Effect of spatial differences in microbial activity, pH, and substrate levels on methanogenesis initiation in refuse.

ABSTRACT: The initiation of methanogenesis in refuse occurs under high volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration and low pH (5.5 to 6.25), which generally are reported to inhibit methanogenic Archaea. One hypothesized mechanism for the initiation of methanogenesis in refuse decomposition is the presence of pH-neutral niches within the refuse that act as methanogenesis initiation centers. To provide experimental support for this mechanism, laboratory-scale landfill reactors were operated and destructively sampled when methanogenesis initiation was observed. The active bacterial and archaeal populations were evaluated using RNA clone libraries, RNA terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Measurements from 81 core samples from vert

SUBMITTER: Staley BF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3067427 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature