Microbial examination of anaerobic sludge adaptation to animal slurry

Archaeal and Bacterial Community Structure in an Anaerobic Digestion Reactor (Lagoon Type) Used for Biogas Production at a Pig Farm

Biogas production from animal waste is an economically viable way to reduce environmental pollution and produce valuable products, i.e<i>.</i>, methane and a nutrient-rich organic waste product. An anaerobic digestion reactor for biogas production from pig waste was sampled at the entrance, middle (digestion chamber), and exit of a digester, while the bacterial and archaeal community structure was studied by 16S rRNA gene metagenomics. The number of bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTU)-97% was 3-7 times larger than that of archaeal ones. Bacteria and Archaea found in feces of animals (e.g., Clostridiaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, <i>Methanosarcina</i>, <i>Methanolobus</i>, <i>Methanosaeta</i>, and <i>Methanospirillum</i>) dominated the entrance of the digester. The digestion chamber was dominated by anaerobic sugar-fermenting OP9 bacteria and the syntrophic bacteria <i>Candidatus</i> Cloacamonas (Waste Water of Evry 1; WWE1). The methanogens dominant in the digestion chamber were the acetoclastic <i>Methanosaeta</i> and the hydrogenothrophic <i>Methanoculleus</i> and <i>Methanospirillum</i>. Similar bacterial and archaeal groups that dominated in the middle of the digestion chamber were found in the waste that left the digester. Predicted functions associated with degradation of xenobiotic compounds were significantly different between the sampling locations. The microbial community found in an anaerobic digestion reactor loaded with pig manure contained microorganisms with biochemical capacities related to the 4 phases of methane production.

Implications from distinct sulfate-reducing bacteria populations between cattle manure and digestate in the elucidation of H2S production during anaerobic digestion of animal slurry

Biogas produced from the anaerobic digestion of animal slurry consists mainly of methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂), but also includes other minor gases, such as hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). Since it can act as a potent corrosive agent and presents a health hazard even at low concentrations, H₂S is considered an undesirable by-product of anaerobic digestion. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRBs) have been identified as the main biological source of H₂S in a number of natural, biological, and human-made habitats, and thus represent likely candidate microorganisms responsible for the production of H₂S in anaerobic manure digesters. Phylogenetically, SRBs form a divergent group of bacteria that share a common anaerobic respiration pathway that allows them to use sulfate as a terminal electron acceptor. While the composition and activity of SRBs have been well documented in other environments, their metabolic potential remains largely uncharacterized and their populations poorly defined in anaerobic manure digesters. In this context, a combination of in vitro culture-based studies and DNA-based approaches, respectively, were used to gain further insight. Unexpectedly, only low to nondetectable levels of H₂S were produced by digestate collected from a manure biogas plant documented to have persistently high concentrations of H₂S in its biogas (2000-3000 ppm). In contrast, combining digestate with untreated manure (a substrate with comparatively lower sulfate and SRB cell densities than digestate) was found to produce elevated H₂S levels in culture. While a 16S rRNA gene-based community composition approach did not reveal likely candidate SRBs in digestate or untreated manure, the use of the dsrAB gene as a phylogenetic marker provided more insight. In digestate, the predominant SRBs were found to be uncharacterized species likely belonging to the genus Desulfosporosinus (Peptococcaceae, Clostridiales, Firmicutes), while Desulfovibrio-related SRBs (Desulfovibrionaceae, Desulfovibrionales, Proteobacteria) were the most highly represented in untreated manure. Intriguingly, the same species-level OTUs with a similar pattern of opposite relative abundance were also found in two other digesters with lower H₂S levels in their biogas. Together, our results suggest that elevated H₂S production in anaerobic digesters requires the combination of biological and nutritional factors from both untreated manure and digestate.

Mesophilic versus thermophilic anaerobic digestion of cattle manure: methane productivity and microbial ecology

In this study, productivity and physicochemical and microbiological (454 sequencing) parameters, as well as environmental criteria, were investigated in anaerobic reactors to contribute to the ongoing debate about the optimal temperature range for treating animal manure, and expand the general knowledge on the relation between microbiological and physicochemical process indicators. For this purpose, two reactor sizes were used (10 m(3) and 16 l), in which two temperature conditions (35°C and 50°C) were tested. In addition, the effect of the hydraulic retention time was evaluated (16 versus 20 days). Thermophilic anaerobic digestion showed higher organic matter degradation (especially fiber), higher pH and higher methane (CH₄) yield, as well as better percentage of ultimate CH₄ yield retrieved and lower residual CH₄ emission, when compared with mesophilic conditions. In addition, lower microbial diversity was found in the thermophilic reactors, especially for Bacteria, where a clear intensification towards Clostridia class members was evident. Independent of temperature, some similarities were found in digestates when comparing with animal manure, including low volatile fatty acids concentrations and a high fraction of Euryarchaeota in the total microbial community, in which members of Methanosarcinales dominated for both temperature conditions; these indicators could be considered a sign of process stability.