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Biotechnological intensification of biogas production

  • Environmental Biotechnology
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Abstract

The importance of syntrophic relationships among microorganisms participating in biogas formation has been emphasized, and the regulatory role of in situ hydrogen production has been recognized. It was assumed that the availability of hydrogen may be a limiting factor for hydrogenotrophic methanogens. This hypothesis was tested under laboratory and field conditions by adding a mesophilic (Enterobacter cloacae) or thermophilic hydrogen-producing (Caldicellulosyruptor saccharolyticus) strain to natural biogas-producing consortia. The substrates were waste water sludge, dried plant biomass from Jerusalem artichoke, and pig manure. In all cases, a significant intensification of biogas production was observed. The composition of the generated biogas did not noticeably change. In addition to being a good hydrogen producer, C. saccharolyticus has cellulolytic activity; hence, it is particularly suitable when cellulose-containing biomass is fermented. The process was tested in a 5-m3 thermophilic biogas digester using pig manure slurry as a substrate. Biogas formation increased at least 160–170% upon addition of the hydrogen-producing bacteria as compared to the biogas production of the spontaneously formed microbial consortium. Using the hydrogenase-minus control strain provided evidence that the observed enhancement was due to interspecies hydrogen transfer. The on-going presence of C. saccharolyticus was demonstrated after several months of semicontinuous operation.

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Acknowledgment

This work has been partly supported by EU 6th Framework Programme projects (HyVolution SES6 019825 and NEST STRP SOLAR-H 5166510), by EBARA (Japan), and by domestic funds (NKTH, GVOP, Asbóth, Baross, DEAK-KKK, KN-RET). International collaboration within the EU network COST Action 841 and AD-NETT-1 and AD-NETT-2 is greatly appreciated. We thank Prof. Dr. August Böck and Dr. Axel Magalon (Ludwig–Maximilian University, Münich, Germany) for the hypF mutant E. coli strain. The authors also thank Dr. Csaba Bagyinka who took part in the early phase of the mesophilic experiments and Dr. Pál Valastyán and Mr. Gergely Kovács for their assistance in the thermophilic scale-up experiment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, University of Szeged, Temesvári krt. 62, 6726, Szeged, Hungary

    Zoltán Bagi, Norbert Ács, Balázs Bálint, Lenke Horváth, Krisztina Dobó, Katalin R. Perei, Gábor Rákhely & Kornél L. Kovács

  2. Institute of Biophysics, Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary

    Zoltán Bagi, Norbert Ács, Balázs Bálint, Lenke Horváth, Krisztina Dobó, Katalin R. Perei, Gábor Rákhely & Kornél L. Kovács

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  1. Zoltán Bagi
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Correspondence to Kornél L. Kovács.

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Bagi, Z., Ács, N., Bálint, B. et al. Biotechnological intensification of biogas production. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 76, 473–482 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-007-1009-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-007-1009-6

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