Effects of Stepwise Temperature Shifts in Anaerobic Digestion for Treating Municipal Wastewater Sludge: A Genomic Study

Gede Adi Wiguna Sudiartha, Tsuyoshi Imai and Yung-Tse Hung
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Gede Adi Wiguna Sudiartha: Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi 755-8611, Japan
Tsuyoshi Imai: Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi 755-8611, Japan
Yung-Tse Hung: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cleveland State University, FH 112, 2121 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: In wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), anaerobic digester (AD) units are commonly operated under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. In some cases, during the dry season, maintaining a stable temperature in the digester requires additional power to operate a conditioning system. Without proper conditioning systems, methanogens are vulnerable to temperature shifts. This study investigated the effects of temperature shifts on CH 4 gas production and microbial diversity during anaerobic digestion of anaerobic sewage sludge using a metagenomic approach. The research was conducted in lab-scale AD under stepwise upshifted temperature from 42 to 48 °C. The results showed that significant methanogen population reduction during the temperature shift affected the CH 4 production. With 70 days of incubation each, CH 4 production decreased from 4.55 L·g −1 -chemical oxygen demand (COD) at 42 °C with methanogen/total population (M·TP −1 ) ratio of 0.041 to 1.52 L·g −1 COD (M·TP −1 ratio 0.027) and then to 0.94 L·g −1 COD ( M·TP −1 ratio 0.026) after the temperature was shifted to 45 °C and 48 °C, respectively. Methanosaeta was the most prevalent methanogen during the thermal change. This finding suggests that the Methanosaeta genus was a thermotolerant archaea. Anaerobaculum , Fervidobacterium, and Tepidanaerobacter were bacterial genera and grew well in shifted-up temperatures, implying heat-resistant characteristics.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion; biogas production; genomic analysis; shifted-up temperature; sludge treatment and disposal; thermotolerant bacteria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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