Microbial Communities in Flexible Biomethanation of Hydrogen Are Functionally Resilient Upon Starvation.

ABSTRACT: Ex situ biomethanation allows the conversion of hydrogen produced from surplus electricity to methane. The flexibility of the process was recently demonstrated, yet it is unknown how intermittent hydrogen feeding impacts the functionality of the microbial communities. We investigated the effect of starvation events on the hydrogen consumption and methane production rates (MPRs) of two different methanogenic communities that were fed with hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Both communities showed functional resilience in terms of hydrogen consumption and MPRs upon starvation periods of up to 14 days. The origin of the inoculum, community structure and dominant methanogens were decisive for high gas conversion rates. Thus, pre-screening a well performing inoculum is essential to ensure the

SUBMITTER: Logrono W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7904901 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature