Methane-yielding microbial communities processing lactate-rich medium

The subject of the study was a description of the two methane-yielding microbial communities processing the lactate-rich medium, designated as M1A and M1B, in the 3.5-liter Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) bioreactors. The seed methanogenic inoculum for M1A bioreactor was an activated sludge from a municipal waste treatment plant “Warszawa Poludnie” in Warsaw, Poland. The seed methanogenic inoculum for M1B bioreactor came from the 50-liter-UASB bioreactor processing acidic effluent from molasses fermentation to methane as a part of the system operating in Dobrzelin Sugar Factory (Polish Sugar Company, Poland) that produced hydrogen and methane based on the two-stage anaerobic digestion of molasses.