Computational and experimental analysis of organic degradation positively regulated by bioelectrochemistry in an anaerobic bioreactor system

Methane production was tested in membrane-less microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) under closed-circuit (R-CC) and open-circuit (R-OC) conditions, using glucose as a substrate, to understand the regulatory effects of bioelectrochemistry in anaerobic digestion systems. A dynamic model was built to simulate methane productions and microbial dynamics of functional populations, which were colonized in groups R-CC and R-OC during the start-up stage. The experiment results showed significantly greater methane production in R-CC than R-OC, the average methane production of R-CC was 0.131 m(3)/m(3)/d, which was 1.4 times higher than that of R-OC (0.055 m(3)/m(3)/d). The simulation results revealed that bioelectrochemistry had a significant influence on the abundance of microorganisms involved in acidogenesis and methanogenesis. The abundance of glucose-uptaking microorganisms was 87% of the total biomass in R-OC without applied voltage, which was 20% higher than that in R-CC (67%) when external voltages were applied between the anode and cathode. The abundance of hydrogenotrophic methanogens in R-CC was 6% higher than that in R-OC. The simulation results were verified through 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing analysis. An electron balance analysis revealed that alteration of the acidogenesis type led to more acetate and hydrogen production from glucose fermentation, compared with the situation without bioelectrochemistry. An additional pathway from acetate to hydrogen was introduced by bioelectrolysis. These two factors resulted in significant enhancement of methane production in R-CC. Bioelectrolysis process directly contributed to 26% of the total methane production after the start-up stage. When the applied voltages were cut down or decreased, R-CC could maintain considerable methane productions, because the microbial communities and electron transfer pathways were already formed. Starting-up with high voltage, but operating under low voltage, could be an energy-favorable strategy for accelerating biogas production in bioelectro-anaerobic bioreactors. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.