The importance of hydrogen in landfill fermentations

Forty-two samples taken from two landfills were monitored for CH(inf4) production and apparent steady-state H(inf2) concentration. The rates of methanogenesis in these samples ranged from below the detection limit to 1,900 (mu)mol kg (dry weight)(sup-1) day(sup-1), and the median steady-state hydrogen concentration was 1.4 (mu)M in one landfill and 5.2 (mu)M in the other. To further investigate the relationship between hydrogen concentration and methanogenesis, a subset of seven landfill samples was selected on basis of their rates of CH(inf4) production, H(inf2) concentrations, sample pHs, and moisture contents. Samples with H(inf2) concentrations of <20 nM had relatively small amounts of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) (undetectable to 18.6 mmol of VFA kg [dry weight](sup-1)), while samples with H(inf2) concentrations of >100 nM had relatively high VFA levels (133 to 389 mmol of VFA kg [dry weight](sup-1)). Samples with high H(inf2) and VFA contents had relatively low pH values (<=6.3). However, methanogenic and syntrophic bacteria were present in all samples, so the lack of methanogenesis in some samples was not due to a lack of suitable inocula. The low rates of methanogenesis in these samples were probably due to inhibitory effects of low pH and VFA accumulation, resulting from a thermodynamic uncoupling of fatty acid oxidation. As in other anaerobic ecosystems, H(inf2) is a critical intermediate that may be used to monitor the status of landfill fermentations.