Temperature drives microbial communities in anaerobic digestion during biogas production from food waste

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2024-03, Vol.31 (41), p.53823-53838
• Main Authors: Chen, Tuo, Zhang, Lu, Guo, Wei, Zhang, Wei, Sajjad, Wasim, Ilahi, Nikhat, Usman, Muhammad, Faisal, Shah, Bahadur, Ali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alternative energy sources; Alternative fuels; Anaerobic digestion; Anaerobic microorganisms; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacteria; Biogas; Bioreactors; Clean energy; Climate change; Correlation; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Energy resources; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Food; Food waste; Fossil fuels; Methanosarcina; Microbial activity; Microbiomes; Microorganisms; Novel Remote Sensing Technologies for Natural Hazard Management; Resource depletion; Temperature; Volatile fatty acids; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-32698-z

Resource depletion and climate changes due to human activities and excessive burning of fossil fuels are the driving forces to explore alternatives clean energy resources. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of potato peel waste (PPW) at various temperatures T15 (15 °C), T25 (25 °C), and T35 (35 °C) in anaerobic digestion (AD) for biogas generation. The highest biogas and CH 4 production (117 mL VS −g and 74 mL VS −g ) was observed by applying 35 °C (T35) as compared with T25 (65 mL VS −g and 22 mL VS −g ) on day 6. Changes in microbial diversity associated with different temperatures were also explored. The Shannon index of bacterial community was not significantly affected, while there was a positive correlation of archaeal community with the applied temperatures. The bacterial phyla Firmicutes were strongly affected by T35 (39%), whereas Lactobacillus was the dominant genera at T15 (27%). Methanobacterium and Methanosarcina , as archaeal genera, dominated in T35 temperature reactors. In brief, at T35, Proteiniphilum and Methanosarcina were positively correlated with volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentration. Spearman correlation revealed dynamic interspecies interactions among bacterial and archaeal genera; facilitating the AD system. This study revealed that temperature variations can enhance the microbial community of the AD system, leading to increased biogas production. It is recommended for optimizing the AD of food wastes.