Augmenting Anaerobic Digestion of Microalgal Biomass

Anaerobic digestion of microalgal biomass cannot be achieved without specialized hydrolytic microorganisms. Potentially algalytic bacteria belonging to Citrobacter and Alcaligenes species were isolated from a wastewater lagoon system. A combination of two potentially algalytic bacteria was successfully incorporated into the granular anaerobic consortia. A series of anaerobic cultures were prepared with different microbial combinations to test the methane production from algal biomass collected from a local wastewater treating trickling filter. The anaerobic microbial community mixed with two algalytic bacteria produced 10% more methane when compared to the methane produced by a native granular consortium. The presence of the algalytic bacteria of interest was confirmed by PCR using bacteria specific primers at the conclusion of the study. A computer-simulated model was designed to prove the possibility of incorporating algalytic bacteria into a mature methane-producing granule. Future research will address the anaerobic degradation potential of the modified granular consortia on other types of the microalgal biomass