Biogas production from coumarin-rich plants--inhibition by coumarin and recovery by adaptation of the bacterial community

FEMS Microbiology Ecology
Denny PoppHeike Sträuber

Abstract

Plants like sweet clover (Melilotus spp.) are not suitable as fodder for cattle because of harmful effects of the plant secondary metabolite coumarin. As an alternative usage, the applicability of coumarin-rich plants as substrates for biogas production was investigated. When coumarin was added to continuous fermentation processes codigesting grass silage and cow manure, it caused a strong inhibition noticeable as decrease of biogas production by 19% and increase of metabolite concentrations to an organic acids/alkalinity ratio higher than 0.3(gorganic acids) gCaCO3 (-1). Microbial communities of methanogenic archaea were dominated by the genera Methanosarcina (77%) and Methanoculleus (11%). This community composition was not influenced by coumarin addition. The bacterial community analysis unraveled a divergence caused by coumarin addition correlating with the anaerobic degradation of coumarin and the recovery of the biogas process. As a consequence, biogas production resumed similar to the coumarin-free control with a biogas yield of 0.34 LN g(volatile solids) (-1) and at initial metabolite concentrations (∼ 0.2 g(organic acids) gCaCO3 (-1)). Coumarin acts as inhibitor and as substrate during anaerobic digestion. Hence, couma...Continue Reading

References

Dec 1, 1996·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·G MonielloC S Stewart
Aug 30, 2008·Environmental Science & Technology·J Elliott CampbellChristopher B Field
Jul 7, 2009·Bioresource Technology·Konrad KochHarald Horn
Mar 16, 2012·Bioresource Technology·Jo De VriezeWilly Verstraete
Mar 13, 2015·FEMS Microbiology Ecology·Wenjin HaoAntje Wichels

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