Augmentation of granular anaerobic sludge with algalytic bacteria enhances methane production from microalgal biomass

Anna Doloman, Yehor Pererva, Michael H. Cortez, Ronald C. Sims, Charles D. Miller*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The efficiency of anaerobic digestion relies upon activity of the inoculum converting organic substrate into biogas. Often, metabolic capacity of the inoculum needs to be augmented with new capabilities to accommodate changes in the substrate feed composition. However, bioaugmentation is not a widely used strategy possibly due to the lack of studies demonstrating successful applications. This study describes the bioaugmentation of granular anaerobic sludge digesting mixed algal biomass in batch-scale reactors. The addition of an algalytic bacterial mixture to the granular consortium increased methane yield by 11%. This study also investigated changes in the microbial 16SrRNA composition of the augmented and non-augmented granular inoculum, which demonstrates a significant change in the hydrolytic microbial community. Overall, the studies' results aim to provide a feasible checklist to assess the success rates of bioaugmentation of anaerobic digestion applications.

Original languageEnglish
Article number88
JournalFermentation
Volume5
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Sept 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Algalytic bacteria
  • Anaerobic digestion
  • Bioaugmentation
  • Granular anaerobic sludge
  • Microalgae

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Augmentation of granular anaerobic sludge with algalytic bacteria enhances methane production from microalgal biomass'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this