Role of interspecies electron transfer stimulation in enhancing anaerobic digestion under ammonia stress: Mechanisms, advances, and perspectives

Jun Xu; Samir Kumar Khanal; Yurui Kang; Jiaxin Zhu; Xia Huang; Yang Zong; Weihai Pang; K C Surendra; Li Xie

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127558

Role of interspecies electron transfer stimulation in enhancing anaerobic digestion under ammonia stress: Mechanisms, advances, and perspectives

Bioresour Technol. 2022 Sep:360:127558. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127558. Epub 2022 Jun 30.

Authors

Jun Xu¹, Samir Kumar Khanal², Yurui Kang¹, Jiaxin Zhu¹, Xia Huang¹, Yang Zong¹, Weihai Pang¹, K C Surendra³, Li Xie⁴

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China.
² Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1955 East-West Road, Agricultural Science Building 218, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
³ Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1955 East-West Road, Agricultural Science Building 218, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA; Global Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies, 44600 Kathmandu, Nepal.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, PR China. Electronic address: sally.xieli@tongji.edu.cn.

PMID: 35780934
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127558

Abstract

Ammonia stress is a commonly encountered issue in anaerobic digestion (AD) process when treating proteinaceous substrates. The enhanced relationship between syntrophic bacteria and methanogens triggered by interspecies electron transfer (IET) stimulation is one of the potential mechanisms for an improved methane yield from the AD plant under ammonia-stressed condition. There is, however, lack of synthesized information on the mechanistic understanding of IET facilitation in the ammonia-stressed AD processes. This review critically discusses recovery of AD system from ammonia-stressed condition, focusing on H₂ transfer, redox compound-mediated IET, and conductive material-induced direct IET. The effects and the associated mechanisms of IET stimulation on mitigating ammonia stress and promoting methanogenesis were elucidated. Finally, prospects and challenges of IET stimulation were critically discussed. This review highlights, for the first time, the critical role of IET stimulation in enhancing AD process under ammonia-stressed condition.

Keywords: Conductive material; Electron transfer; Hydrogenotrophic methanogen; Redox compound; Syntrophic methanogenesis.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Ammonia*
Anaerobiosis
Bioreactors
Electron Transport
Electrons*
Methane

Substances

Ammonia
Methane