Microbial community structures in microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) fed with waste activated sludge (WAS). bioreactor sludge metagenome

Renewable H2 production from a plentiful biomass, waste activated sludge (WAS), can be achieved by fermentation, but the yields are low. The use of a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) can increase the H2 production yields to several times that of fermentation. We have proved that the enhancement of H2 production was due to the ability of MECs to use a wider range of organic matter in WAS than in fermentation. To support this result strongly, we here investigated the microbial community structures of WAS and anode biofilms in WAS-fed MECs. Pyrosequencing of the V1-V3 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA-genes.