Methane microprofiles in a sewage biofilm determined with a microscale biosensor

Microprofiles of the methane concentration in a 3.5-mm-thick sewage outlet biofilm were measured at high spatial and temporal resolution using a microscale biosensor for methane. In the freshly collected biofilm, methane was building up to a concentration of 175 mumol l-1 at 3 mm depth with a total methanogenesis of 0.14 mumol m-2 s-1, as compared to an aerobic respiration (including methane oxidation) of 0.80 mumol m-2 s-1. A model biofilm was established by homogenisation of an in situ biofilm and 12 days of incubation with surplus sodium acetate. The homogenised biofilm was able to maintain 50% of the methanogenic activity in the absence of external electron donor. Oxygen had only a minor effect on the methane production, but aerobic respiration consumed a substantial part of the produced methane and was thus an important control on methane export from the biofilm. A concentration of 2 mmol l-1 nitrate was shown to inhibit methanogenesis only in the upper layer of the biofilm, whereas a further addition of 2 mmol l-1 sulphate inhibited methanogenesis in the entire biofilm. The study demonstrated the power of the methane microsensor in the study of microhabitats with concurrent production and consumption of methane.