A Noxious Weed Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. (Ragweed) as Sustainable Feedstock for Methane Production and Metals Immobilization

Olesia Havryliuk, Vira Hovorukha, Galyna Gladka, Artem Tymoshenko, Semen Kyrylov, Oleksandra Shabliy, Iryna Bida, Ruslan Mariychuk () and Oleksandr Tashyrev
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Olesia Havryliuk: Department of Extremophilic Microorganisms Biology, Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine
Vira Hovorukha: Department of Extremophilic Microorganisms Biology, Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine
Galyna Gladka: Department of Extremophilic Microorganisms Biology, Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine
Artem Tymoshenko: Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Environmental Safety, Engineering and Technologies, National Aviation University, 03058 Kyiv, Ukraine
Semen Kyrylov: Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Environmental Safety, Engineering and Technologies, National Aviation University, 03058 Kyiv, Ukraine
Oleksandra Shabliy: Department of Industrial Biotechnology and Biopharmacy, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biotechnics, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, 03056 Kyiv, Ukraine
Iryna Bida: Department of Extremophilic Microorganisms Biology, Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine
Ruslan Mariychuk: Department of Ecology, Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, University of Presov, 08116 Presov, Slovakia
Oleksandr Tashyrev: Department of Extremophilic Microorganisms Biology, Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: Plants of the Ambrosia genus are invasive and cause many ecological problems, including the oppression of the growth of agricultural crops and native plants, land depletion, and the production of strong allergens. The use of weeds as a sustainable feedstock for biogas production, either methane or hydrogen, is a promising way to fulfill the energy needs of the current generation, eliminate the depletion of non-renewable carbon resources, and preserve the ecosystem degradation caused by invasive species impacts. A diversified microbial community was used as inoculum and Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. biomass as a substrate for anaerobic degradation and methane production. In this regard, the development of biotechnological approaches to ragweed degradation will promote the integration of new renewable energy systems. Herein, we have shown the high effectiveness of combining the processes of anaerobic degradation of plant biomass for methane production and detoxification of meal-containing model sewage by a diversified microbial community. Thus, the maximum methane yield was 56.0 L kg −1 TS. The presence of 500 mg L −1 Cu(II) slightly inhibited methane synthesis, and the methane yield was 38.4 L kg −1 TS. In contrast to a diversified microbial community, the natural microbiome of ragweed almost did not synthesize methane and did not degrade plant biomass ( Kd = 2.3). Methanogens effectively immobilized Cr(IV), Cu(II), and Fe(III) during ragweed fermentation at initial concentrations of 100–200 mg L −1 . The obtained results showed the high effectiveness of applying a diversified microbial community in a sewage treatment plant for the degradation of a noxious plant, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.

Keywords: Ambrosia artemisiifolia; microbial degradation of noxious weeds; copper; sewage detoxification; heavy metals; methane production; syntrophic association of bacteria; strict anaerobes; diversified microbial community (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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