a microbial community acclimatized to high ammonia. In current study, a lab-scale continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) fed with chicken manure was operated under thermophilic condition for 450 days in total. Results showed that the volumetric methane production decreased from 445 to 328 and sharply declined to 153 mL L-1·d-1 with feeding total solid (TS) step increased from 5% to 7.5% and 10%, respectively. While, after a long-term stop feeding for 80 days, highly disturbed reactor was able to recover methane generation to 739 mL L-1·d-1 at feeding TS of 10%. Isotope analysis indicted acetate converted to methane through the syntrophic acetate oxidation and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis (SAO-HM) pathway increased from 33% to 63% as the concentration of ammonium increased from 2493 to 6258 mg L-1. Significant different in the genome expression of the SAO bacterial from 0.09% to 1.23%, combining with main hydrogenotrophic partners (Methanoculleus spp. and Methanothermobacter spp.) contented of 2.1% and 99.9% during inhibitory and recovery stages, respectively. The highly expressed KEGG pathway in level 3 (enzyme genes) for the Recovery sludge combining with the extraordinary high abundance of genera Halocella sp. suggested that Halocella sp. might be a highly efficient hydrolytic and acidogenic microorganism and enhance the process of SAO during carbon metabolic flow to methane. This report will be a basis for further study of AD studies on high nitrogen content of poultry manure.

A new strategy for accelerating recovery of anaerobic granular sludge after low-temperature shock: In situ regulation of quorum sensing microorganisms embedded in polyvinyl alcohol sodium alginate

Low-temperature could inhibit the performance of anaerobic granular sludge (AnGS). Quorum sensing (QS), as a communication mode between microorganisms, can effectively regulate AnGS. In this study, a kind of embedded particles (PVA/SA@Serratia) based on signal molecule secreting bacteria was prepared by microbial immobilization technology based on polyvinyl alcohol and sodium alginate to accelerate the recovery of AnGS system after low temperature. Low-temperature shock experiment verified the positive effect of PVA/SA@Serratia on restoring the COD removal rate and methanogenesis capacity of AnGS. Further analysis by metagenomics analysis showed that PVA/SA@Serratia stimulated higher QS activity and promoted the secretion of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) in AnGS. The rapid construction of EPS protective layer effectively accelerated the establishment of a robust microbial community structure. PVA/SA@Serratia also enhanced multiple methanogenic pathways, including direct interspecies electron transfer. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that PVA/SA@Serratia could effectively strengthen AnGS after low-temperature shock.

Multi-criteria-based decision-making assessment for anaerobic digestion of ammonia-rich distillery wastewater: Effect of pyrochar and temperature

Energy-efficient wastewater treatment units are imperative to achieve carbon neutrality and a circular economy at the industrial scale. In the present study, pyrochar loading and digestion temperature were tested to assess their impact on the performance of an anaerobic digester running on distillery wastewater. The digestion temperature (37 °C and 55 °C) and pyrochar loading (7.5 - 30 g/L.feed) were selected as two primary design factors. Experiments were designed using Taguchi's design of experiments and specific methane yield, total ammonia nitrogen, pH and buffering capacity were selected as experimental outputs for multi-criteria assessment. The results from the confirmation test indicated that the addition of pyrochar (7.5 g/Lfeed) improved the methane yield (276 ± 15 L/kg VS) significantly compared to the control (167 ± 15 L/kg VS) at 37 °C. The detailed post-digestion analysis showed that the adsorption of ammonia on pyrochar may be the primary reason for enhanced digester performance.

Current status and future developments of assessing microbiome composition and dynamics in anaerobic digestion systems using metagenomic approaches

The metagenomic approach stands as a powerful technique for examining the composition of microbial communities and their involvement in various anaerobic digestion (AD) systems. Understanding the structure, function, and dynamics of microbial communities becomes pivotal for optimizing the biogas process, enhancing its stability and improving overall performance. Currently, taxonomic profiling of biogas-producing communities relies mainly on high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing, offering insights into the bacterial and archaeal structures of AD assemblages and their correlations with fed substrates and process parameters. To delve even deeper, shotgun and genome-centric metagenomic approaches are employed to recover individual genomes from the metagenome. This provides a nuanced understanding of collective functionalities, interspecies interactions, and microbial associations with abiotic factors. The application of OMICs in AD systems holds the potential to revolutionize the field, leading to more efficient and sustainable waste management practices particularly through the implementation of precision anaerobic digestion systems. As ongoing research in this area progresses, anticipations are high for further exciting developments in the future. This review serves to explore the current landscape of metagenomic analyses, with focus on advancing our comprehension and critically evaluating biases and recommendations in the analysis of microbial communities in anaerobic digesters. Its objective is to explore how contemporary metagenomic approaches can be effectively applied to enhance our understanding and contribute to the refinement of the AD process. This marks a substantial stride towards achieving a more comprehensive understanding of anaerobic digestion systems.

Improved Formation of Biomethane by Enriched Microorganisms from Different Rank Coal Seams

The influence of enrichment of culturable microorganisms in in situ coal seams on biomethane production potential of other coal seams has been rarely studied. In this study, we enriched culturable microorganisms from three in situ coal seams with three coal ranks and conducted indoor anaerobic biomethane production experiments. Microbial community composition, gene functions, and metabolites in different culture units by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-time-of-flight (LC-MS-TOF). The results showed that biomethane production in the bituminous coal group (BC)cc resulted in the highest methane yield of 243.3 μmol/g, which was 12.3 times higher than that in the control group (CK). Meanwhile, Methanosarcina was the dominant archaeal genus in the three experimental groups (37.42 ± 11.16-52.62 ± 2.10%), while its share in the CK was only 2.91 ± 0.48%. Based on the functional annotation, the relative abundance of functional genes in the three experimental groups was mainly related to the metabolism of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds such as purines and pyrimidines. Metabolite analysis showed that enriched microorganisms promoted the degradation of a total of 778 organic substances in bituminous coal, including 55 significantly different metabolites (e.g., purines and pyrimidines). Based on genomic and metabolomic analyses, this paper reconstructed the heterocyclic compounds degradation coupled methane metabolism pathway and thereby preliminarily elucidated that enriched culturable bacteria from different coal-rank seams could promote the degradation of bituminous coal and intensify biogenic methane yields.

The influencing mechanism of AD-MEC domesticated sludge to alleviates propionate accumulation and enhances methanogenesis

Anaerobic digestion combined with microbial electrolysis cell (AD-MEC) could maintain stable reactor operation and alleviating the anaerobic digestion (AD) propionate accumulation. In this study, the addition of sludge to AD-MEC was examined as a way to enhance system performance and explore the microbial interaction mechanism after electric field domestication. The results showed that under 1000 and 4000 mg/L propionate, the methane production of the sludge from AD-MEC increased by 34.29 % and 9.70 %, respectively, as compared to the AD sludge. Gompertz fitting analysis showed that sludge after electric field domestication enhancing its continuous methanogenic capacity. Further analysis showed that sludge extracellular electron transfer capacity was enhanced in AD-MEC and that its domesticated granular sludge formed a microbial community function with acid-degrading synergistic methanogenesis. The results of the study may provide theoretical support and optimization strategies for the application of AD-MEC system.

Microbiome-functionality in anaerobic digesters: A critical review

Microbially driven anaerobic digestion (AD) processes are of immense interest due to their role in the biovalorization of biowastes into renewable energy resources. The function-versatile microbiome, interspecies syntrophic interactions, and trophic-level metabolic pathways are important microbial components of AD. However, the lack of a comprehensive understanding of the process hampers efforts to improve AD efficiency. This study presents a holistic review of research on the microbial and metabolic "black box" of AD processes. Recent research on microbiology, functional traits, and metabolic pathways in AD, as well as the responses of functional microbiota and metabolic capabilities to optimization strategies are reviewed. The diverse ecophysiological traits and cooperation/competition interactions of the functional guilds and the biomanipulation of microbial ecology to generate valuable products other than methane during AD are outlined. The results show that AD communities prioritize cooperation to improve functional redundancy, and the dominance of specific microbes can be explained by thermodynamics, resource allocation models, and metabolic division of labor during cross-feeding. In addition, the multi-omics approaches used to decipher the ecological principles of AD consortia are summarized in detail. Lastly, future microbial research and engineering applications of AD are proposed. This review presents an in-depth understanding of microbiome-functionality mechanisms of AD and provides critical guidance for the directional and efficient bioconversion of biowastes into methane and other valuable products.

Efficacy of bioaugmentation with nondomesticated mixed microbial consortia under ammonia inhibition in anaerobic digestion

Bioaugmentation shows promise in mitigating ammonia-induced microbial inhibition in anaerobic digestion processes. However, the advanced technical requirements and high costs associated with pure strain cultivation, as well as the time-consuming and labor-intensive process of domesticating consortia, present challenges for industrial applications. Herein, the efficacy of bioaugmentation with nondomesticated mixed microbial consortia was evaluated, which resulted in a significant methane production improvement of 5.6%-11.7% and 10.3%-13.5% under total ammonia nitrogen concentrations of 2.0 and 4.9 g-N/L, respectively. Microbial analysis revealed that at high ammonium levels, the bioaugmented culture facilitated a transition in the methanogenic pathway from acetoclastic to hydrogenotrophic by regulating symbiotic relationships between propionate- and acetate-oxidizing bacteria and methanogens. Consortium type and dose applied were identified as crucial factors determining bioaugmentation effectiveness. Overall, nondomesticated mixed microbial consortia demonstrate potential as cost-effective bioaugmentation agents for mitigating ammonia-induced inhibition.

Cation exchange resins enhance anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge: Roles in sequential recovery of hydrogen and methane

The recovery of renewable bioenergy from anaerobic digestion (AD) of sludge is a promising method to alleviate the energy problem. Although methane can be effectively recovered through sludge pretreatment by cation exchange resin (CER), the simultaneous enhancement of hydrogen and methane generation from AD using CER has not been extensively investigated. Herein, the effect of CER on the sequential recovery of hydrogen and methane and the corresponding mechanisms were investigated. When CER is introduced, the maximum increases for the hydrogen and methane production are 104.7 % and 35.3 %, respectively, confirming the sequential enhancement effects of CER on the hydrogen and methane production. Analyses of the variations in the main biochemical components with and without the effect of CER demonstrate that CER promotes sludge organic solubilisation, hydrolysis, and acidification in both hydrogen- and methane-production stages. Moreover, investigations of variations in the solid-liquid interfacial thermodynamics and removal rates of main multivalent metals of sludge reveal that the ion exchange reactions between the CER and sludge in the hydrogen-production stage provide the direct driving force of effective contact between bacteria and organic particulates. Additionally, the residual effect of the CER during methane production reduces the energy barrier for mass transfer and provides a driving force for this transfer. Further analyses of the microbial community structure and metagenomics indicate that CER directly drives the enrichment of hydrogen-producing bacteria (+ 15.1 %) and key genes encoding enzymes in the hydrogen-production stage. Moreover, CER indirectly induces the enrichment of methane-producing anaerobes (e.g. Methanosaeta: + 16.7 %, Methanosarcina: + 316.5 %); enhances the bioconversion of different substrates into methyl-coenzyme M; and promotes the metabolism pathway of acetoclastic process and CO2 reduction in the methane-production stage. This study can provide valuable insights for simultaneously enhancing the production of hydrogen and methane from AD through sequential recovery.

Pretreatment of Luzhou distiller's grains for feed protein production using crude enzymes produced by a synthetic microbial consortium

Chinese distillers' grains (CDGs) have low fermentation efficiency due to the presence of lignocellulosic components, such as rice husk. In this study, a microbial consortium synthesized was used based on the "functional complementarity" principle to produce lignocellulolytic crude enzyme. The crude enzyme was used to hydrolyze CDGs. After enzymatic hydrolysis, lignocellulose was damaged to varying degrees and the crystallinity decreased. Subsequently, the feed protein was produced using yeast through two pathways. The results showed that the crude enzyme produced by the microbial consortium (comprising Trichoderma reesei, Aspergillus niger, and Penicillium) exhibited excellent enzymatic efficiency, yielding 27.88%, 19.64%, and 10.88% of reducing sugar, cellulose, and hemicellulose. The true protein content of CDGs increased by 53.49% and 48.35% through the first and second pathways, respectively. Notably, the second pathway demonstrated higher economic benefits to produce feed protein. This study provides a pathway for high-quality utilization of CDGs.

Wood biochar enhances methanogenesis in the anaerobic digestion of chicken manure under ammonia inhibition conditions

The process of breaking down chicken manure through anaerobic digestion is an effective waste management technology. However, chicken manure can be a challenging feedstock, causing ammonia stress and digester instability. This study examined the impacts of adding wood biochar and acid-alkali-treated wood biochar to anaerobically digest chicken manure under conditions of ammonia inhibition. The results highlighted that only the addition of 5 % acid-alkali-treated wood biochar by volume can achieve cumulative methane production close to the typical methane potential range of chicken manure. The treated wood biochar also exhibited highest total ammonia nitrogen removal compared to the Control treatment. Scanning Electron Microscope revealed growing interactions between biochar and methanogens over time. Real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that treated wood biochar produced the highest number of bacterial biomass. In addition, 16S amplicon-based sequencing identified a more robust archaeal community from treated biochar addition. Overall, the acid-alkali treatment of biochar represents an effective method of modifying biochar to improve its performance in anaerobic digestion.

Anodic ammonium oxidation in microbial electrolysis cell: Towards nitrogen removal in low C/N environment

Biological nitrogen removal in low C/N environment is challenging in wastewater treatment for a long time. Autotrophic ammonium oxidation is promising due to the no need of carbon source addition, but alternative electron acceptors other than oxygen has to be widely investigated. Recently, microbial electrolysis cell (MEC), which applies a polarized inert electrode as the electron harvester, has been proved effective to oxidize ammonium with electroactive biofilm. That is, anodic microbes stimulated by exogenous low power can extract electron from ammonium and transfer electron to electrodes. This review aims to consolidate the recent advances in anodic ammonium oxidation in MEC. Various technologies based on different functional microbes and mechanisms of these processes are reviewed. Thereafter, the crucial factors influencing the ammonium oxidation technology are discussed. Challenges and prospects of anodic ammonium oxidation in ammonium-containing wastewater treatment are also proposed to provide valuable insights on the technologic reference and potential value of MEC in ammonium-containing wastewater treatment.

Trace elements' deficiency in energy production through methanogenesis process: Focus on the characteristics of organic solid wastes

Excessive or insufficient supplementation of trace elements (TEs) limits the progression of anaerobic digestion. The main reason for this is the lack of sufficient understanding of digestion substrate characteristics, which significantly affects the demand for TEs. In this review, the relationship between TEs requirements and substrate characteristics is discussed. We mainly focus on three aspects. 1) The basis for TE optimization and existing problems: The optimization of TEs often based on the total solids (TS) or volatile solids (VS) of substrates, does not fully consider substrate characteristics. 2) TE deficiency mechanisms for different types of substrates: nitrogen-rich, sulfur-rich, TE-poor, and easily hydrolyzed substrates are the four main types of substrates. The mechanisms underlying TEs deficiency in the different substrates are investigated. 3) Regulation of TE bioavailability: characteristics of substrates affect digestion parameters, which disturb the bioavailability TE. Therefore, methods for regulating bioavailability of TEs are discussed.

Effects of different concentrations of butyrate on microbial community construction and metabolic pathways in anaerobic digestion

Investigating the effect of butyric acid concentration on anaerobic digestion systems in complex systems is important for the efficient degradation of butyric acid and improving the efficiency of anaerobic digestion. In this study, different loadings of butyric acid with 2.8, 3.2, and 3.6 g/(L·d) were added to the anaerobic reactor. At a high organic loading rate of 3.6 g/(L·d), methane was efficiently produced with VBP (Volumetric Biogas Production) of 1.50 L/(L·d) and biogas content between 65% and 75%. VFAs concentration remained below 2000 mg/L. Metagenome sequencing revealed changes in the functional flora within different stages. Methanosarcina, Syntrophomonas, and Lentimicrobium were the main and functional microorganisms. That the relative abundance of methanogens exceeded 35% and methanogenic metabolic pathways were increased indicated the methanogenic capacity of the system significantly improved. The presence of a large number of hydrolytic acid-producing bacteria also indicated the importance of the hydrolytic acid-producing stage in the system.

Syntrophic consortium with the aid of coconut shell-derived biochar enhances methane recovery from ammonia-inhibited anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of nitrogen-rich substrates often suffers from the issue of ammonia inhibition. Although bioaugmentation has been used to assist AD with high ammonia concentration, the combined effect of domesticated syntrophic consortium (MC) together with biochar on ammonia inhibited AD are still unknown. In the present study, MC was adapted and enriched by purposive domestication. As a novel strategy, coconut shell-derived biochar was used as a carrier to aid the MC. The results showed that the digestion system deteriorated completely without the assistance of MC and biochar when the TAN concentration exceeded 8.0 g L^-1. The combination of biochar and MC (B-MC treatment) could restore ammonia inhibition in 10 days and achieved a high methane yield of 357.5 mL g^-1 volatile solid, which was 7.5 % higher than that of MC treatment. Syntrophomonas, Syntrophobacter, and Methanoculleus in MC played a critical role in reducing propionic acid and butyric acid content and efficiently producing methane. Their abundances increased 12-fold, 10-fold, and 2-fold, respectively. With the assistance of biochar, MC had a better performance in relieving ammonia inhibition. This could be attributed to two aspects. First, biochar encouraged the growth or colonization of key microorganisms such as propionate and butyrate oxidizing bacteria and ammonia-tolerant archaea. Second, biochar induced the growth of conductive microorganisms such as Geobacter. From the perspective of enzyme genes, biochar increased the abundance of related enzyme genes in butyrate and propionate degradation, acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic pathways. In conclusion, MC combined with biochar is a potential approach to alleviate ammonia nitrogen inhibition.

Emerging Strategies for Enhancing Propionate Conversion in Anaerobic Digestion: A Review

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a triple-benefit biotechnology for organic waste treatment, renewable production, and carbon emission reduction. In the process of anaerobic digestion, pH, temperature, organic load, ammonia nitrogen, VFAs, and other factors affect fermentation efficiency and stability. The balance between the generation and consumption of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in the anaerobic digestion process is the key to stable AD operation. However, the accumulation of VFAs frequently occurs, especially propionate, because its oxidation has the highest Gibbs free energy when compared to other VFAs. In order to solve this problem, some strategies, including buffering addition, suspension of feeding, decreased organic loading rate, and so on, have been proposed. Emerging methods, such as bioaugmentation, supplementary trace elements, the addition of electronic receptors, conductive materials, and the degasification of dissolved hydrogen, have been recently researched, presenting promising results. But the efficacy of these methods still requires further studies and tests regarding full-scale application. The main objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the mechanisms of propionate generation, the metabolic pathways and the influencing factors during the AD process, and the recent literature regarding the experimental research related to the efficacy of various strategies for enhancing propionate biodegradation. In addition, the issues that must be addressed in the future and the focus of future research are identified, and the potential directions for future development are predicted.

Bioaugmentation with marine sediment-derived microbial consortia in mesophilic anaerobic digestion for enhancing methane production under ammonium or salinity stress

Ammonium (NH₄⁺) and salinity (NaCl) inhibit CH₄ production in anaerobic digestion. However, whether bioaugmentation using marine sediment-derived microbial consortia can relieve the inhibitory effects of NH₄⁺ and NaCl stresses on CH₄ production remains unclear. Thus, this study evaluated the effectiveness of bioaugmentation using marine sediment-derived microbial consortia in alleviating the inhibition of CH₄ production under NH₄⁺ or NaCl stress and elucidated the underlying mechanisms. Batch anaerobic digestion experiments under 5 gNH₄-N/L or 30 g/L NaCl were performed with or without augmentation using two marine sediment-derived microbial consortia pre-acclimated to high NH₄⁺ and NaCl. Compared with non-bioaugmentation, bioaugmentation reinforced CH₄ production. Network analysis revealed the joint effects of microbial connections by Methanoculleus, which promoted the efficient consumption of propionate accumulated under NH₄⁺ and NaCl stresses. In conclusion, bioaugmentation with pre-acclimated marine sediment-derived microbial consortia can mitigate the inhibition under NH₄⁺ or NaCl stress and enhance CH₄ production in anaerobic digestion.