Microbial Communities in Flexible Biomethanation of Hydrogen Are Functionally Resilient Upon Starvation

Ex situ biomethanation allows the conversion of hydrogen produced from surplus electricity to methane. The flexibility of the process was recently demonstrated, yet it is unknown how intermittent hydrogen feeding impacts the functionality of the microbial communities. We investigated the effect of starvation events on the hydrogen consumption and methane production rates (MPRs) of two different methanogenic communities that were fed with hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Both communities showed functional resilience in terms of hydrogen consumption and MPRs upon starvation periods of up to 14 days. The origin of the inoculum, community structure and dominant methanogens were decisive for high gas conversion rates. Thus, pre-screening a well performing inoculum is essential to ensure the efficiency of biomethanation systems operating under flexible gas feeding regimes. Our results suggest that the type of the predominant hydrogenotrophic methanogen (here: Methanobacterium) is important for an efficient process. We also show that flexible biomethanation of hydrogen and carbon dioxide with complex microbiota is possible while avoiding the accumulation of acetate, which is relevant for practical implementation. In our study, the inoculum from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor treating wastewater from paper industry performed better compared to the inoculum from a plug flow reactor treating cow manure and corn silage. Therefore, the implementation of the power-to-gas concept in wastewater treatment plants of the paper industry, where biocatalytic biomass is readily available, may be a viable option to reduce the carbon footprint of the paper industry.