Anaerobic digestion performance and microbial community structure of corn stover in three-stage continuously stirred tank reactors

Yue Liu; Akiber Chufo Wachemo; HaiRong Yuan; XiuJin Li

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2019.121339

Anaerobic digestion performance and microbial community structure of corn stover in three-stage continuously stirred tank reactors

Bioresour Technol. 2019 Sep:287:121339. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.121339. Epub 2019 Apr 27.

Authors

Yue Liu¹, Akiber Chufo Wachemo², HaiRong Yuan¹, XiuJin Li³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 15 Beisanhuan East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, PR China.
² Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 15 Beisanhuan East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, PR China; Department of Water Supply and Environmental Engineering, Arba Minch University, P.O. Box 21, Arba Minch, Ethiopia.
³ Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, 15 Beisanhuan East Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, PR China. Electronic address: xjli@mail.buct.edu.cn.

PMID: 31100566
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2019.121339

Abstract

A new three-stage anaerobic digestion (TSAD) system combining the two-stage and serial continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) was developed for the high-efficiency anaerobic digestion (AD) of corn stover. At the same hydraulic retention time of 50 d and organic loading rate (OLR) of 1.8 g TS L^-1 d^-1, TSAD achieved a 33.2-50.5% higher methane yield than that of the traditional one-stage and two-stage AD. Moreover, the TSAD process showed higher buffering ability and system stability, relieving the negative impact of serial CSTR at high OLR. It was also found that the hydrogenotrophic methanogen Methanobacteriaceae and multi-function methanogen Methanosarcinaceae were dominant, and the populations of Ruminococcaceae and Syntrophomonadaceae with the function of acetogenesis were enriched in TSAD. The results demonstrated that TSAD could be a high efficient system for converting corn stover into bioenergy.

Keywords: Continuous stirred tank reactor; Corn stover; Microbial diversity; Three-stage anaerobic digestion.

MeSH terms

Anaerobiosis
Biofuels
Bioreactors
Methane
Microbiota*
Zea mays*

Substances

Biofuels
Methane