Anaerobic treatment of tequila vinasses under seasonal operating conditions: start-up, normal operation and restart-up after a long stop and starvation period.
This study examines the performance of an anaerobic fixed-film bioreactor under seasonal operating conditions prevailing in medium and small size Tequila factories: start-up, normal operation and particularly, during the restart-up after a long stop and starvation period. The proposed start-up procedure attained a stable biofilm in a rather short period (28 days) despite unbalanced COD/N/P ratio and the use of non-acclimated inoculum. The bioreactor was restarted-up after being shut down for 6 months during which the inoculum starved. Even when biofilm detachment and bioreactor clogging were detected at the very beginning of restart-up, results show that the bioreactor performed better as higher COD removal and methane yield were attained. CE-SSCP and Q-PCR analyses, conducted on the biofilm prokaryotic communities for each operating condition, confirmed that the high COD removal results after the bioreactor clogging and the severe starvation period were mainly due to the stable archaeal and resilient bacterial populations.
Departamento de Ingeniería Química, CUCEI-Universidad de Guadalajara, Blvd. M. García Barragán 1451, C.P. 44430 Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico; División de Biotecnología y Salud, Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Guadalajara, Av. General Ramón Corona 2514, C.P. 45201 Zapopan, Jal., Mexico.
J A
JA
Jáuregui-Jáuregui
Departamento de Ingeniería Química, CUCEI-Universidad de Guadalajara, Blvd. M. García Barragán 1451, C.P. 44430 Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico. Electronic address: hugo.mendez@cucei.udg.mx.
H O
HO
Méndez-Acosta
Departamento de Ingeniería Química, CUCEI-Universidad de Guadalajara, Blvd. M. García Barragán 1451, C.P. 44430 Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico.
V
V
González-Álvarez
Departamento de Ingeniería Química, CUCEI-Universidad de Guadalajara, Blvd. M. García Barragán 1451, C.P. 44430 Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico.
R
R
Snell-Castro
Departamento de Ingeniería Química, CUCEI-Universidad de Guadalajara, Blvd. M. García Barragán 1451, C.P. 44430 Guadalajara, Jal., Mexico.
V
V
Alcaraz-González
INRA, UR0050, Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l'Environnement, Avenue des Etangs, F-11100 Narbonne, France.
J J
JJ
Godon
D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001105:Archaea / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001628:Beverages / Q000382:microbiology*; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000032:analysis; D007220:Industrial Waste; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D012621:Seasons
D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D007220:Industrial Waste; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Anaerobic digestion; CE-SSCP; Fixed-film bioreactors; Restart-up; Tequila vinasses