Carbon-based conductive materials enhance biomethane recovery from organic wastes: A review of the impacts on anaerobic treatment


Kutlar F. E., Tunca B., Yılmazel Tokel Y. D.

CHEMOSPHERE, vol.290, 2022 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Review
  • Volume: 290
  • Publication Date: 2022
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133247
  • Journal Name: CHEMOSPHERE
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, PASCAL, Aerospace Database, Aqualine, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), Artic & Antarctic Regions, BIOSIS, Biotechnology Research Abstracts, CAB Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, EMBASE, Environment Index, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, Geobase, Greenfile, MEDLINE, Metadex, Pollution Abstracts, Public Affairs Index, Veterinary Science Database, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Keywords: Anaerobic digestion, Carbon-based conductive materials, Direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET), Methane, Organic wastes, INTERSPECIES ELECTRON-TRANSFER, GRANULAR ACTIVATED CARBON, METHANE PRODUCTION, SYNTROPHIC METABOLISM, CO-DIGESTION, FOOD WASTE, MICROBIAL COMMUNITY, AMMONIA INHIBITION, BIOCHAR, SLUDGE
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Amongst the most important sustainable waste management strategies, anaerobic biotechnology has had a central role over the past century in the management of high-pollution load sources, such as food, agricultural and municipal wastes. During anaerobic digestion (AD), valuable by-products such as digestate and biogas are produced. Biogas (mainly composed of methane) is generated through a series of reactions between bacteria and archaea. Enhancement of AD process with higher methane yield, accelerated methane production rate, and shorter start-up time is possible via tapping into a novel methanogenic pathway discovered a decade ago. This fundamentally new concept that is a substitute to interspecies hydrogen transfer is called direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET). DIET, a thermodynamically more feasible way of electron transfer, has been proven to occur between bacteria and methanogens. It is well-documented that amendment of carbon-based conductive materials (CCMs) can stimulate DIET via serving as an electrical conduit between microorganisms. Therefore, different types of CCMs such as biochar and activated carbon have been amended to a variety of AD reactors and enhancement of process performance was reported. In this review, a comparative analysis is presented for enhancement of AD performance in relation to major CCM related factors; electrical conductivity, redox properties, particle size and dosage. Additionally, the impacts of AD operational conditions such as organic loading rate and temperature on CCM amended reactors were discussed. Further, the changes in microbial communities of CCM amended reactors were reviewed and future perspectives along with challenges for CCM application in AD have been provided.