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Ex-situ single-culture biomethanation operated in trickle-bed configuration: Microbial H 2 kinetics and stoichiometry for biogas conversion into renewable natural gas.

Fuad Ale EnriquezBirgitte K Ahring
Published in: Bioresource technology (2024)
Biomethanation converts carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions into renewable natural gas (RNG) using mixed microbial cultures enriched with hydrogenotrophic archaea. This study examines the performance of a single methanogenic archaeon converting biogas with added hydrogen (H 2 ) into methane (CH 4 ) using a trickle-bed bioreactor with enhanced gas-liquid mass transport. The process in continuous operation followed the theoretical reaction of hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis (CO 2  + 4 H 2  → CH 4  + 2 H 2 O), producing RNG with over 99 % CH 4 and more than 0.9 H 2 conversion efficiency. The Monod constants of H 2 uptake were experimentally determined using kinetic modelling. Also, a dimensionless parameter was used to quantify the ratio between the H 2 mass transfer rate and the maximum attainable H 2 consumption rate. Single-culture biomethanation averts the formation of secondary metabolites and bicarbonate buffer interferences, resulting in lower demands for H 2 than mixed-culture biomethanation.
Keyphrases
  • carbon dioxide
  • anaerobic digestion
  • room temperature
  • municipal solid waste
  • ionic liquid
  • microbial community
  • sewage sludge
  • ms ms
  • wastewater treatment
  • risk assessment