A novel way to utilize hydrogen and carbon dioxide in acidogenic reactor through homoacetogenesis

This study investigated the potential of Acetobacterium woodii, a homoacetogen, in co-culture with common acetogens for acetate production during glucose fermentation. Three types of inocula, A. woodii (AW), heat-treated sludge (HTS) and co-culture of A. woodii and heat-treated sludge (AW–HTS) were investigated. Results showed that ∼150 mM of glucose was almost completely converted to biomass, gases and other products in co-culture. The addition of A. woodii induced homoacetogenic fermentation in AW–HTS during the first 3 days, as evidenced by the decreased hydrogen production and acetate dominance (>90%, corresponding to 1.19 mol acetate/mol glucose) in total soluble products. However, due to the unfavorable environmental conditions, metabolic pathway in AW–HTS treatment shifted towards butyrate type at the end of the experiment. Bacterial diversity analysis indicated that species supporting growth of A. woodii were dominant during the first several days and their abundance gradually decreased until the end of experiment.