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The variation of microorganisms and organics during methane production from lignite under an electric field

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Abstract

Objectives

The succession of microbial communities and intermediates during methane production was determined by pyrosequencing and GC-MS to investigate the mechanism of biomethanation enhancement from coal.

Results

The maximum methane production at 1.2 V was significantly higher than that at 0 V. Bacterial flora have been changed as a result of the addition of an electric field, e.g., the abundance of Pseudomonas significantly increased to enhance the coal degradation which improved the methane yield by facilitating the electron transfer. The fungal structure was also found stabilized by the electric field when compared to the control after 7 days of cultivation. The predominance of Methanosarcina could also stimulate interspecies electron transfer. The GC-MS analysis revealed that the electric field can selectively promote the metabolism of refractory intermediates such as esters and aromatics during coal biodegradation.

Conclusion

The application of an electric field could enhance methane production from coal by changing the structure and succession of microbial communities, improving electron transfer, and enhancing the fermentation of intermediates during coal biodegradation.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Science and Technology Department of Shanxi Province for their financial support.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1810103, 51404163), Key R&D program of Shanxi Province (International Cooperation, 201903D421088), and Coal seam gas Joint Foundation of Shanxi (2014012006).

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Author notes

  1. Jiayan Zhang and Chao Chen have contributed equally to the paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Safety and Emergency Management and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, 79 Yingze West Road, Taiyuan, 030024, People’s Republic of China

    Jiayan Zhang, Chao Chen & Hongguang Guo

  2. Key Lab of In-Situ Property-Improving Mining of Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China

    Jiayan Zhang, Chao Chen & Hongguang Guo

  3. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China

    Zaixing Huang

  4. Department of Civil & Architectural Engineering, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA

    Zaixing Huang & Michael Urynowicz

Authors
  1. Jiayan Zhang
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  3. Hongguang Guo
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Contributions

Hongguang Guo contributed to the study conceptualization, funding acquisition, and supervision. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Jiayan Zhang and Chao Chen. Chao Chen performed the investigation work. Writing-review and editing were performed by all authors. And all authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hongguang Guo.

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Zhang, J., Chen, C., Guo, H. et al. The variation of microorganisms and organics during methane production from lignite under an electric field. Biotechnol Lett 45, 83–94 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-022-03327-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-022-03327-x

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