title: Microbial-chemical indicator for anaerobic digester performance assessment in full-scale wastewater treatment plants for biogas production.
abstract: Anaerobic digestion was introduced into wastewater treatment plants several years ago, but anaerobic digestion performance has not yet been achieved. The variability of the microbial community in digesters is poorly understood, and despite the crucial role of anaerobic digestion reactors, the microbial equilibrium that yields the best performance in these reactors has only recently been hypothesised. In this study, two full-scale continuous anaerobic reactors, placed in Torino's main wastewater treatment plant in northern Italy, were followed to develop a summary indicator for measuring anaerobic digestion performance. A total of 100 sludge samples were collected. The samples were characterised chemically and physically, and microbial groups were quantified by qRT-PCR. A chemical biological performance index strictly correlated to specific biogas production (rho=0.739, p<0.01) is proposed. This approach will produce new management tools for anaerobic digestion in wastewater treatment plants.
authors: Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, piazza Polonia 94, 10126 Torino, Italy. Electronic address: deborah.traversi@unito.it.
authors: Deborah
authors: D
authors: Traversi
authors: Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, piazza Polonia 94, 10126 Torino, Italy.
authors: Valeria
authors: V
authors: Romanazzi
authors: Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, piazza Polonia 94, 10126 Torino, Italy.
authors: Raffaella
authors: R
authors: Degan
authors: SMAT - Società Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A., Corso XI Febbraio, 14 10152 Torino, Italy.
authors: Eugenio
authors: E
authors: Lorenzi
authors: Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, piazza Polonia 94, 10126 Torino, Italy.
authors: Elisabetta
authors: E
authors: Carraro
authors: Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, piazza Polonia 94, 10126 Torino, Italy.
authors: Giorgio
authors: G
authors: Gilli
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis / Q000502:physiology*; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000502:physiology*; D056804:Biofuels / Q000382:microbiology*; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Biogas; Methanogens; Sulphate reducing bacteria; Waste water treatment plant