title: Improvement of methane generation capacity by aerobic pre-treatment of organic waste with a cellulolytic Trichoderma viride culture.
abstract: Trichoderma viride is known as a potent cellulose decomposer and was successfully used to improve and accelerate the decomposition process of aerobic composting. In contrast, the role of fungi as pre-treatment organisms for anaerobic digestion is not clear, since the fast aerobic decomposition is thought to be responsible for a rapid depletion of easily available nutrients, leading to a lack of these for the anaerobic community. In the present study carried out in lab-scale, the application of T. viride for the aerobic pre-incubation of organic matter derived from the inlet port of a 750,000 L anaerobic digester led to an increase in total gas and methane production in a subsequent anaerobic digestion step. A high cellulase activity caused by the addition of T. viride seemed to be responsible for a better nutrient availability for anaerobic microorganisms. Therefore, aerobic pre-incubation of organic residues with T. viride for subsequent anaerobic digestion is a promising approach in order to increase methane yields.
authors.affiliation: University of Innsbruck, Institute of Microbiology, Technikerstr. 25, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address: Andreas.Wagner@uibk.ac.at.
authors.forename: Andreas Otto
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schwarzenauer
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Illmer
mesh_terms: D000332:Aerobiosis; D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D056804:Biofuels; D002480:Cellulase / Q000378:metabolism; D002482:Cellulose / Q000378:metabolism; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D008697:Methane / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D014242:Trichoderma / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D002482:Cellulose; D002480:Cellulase; D008697:Methane
keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Biogas; Methane; Pre-treatment; Trichoderma viride