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Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Continuously-stirred Anaerobic Digester to Convert Organic Wastes into Biogas: System Setup and Basic Operation
Published on: July 13, 2012
Anaerobic digestion of biowaste under extreme ammonia concentration: Identification of key microbial phylotypes
Simon Poirier1, Elie Desmond-Le Quéméner1, Céline Madigou1
1Hydrosystems and Bioprocesses Research Unit, Irstea, 1 rue Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, CS 10030, 92761 Antony Cedex, France.
Abstract:
Ammonia inhibition represents a major operational issue for anaerobic digestion (AD). In order to get more insights into AD microbiota resistance, anaerobic batch reactors performances were investigated under a wide range of Total Ammonia Nitrogen (TAN) concentrations up to 50.0g/L at 35°C. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value was determined to be 19.0g/L. Microbial community dynamics revealed that above a TAN concentration of 10.0g/L, remarkable modifications within archaeal and bacterial communities occurred. 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis showed a gradual methanogenic shift between two OTUs from genus Methanosarcina when TAN concentration increased up to 25.0g/L. Proportion of potential syntrophic microorganisms such as Methanoculleus and Treponema progressively raised with increasing TAN up to 10.0 and 25.0g/L respectively, while Syntrophomonas and Ruminococcus groups declined. In 25.0g/L assays, Caldicoprobacter were dominant. This study highlights the emergence of AD key phylotypes at extreme ammonia concentrations.
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