Microbial response behavior to powdered activated carbon in high-solids anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste:...

Anaerobic digestion (AD) can not only treat organic waste, but also recycle energy. However, high-solids AD of kitchen waste usually failed due to excessive acidification. In this study, the effect of activated carbon (AC) on kitchen waste AD performance was investigated under high-solids conditions (total solids contents = 15%). The results showed that efficiencies of acidogenesis and methanogenesis were promoted in presence of moderate concentration (50 g/L > AC >5 g/L), but high concentration (AC >70 g/L) weakened AD performance. Moreover, AC addition enhanced the methane production rate from 66.0 mL/g VS to 231.50 mL/g VS, i.e., up to 250.7%. High-throughput sequencing results demonstrated that the abundance of electroactive DMER64 increased from less than 1%-29.7% (20 g/L AC). As AC gradually increased，aceticlastic methanogenesis changed to hydrogenotrophic pathway. Predicted functional analysis indicated that AC can enhance abundances of energy and inorganic ion metabolism, resulting in high methane production.