Enrichment of Mesophilic and Thermophilic Mixed Microbial Consortia for Syngas Biomethanation

Grimalt-Alemany, A., Lezyk, M., Kennes-Veiga, D. M., Skiadas, I. V, & Gavala, H. N. (2019). Enrichment of Mesophilic and Thermophilic Mixed Microbial Consortia for Syngas Biomethanation: The Role of Kinetic and Thermodynamic Competition. Waste and Biomass Valorization. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-019-00595-zIn this study, two enrichments were performed at 37 °C and 60 °C to investigate the effect of the incubation temperature on the microbial selection process and the dominant catabolic routes followed. The enrichments resulted in two stable microbial consortia with different patterns of activity. The thermodynamic feasibility study demonstrated that the microbial selection was not driven solely by kinetic competition, since thermodynamic limitations also played a significant role defining the dominant catabolic routes.