Improvement of methane generation capacity by aerobic pre-treatment of organic waste with a cellulolytic Trichoderma viride culture

Trichoderma viride is known as a potent cellulose decomposer and was successfully used to improve and accelerate the decomposition process of aerobic composting. In contrast, the role of fungi as pretreatment organisms for anaerobic digestion is not clear, since the fast aerobic decomposition is thought to be responsible for a rapid depletion of easily available nutrients, leading to a lack of these for the anaerobic community. In the present study carried out in lab-scale, the application of T. viride for the aerobic pre-incubation of organic matter derived from the inlet port of a 750,000 L anaerobic digester led to an increase in total gas and methane production in a subsequent anaerobic digestion step. A high cellulase activity caused by the addition of T. viride seemed to be responsible for a better nutrient availability for anaerobic microorganisms. Therefore, aerobic pre-incubation of organic residues with T viride for subsequent anaerobic digestion is a promising approach in order to increase methane yields. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.