Abstract
The limited availability of resources is nowadays the main driving force of changing our societal focus from conventional waste treatment and disposal toward resource recovery from organic waste streams. One possibility for wastewater treatment that generates net energy is anaerobic digestion (AD), where microorganisms break down complex organic matter anaerobically into a variety of volatile organic acids, which are subsequently converted into biogas mainly methane (CH4) by methanogens. Since methanogens can only consume mono- and/or di-carbon organic compounds, such as acetate, they have to build syntrophic partnerships with other microorganisms (e.g., fermenting bacteria) for CH4 production from more complex substrates, including food wastewater. These syntrophic partnerships involve interspecies electron transfer via electron carriers, where methanogens use H2 and/or formate as electron shuttles to scavenge electrons from bacterial electron donors to bacterial electron acceptors, which results in the reduction of CO2 to methane. However, recent studies suggested that a specific type of electroactive bacteria could use the advantage of conductive materials to transfer electrons directly to methanogens without the need for the indirect H2/formate pathway. This unique intercellular electron transfer route—which is known as “direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET)”—allows more efficient CH4 production from organic matter in a metabolically and thermodynamically more efficient manner, enabling higher CH4 production rate and shorter start-up time. This book chapter will provide a critical assessment of the DIET mechanism driven by conductive materials that enable value-added resource recovery from different types of organic waste streams, their current limitations, and their potential scaling-up opportunities.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmad M, Rajapaksha AU, Lim JE, Zhang M, Bolan N, Mohan D, Vithanage M, Lee SS, Ok YS (2014) Biochar as a sorbent for contaminant management in soil and water: a review. Chemosphere 99:19–33
Angenent LT, Karim K, Al-Dahhan MH, Wrenn BA, Domíguez-Espinosa R (2004) Production of bioenergy and biochemicals from industrial and agricultural wastewater. Trends Biotechnol 22:477–485
Baek G, Kim J, Cho K, Bae H, Lee C (2015) The biostimulation of anaerobic digestion with (semi) conductive ferric oxides: their potential for enhanced biomethanation. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99:10355–10366
Baek G, Kim J, Kim J, Lee C (2018) Role and potential of direct interspecies electron transfer in anaerobic digestion. Energies 11(1):107
Batstone DJ, Picioreanu C, van Loosdrecht MCM (2006) Multidimensional modelling to investigate interspecies hydrogen transfer in anaerobic biofilms. Water Res 40:3099–3108
Capson-Tojo G, Moscoviz R, Ruiz D, Santa-Catalina G, Trably E, Rouez M, Crest M, Steyer JP, Bernet N, Delgenès JP (2018) Addition of granular activated carbon and trace elements to favor volatile fatty acid consumption during anaerobic digestion of food waste. Bioresour Technol 260:157–168
Chen Y, Cheng JJ, Creamer KS (2008) Inhibition of anaerobic digestion process: a review. Bioresour Technol 99:4044–4064
Chen S, Rotaru AE, Liu F, Philips J, Woodard TL, Nevin KP, Lovley DR (2014) Carbon cloth stimulates direct interspecies electron transfer in syntrophic co-cultures. Bioresour Technol 173:82–86
Chen Q, Liu C, Liu X, Sun D, Li P, Qiu B, Dang Y, Karpinski NA, Smith JA, Holmes DE (2020) Magnetite enhances anaerobic digestion of high salinity organic wastewater. Environ Res 189:109884
Chiappero M, Demichelis F, Norouzi O, Berruti F, Hu M, Mašek O, Di Maria F, Fiore S (2020) Review of biochar application in anaerobic digestion processes. Renew Sust Energ Rev 131:110037
Cruz Viggi C, Rossetti S, Fazi S, Paiano P, Majone M, Aulenta F (2014) Magnetite particles triggering a faster and more robust syntrophic pathway of methanogenic propionate degradation. Environ Sci Technol 48:7536–7543
Dang Y, Holmes DE, Zhao Z, Woodard TL, Zhang Y, Sun D, Wang LY, Nevin KP, Lovley DR (2016) Enhancing anaerobic digestion of complex organic waste with carbon-based conductive materials. Bioresour Technol 220:516–522
De Bok FAM, Plugge CM, Stams AJM (2004) Interspecies electron transfer in methanogenic propionate degrading consortia. Water Res 38:1368–1375
El-Qelish M, Chatterjee P, Dessì P, Kokko M, El-Gohary F, Abo-Aly M, Rintala J (2020) Bio-hydrogen production from sewage sludge: screening for pretreatments and semi-continuous reactor operation. Waste Biomass Valoriz 11:4225–4234
Feliciano GT, Steidl RJ, Reguera G (2015) Structural and functional insights into the conductive pili of Geobacter sulfurreducens revealed in molecular dynamics simulations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 17:22217–22226
Gahlot P, Ahmed B, Tiwari SB, Aryal N, Khursheed A, Kazmi AA, Tyagi VK (2020) Conductive material engineered direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) in anaerobic digestion: mechanism and application. Environ Technol Innov 20:101056
Guo X, Chen H, Zhu X, **a A, Liao Q, Huang Y, Zhu X (2021) Revealing the role of conductive materials on facilitating direct interspecies electron transfer in syntrophic methanogenesis: a thermodynamic analysis. Energy 229:120747
Hu Q, Sun D, Ma Y, Qiu B, Guo Z (2017) Conductive polyaniline nanorods enhanced methane production from anaerobic wastewater treatment. Polymer 120:236–243
Kato S, Hashimoto K, Watanabe K (2012) Methanogenesis facilitated by electric syntrophy via (semi) conductive iron-oxide minerals. Environ Microbiol 14:1646–1654
Lei Y, Wei L, Liu T, **ao Y, Dang Y, Sun D, Holmes DE (2018) Magnetite enhances anaerobic digestion and methanogenesis of fresh leachate from a municipal solid waste incineration plant. Chem Eng J 348:992–999
Lei Y, Sun D, Dang Y, Feng X, Huo D, Liu C, Zheng K, Holmes DE (2019) Metagenomic analysis reveals that activated carbon aids anaerobic digestion of raw incineration leachate by promoting direct interspecies electron transfer. Water Res 161:570–580
Li H, Chang J, Liu P, Fu L, Ding D, Lu Y (2015) Direct interspecies electron transfer accelerates syntrophic oxidation of butyrate in paddy soil enrichments. Environ Microbiol 17:1533–1547
Lin R, Cheng J, Zhang J, Zhou J, Cen K, Murphy JD (2017) Boosting biomethane yield and production rate with graphene: the potential of direct interspecies electron transfer in anaerobic digestion. Bioresour Technol 239:345–352
Liu F, Rotaru AE, Shrestha PM, Malvankar NS, Nevin KP, Lovley DR (2012) Promoting direct interspecies electron transfer with activated carbon. Energy Environ Sci 5:8982–8989
Liu S, Song H, Wei S, Yang F, Li X (2014) Bio-cathode materials evaluation and configuration optimization for power output of vertical subsurface flow constructed wetland—microbial fuel cell systems. Bioresour Technol 166:575–583
Lovley DR (2011) Reach out and touch someone: potential impact of DIET (direct interspecies energy transfer) on anaerobic biogeochemistry, bioremediation, and bioenergy. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 10:101–105
Lovley DR (2017) Syntrophy goes electric: direct interspecies electron transfer. Annu Rev Microbiol 71:643–664
Lu K, Yang X, Gielen G, Bolan N, Ok YS, Niazi NK, Xu S, Yuan G, Chen X, Zhang X (2017) Effect of bamboo and rice straw biochars on the mobility and redistribution of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) in contaminated soil. J Environ Manag 186:285–292
Luo C, Lü F, Shao L, He P (2015) Application of eco-compatible biochar in anaerobic digestion to relieve acid stress and promote the selective colonization of functional microbes. Water Res 68:710–718
Madigan MT, Martinko JM, Dunlap PV, Clark DP (2008) Brock biology of microorganisms 12th Ed. Int Microbiol 11:65–73
Mahmoud M, Torres CI, Rittmann BE (2017a) Changes in glucose fermentation pathways as a response to the free ammonia concentration in microbial electrolysis cells. Environ Sci Technol 51:13461–13470
Mahmoud M, Parameswaran P, Torres CI, Rittmann BE (2017b) Electrochemical techniques reveal that total ammonium stress increases electron flow to anode respiration in mixed-species bacterial anode biofilms. Biotechnol Bioeng 114: 1151-1159 https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.26246
Martins G, Salvador AF, Pereira L, Alves MM (2018) Methane production and conductive materials: a critical review. Environ Sci Technol 52:10241–10253
McGlynn SE, Chadwick GL, Kempes CP, Orphan VJ (2015) Single cell activity reveals direct electron transfer in methanotrophic consortia. Nature 526:531–535
McInerney MJ, Struchtemeyer CG, Sieber J, Mouttaki H, Stams AJM, Schink B, Rohlin L, Gunsalus RP (2008) Physiology, ecology, phylogeny, and genomics of microorganisms capable of syntrophic metabolism. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1125:58–72
McInerney MJ, Sieber JR, Gunsalus RP (2009) Syntrophy in anaerobic global carbon cycles. Curr Opin Biotechnol 20:623–632
Meegoda JN, Li B, Patel K, Wang LB (2018) A review of the processes, parameters, and optimization of anaerobic digestion. Int J Environ Res Public Health 15:2224
Morita M, Malvankar NS, Franks AE, Summers ZM, Giloteaux L, Rotaru AE, Rotaru C, Lovley DR (2011) Potential for direct interspecies electron transfer in methanogenic wastewater digester aggregates. MBio 2:e00159–e00111
Mostafa A, Im S, Song YC, Kang S, Kim DH (2020) Enhanced anaerobic digestion of long chain fatty acid by adding magnetite and carbon nanotubes. Microorganisms 8:333
Nasr M, Tawfik A, Awad HM, Galal A, El-qelish M, Abdul M, Mumtaz M, Khan A, Rehan M, Nizami A, Lee M (2021) Dual production of hydrogen and biochar from industrial effluent containing phenolic compounds. Fuel 301:121087
Neilands JB (1974) Microbial iron metabolism: a comprehensive treatise. Academic Press, New York, NY
Panigrahi S, Dubey BK (2019) A critical review on operating parameters and strategies to improve the biogas yield from anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste. Renew Energy 143:779–797
Park JH, Kang HJ, Park KH, Park HD (2018) Direct interspecies electron transfer via conductive materials: a perspective for anaerobic digestion applications. Bioresour Technol 254:300–311
Reguera G, McCarthy KD, Mehta T, Nicoll JS, Tuominen MT, Lovley DR (2005) Extracellular electron transfer via microbial nanowires. Nature 435:1098–1101
Rotaru AE, Shrestha PM, Liu F, Markovaite B, Chen S, Nevin KP, Lovley DR (2014) Direct interspecies electron transfer between Geobacter metallireducens and Methanosarcina barkeri. Appl Environ Microbiol 80:4599–4605
Rotaru AE, Woodard TL, Nevin KP, Lovley DR (2015) Link between capacity for current production and syntrophic growth in Geobacter species. Front Microbiol 6:1–8
Salvador AF, Martins G, Melle-Franco M, Serpa R, Stams AJM, Cavaleiro AJ, Pereira MA, Alves MM (2017) Carbon nanotubes accelerate methane production in pure cultures of methanogens and in a syntrophic coculture. Environ Microbiol 19:2727–2739
Shen N, Liang Z, Chen Y, Song H, Wan J (2020) Bioresource Technology Enhancement of syntrophic acetate oxidation pathway via single walled carbon nanotubes addition under high acetate concentration and thermophilic condition. Bioresour Technol 306:123182
Shrestha PM, Rotaru AE (2014) Plugging in or going wireless: strategies for interspecies electron transfer. Front Microbiol 5:237
Sieber JR, Le HM, McInerney MJ (2014) The importance of hydrogen and formate transfer for syntrophic fatty, aromatic and alicyclic metabolism. Environ Microbiol 16:177–188
Smith KS, Ingram-Smith C (2007) Methanosaeta, the forgotten methanogen? Trends Microbiol 15:150–155
Smith AL, Stadler LB, Cao L, Love NG, Raskin L, Skerlos SJ (2014) Navigating wastewater energy recovery strategies: a life cycle comparison of anaerobic membrane bioreactor and conventional treatment systems with anaerobic digestion. Environ Sci Technol 48:5972–5981
Stams AJM, Plugge CM (2009) Electron transfer in syntrophic communities of anaerobic bacteria and archaea. Nat Rev Microbiol 7:568–577
Summers ZM, Fogarty HE, Leang C, Franks AE, Malvankar NS, Lovley DR (2010) Direct exchange of electrons within aggregates of an evolved syntrophic coculture of anaerobic bacteria. Science 330:1413–1415
Wang D, Han Y, Han H, Li K, Xu C, Zhuang H (2018) New insights into enhanced anaerobic degradation of Fischer-Tropsch wastewater with the assistance of magnetite. Bioresour Technol 257:147–156
Wang C, Wang C, ** L, Lu D, Chen H, Zhu W, Xu X, Zhu L (2019) Response of syntrophic aggregates to the magnetite loss in continuous anaerobic bioreactor. Water Res 164:114925
Wang G, Gao X, Li Q, Zhao H, Liu Y, Wang XC, Chen R (2020) Redox-based electron exchange capacity of biowaste-derived biochar accelerates syntrophic phenol oxidation for methanogenesis via direct interspecies electron transfer. J Hazard Mater 390:121726
Wang Z, Wang T, Si B, Watson J, Zhang Y (2021) Accelerating anaerobic digestion for methane production: potential role of direct interspecies electron transfer. Renew Sust Energ Rev 145:111069
Wegener G, Krukenberg V, Riedel D, Tegetmeyer HE, Boetius A (2015) Intercellular wiring enables electron transfer between methanotrophic archaea and bacteria. Nature 526:587–590
Welte C, Deppenmeier U (2014) Bioenergetics and anaerobic respiratory chains of aceticlastic methanogens. Biochim Biophys Acta Bioenerg 1837:1130–1147
Wu W, Wu Z, Yu T, Jiang C, Kim WS (2015) Recent progress on magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles: synthesis, surface functional strategies and biomedical applications. Sci Technol Adv Mater 16:23501
**ao L, Liu F, Lichtfouse E, Zhang P, Feng D, Li F (2020) Methane production by acetate dismutation stimulated by Shewanella oneidensis and carbon materials: an alternative to classical CO2 reduction. Chem Eng J 389:124469
Xu S, He C, Luo L, Lü F, He P, Cui L (2015) Comparing activated carbon of different particle sizes on enhancing methane generation in upflow anaerobic digester. Bioresour Technol 196:606–612
Xu H, Chang J, Wang H, Liu Y, Zhang X, Liang P, Huang X (2019) Enhancing direct interspecies electron transfer in syntrophic-methanogenic associations with (semi)conductive iron oxides: effects and mechanisms. Sci Total Environ 695:133876
Yamada C, Kato S, Ueno Y, Ishii M, Igarashi Y (2015) Conductive iron oxides accelerate thermophilic methanogenesis from acetate and propionate. J Biosci Bioeng 119:678–682
Yan W, Shen N, **ao Y, Chen Y, Sun F, Tyagi VK, Zhou Y (2017) The role of conductive materials in the start-up period of thermophilic anaerobic system. Bioresour Technol 239:336–344
Yan W, Mukherjee M, Zhou Y (2020) Direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) can be suppressed under ammonia-stressed condition–reevaluate the role of conductive materials. Water Res 183:116094
Yang Z, Guo R, Shi X, Wang C, Wang L, Dai M (2016) Magnetite nanoparticles enable a rapid conversion of volatile fatty acids to methane. RSC Adv 6:25662–25668
Yang Y, Zhang Y, Li Z, Zhao Z, Quan X, Zhao Z (2017) Adding granular activated carbon into anaerobic sludge digestion to promote methane production and sludge decomposition. J Clean Prod 149:1101–1108
Yee MO, Deutzmann J, Spormann A, Rotaru AE (2020) Cultivating electroactive microbes—from field to bench. Nanotechnology 31:174003
Zhao Z, Zhang Y (2019) Application of ethanol-type fermentation in establishment of direct interspecies electron transfer: a practical engineering case study. Renew Energy 136:846–855
Zhao Z, Zhang Y, Wang L, Quan X (2015a) Potential for direct interspecies electron transfer in an electric-anaerobic system to increase methane production from sludge digestion. Sci Rep 5:1–12
Zhao Z, Zhang Y, Woodard TL, Nevin KP, Lovley DR (2015b) Enhancing syntrophic metabolism in up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors with conductive carbon materials. Bioresour Technol 191:140–145
Zhao Z, Zhang Y, Quan X, Zhao H (2016) Evaluation on direct interspecies electron transfer in anaerobic sludge digestion of microbial electrolysis cell. Bioresour Technol 200:235–244
Zhao Z, Li Y, Quan X, Zhang Y (2017a) New application of ethanol-type fermentation: stimulating methanogenic communities with ethanol to perform direct interspecies electron transfer. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 5:9441–9453
Zhao Z, Zhang Y, Li Y, Dang Y, Zhu T, Quan X (2017b) Potentially shifting from interspecies hydrogen transfer to direct interspecies electron transfer for syntrophic metabolism to resist acidic impact with conductive carbon cloth. Chem Eng J 313:10–18
Zhuang L, Tang J, Wang Y, Hu M, Zhou S (2015) Conductive iron oxide minerals accelerate syntrophic cooperation in methanogenic benzoate degradation. J Hazard Mater 293:37–45
Acknowledgment
We thank the National Research Centre for providing the funding for this work (project # TT110803).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mahmoud, M., El-Qelish, M. (2022). Efficient Biogas Production Through Syntrophic Microbial Partnerships in the Presence of Conductive Materials in Anaerobic Digesters Treating Organic Waste Streams: A Critical Assessment. In: Meghvansi, M.K., Goel, A.K. (eds) Anaerobic Biodigesters for Human Waste Treatment. Environmental and Microbial Biotechnology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4921-0_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4921-0_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-19-4920-3
Online ISBN: 978-981-19-4921-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)