Biotic and abiotic roles of leachate recirculation in batch mode solid-state anaerobic digestion of cattle manure

Solid state anaerobic digestion, with leachate recirculation, is suitable for exploiting manure with a high solid content. The biotic and abiotic effects of the leachates were studied in lab-scale leach bed reactors (LBRs). LBRs were fed with cow manure and four leachates either biologically active or inert. The biotic impact of leachate was assessed by monitoring the microbial communities in the manure and in the leachates. LBRs with biologically active leachates, regardless to their origin, produced equivalent methane volumes (114.52 +/- 19.05 and 99.79 +/- 6.4 L-N/kg(VS)) while LBRs with inert leachates produced half less methane (60.22 +/- 5.71 and 58.87 +/- 13.2 L-N/kg(VS)) attesting to the biotic role of leachate. Moreover, its beneficial abiotic role is mainly due to its initial nutrient content, pH, and buffering capacity. The microbial community in the manure was strongly involved in methane production, and no transfer of microorganisms from the liquid phase was found (p < 0.05). (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.