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Related Experiment Video

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Response of Syntrophic Propionate Degradation to pH Decrease and Microbial Community Shifts in an UASB Reactor.

Liguo Zhang1,2, Qiaoying Ban2, Jianzheng Li1

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, P.R. China.

Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
|May 11, 2016
PubMed
Summary

Low pH significantly inhibits propionate degradation in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors. Propionate-oxidizing bacteria and acetotrophic methanogens are more sensitive to acidic conditions than hydrogenotrophic methanogens.

Keywords:
PCR-DGGEUpflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactormicrobial community structurepH decreasepropionate degradation

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental microbiology
  • Anaerobic digestion
  • Wastewater treatment

Background:

  • Propionate degradation is crucial for anaerobic digestion efficiency.
  • Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors are widely used for wastewater treatment.
  • Understanding pH effects on microbial communities is vital for process optimization.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of pH on propionate degradation in UASB reactors.
  • To identify microbial community shifts in response to varying pH levels.
  • To determine the pH tolerance of key microbial groups involved in propionate conversion.

Main Methods:

  • Cultivation of UASB reactors with propionate as the sole carbon source.
  • Systematic variation of influent pH from 7.5 down to 4.0.
  • Analysis of propionate removal efficiency.
  • Microbial composition analysis using molecular techniques.

Main Results:

  • Propionate removal exceeded 93.6% at pH 7.5-6.8.
  • Significant inhibition of propionate conversion occurred below pH 6.8, with removal rates decreasing to 70.1% at pH 4.5.
  • Propionate degradation was negligible at pH 4.0.
  • Propionate-oxidizing bacteria (Pelotomaculum, Smithella) and acetotrophic methanogens were reduced at pH ≤5.5.
  • Hydrogenotrophic methanogens (Methanobacterium, Methanospirillum, Methanofollis, Methanosaeta) showed better tolerance to low pH (6.0-4.0).

Conclusions:

  • Propionate-oxidizing bacteria and acetotrophic methanogens are sensitive to low pH (5.5-4.0).
  • Hydrogenotrophic methanogens exhibit higher tolerance to acidic conditions compared to acetotrophic methanogens.
  • Maintaining optimal pH is critical for efficient propionate degradation and overall anaerobic digestion performance in UASB reactors.