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Schlagwörter:
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Zusammenfassung:
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a biological process where different trophic
groups of microorganisms break down biodegradable organic materials in
the absence of oxygen. A wide range of AD technologies is being used to
convert livestock manure, municipal and industrial wastewaters, and
solid organic wastes into biogas. AD gains importance not only because
of its relevance in waste treatment but also because of the recovery of
carbon in the form of methane, which is a renewable energy and is used
to generate electricity and heat. Despite the advances on the
engineering and design of new bioreactors for AD, the microbiology
component always poses challenges. Microbiology of AD processes is
complicated as the efficiency of the process depends on the interactions
of various trophic groups involved. Due to the complex interdependence
of microbial activities for the functionality of the anaerobic
bioreactors, the genetic expression of mcrA, which encodes a key enzyme
in methane formation, is proposed as a parameter to monitor the process
performance in real time. This review evaluates the current knowledge on
microbial groups, their interactions, and their relationship to the
performance of anaerobic biodigesters with a focus on using mcrA gene
expression as a tool to monitor the process.
