Application of fluorescent in situ hybridisation for monitoring methanogenic archaea in acid whey anaerobic digestion
¹Department of Water Engineering and Technology, Faculty of CivilEngineering, Riga Technical University, Kalku 1, LV-1658 Riga, Latvia;
*Correspondence: kristine.rugele@rtu.lv
²Institute of General Chemical Engineering, Riga Technical University,Kalku 1, LV-1658 Riga, Latvia
Abstract:
Anaerobic digestion of cheese whey offers a two-fold benefit: reduction of pollutionpotential and biogas production. Usually effective anaerobic digestion of acid whey is hinderedby low pH (~ 4.5) and low buffer capacity of the substrate. The aim of this study was toevaluate the process of acid cheese whey anaerobic digestion with respect to changes inmicrobial population dynamics and effective biogas production. The results showed that it ispossible to obtain high methane yields (176–278 L kg-1 VS-1) in a system with high organicloading rates (till 4.9 VS m-3 day) and no apparent acid inhibition on methanogenic microbialpopulation. Moreover, Archaea population showed the ability to rapidly adapt and activelyconvert the substrate.
Key words:
acidic cheese whey, biogas, fluorescent in situ hybridisation.