Electronic regulation to achieve efficient anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW): strategies, challenges and potential solutions

Highlights

● “Electrons surplus” is the underlying cause of the anaerobic digestion collapse.

● Electronic regulation is proposed to improve the efficiency of anaerobic digestion.

● Electrons shunt enhances syntrophic oxidation of volatile fatty acids.

● Direct interspecies electron transfer improves electron transfer efficiency.

● Methanogenic metabolism pathway regulation alters electron utilization patterns.

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is prone to system breakdown under high organic loading rates (OLRs) condition, which subsequently reduces the efficiency of digestion process and results in substantial economic losses. In this perspective paper, the substances metabolisms, electrons flow, as well as microbial interaction mechanisms within AD process are comprehensively discussed, and the underlying bottleneck that causes inefficient methane production is identified, which is “electrons surplus”. Systems encountering severe electron surplus are at risk of process failure, making it crucial to proactively prevent this phenomenon through appropriate approaches. On this basis, the present perspective proposes three potential electronic regulation strategies to prevent electrons surplus, namely, electron shunt, accelerating electron transfer and regulating methanogenic metabolism pathway, and presents specific methodologies for each strategy. Furthermore, the potential solutions to challenges that may occur during the electronic regulation process are also presented in this paper. This perspective aims to provide innovative approaches to achieve the efficient and stable operation of OFMSW anaerobic digestion, especially under high OLRs condition.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Anaerobic digestion / Electrons surplus / Electronic regulation / Electrons shunt / Electron transfer / Methanogenic metabolism pathway

References

[1] Chen Y, Li L, Liu H, Yang D, Liu W, Yang D, Dai X, Chen Y. (2023a). Regulating effects of Fe/C materials on thermophilic anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste: digestive performances and methanogenic metabolism pathways. Fuel, 332: 126140

[2] Chen Y, Yang D, Liu R, Li L, Liu H, Dai X, Chen Y. (2023b). Thermophilic anaerobic digestion of kitchen waste driven by microbial electrolysis cell (MEC): digestion performances, anodic microorganisms’ distribution and current utilization efficiency. Energy Conversion and Management, 279: 116747

[3] Dennehy C, Lawlor P G, Jiang Y, Gardiner G E, Xie S, Nghiem L D, Zhan X. (2017). Greenhouse gas emissions from different pig manure management techniques: a critical analysis. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 11(3): 11

[4] Duc N, Wu Z, Shrestha S, Lee P H, Raskin L, Khanal S K. (2019). Intermittent micro-aeration: new strategy to control volatile fatty acid accumulation in high organic loading anaerobic digestion. Water Research, 166: 115080

[5] FengD, Guo X, LinR, XiaA, HuangY, LiaoQ, Zhu X, ZhuX, MurphyJ D (2021). How can ethanol enhance direct interspecies electron transfer in anaerobic digestion? Biotechnology Advances, 52: 107812 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2021.107812

[6] Fu S, Lian S, Angelidaki I, Guo R. (2023). Micro-aeration: an attractive strategy to facilitate anaerobic digestion. Trends in Biotechnology, 41(5): 714–726

[7] Guo Q, Yang Z, Zhang B, Hua M, Liu C, Pan B. (2022). Enhanced methane production during long-term UASB operation at high organic loads as enabled by the immobilized Fungi. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 16(6): 71

[8] Li L, Xu Y, Dai X, Dai L. (2021). Principles and advancements in improving anaerobic digestion of organic waste via direct interspecies electron transfer. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 148: 111367

[9] Li L, Yuan S J, Cai C, Dai X H. (2022a). Developing “precise-acting” strategies for improving anaerobic methanogenesis of organic waste: insights from the electron transfer system of syntrophic partners. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 16(6): 74

[10] Li W, Liu Y, Wu B, Gu L, Deng R. (2022b). Upgrade the high-load anaerobic digestion and relieve acid stress through the strategy of side-stream micro-aeration: biochemical performances, microbial response and intrinsic mechanisms. Water Research, 221: 118850

[11] Li X, Ren Y, Chen X, Li Y, Chertow M. (2023). Exploring the development of municipal solid waste disposal facilities in Chinese cities: patterns and drivers. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 17(11): 139

[12] Nguyen D, Khanal S K. (2018). A little breath of fresh air into an anaerobic system: How microaeration facilitates anaerobic digestion process?. Biotechnology Advances, 36(7): 1971–1983

[13] Pan X, Zhao L, Li C, Angelidaki I, Lv N, Ning J, Cai G, Zhu G. (2021). Deep insights into the network of acetate metabolism in anaerobic digestion: focusing on syntrophic acetate oxidation and homoacetogenesis. Water Research, 190: 116774

[14] Rocamora I, Wagland S T, Hassard F, Villa R, Peces M, Simpson E W, Fernández O, Bajón-Fernández Y. (2023). Inhibitory mechanisms on dry anaerobic digestion: ammonia, hydrogen and propionic acid relationship. Waste Management, 161: 29–42

[15] Storck T, Virdis B, Batstone D J. (2016). Modelling extracellular limitations for mediated versus direct interspecies electron transfer. ISME Journal, 10(3): 621–631

[16] Yan Y, Zhang J, Tian L, Yan X, Du L, Leininger A, Zhang M, Li N, Ren Z J, Wang X. (2023). DIET-like mutualism of Geobacter and methanogens at specific electrode potential boosts production of both methane and hydrogen from propionate. Water Research, 235: 119911

[17] Yu Z, Xiao K, Zhu Y, Sun M, Liang S, Hu J, Hou H, Liu B, Yang J. (2022). Comparison of different valent iron on anaerobic sludge digestion: focusing on oxidation reduction potential, dissolved organic nitrogen and microbial community. Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, 16(6): 80

[18] Zamri M F M A, Hasmady S, Akhiar A, Ideris F, Shamsuddin A H, Mofijur M, Fattah I M R, Mahlia T M I. (2021). A comprehensive review on anaerobic digestion of organic fraction of municipal solid waste. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 137: 110637

[19] ZeikusJ G (1979). Microbial populations in digesters. In: Stafford D A, Wheatley B I, Hughes D E, eds. Anaerobic Digestion. London: Applied Science Publishers Ltd., 61–87

[20] Zhang Y, Li C, Yuan Z, Wang R, Angelidaki I, Zhu G. (2023). Syntrophy mechanism, microbial population, and process optimization for volatile fatty acids metabolism in anaerobic digestion. Chemical Engineering Journal, 452: 139137

[21] Zhou Z, Zhang C J, Liu P F, Fu L, Laso-Perez R, Yang L, Bai L P, Li J, Yang M, Lin J Z. . (2022). Non-syntrophic methanogenic hydrocarbon degradation by an archaeal species. Nature, 601(7892): 257–262

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support for this work provided by the National Natural Science Point Foundation of China (No. 52131002) and the International Exchange Program for Graduate Students, Tongji University (China) (No. 2023020014).

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Open Access

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2024 The Author(s) 2024. This article is published with open access at link.springer.com and journal.hep.com.cn