Microbial Methane Production—Theoretical Aspects2

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The methane fermentation involves bacteria which obtain energy for growth by catabolizing anaerobically degradable organic matter to the end-products CO2 and CH4. Three metabolic groups of bacteria are involved. Fermentative bacteria hydrolyze materials such as lipids, protein, and polysaccharides and ferment most products with excretion of acetate and other saturated fatty acids, CO2 and H2 as major endproducts. A second group of mainly unknown species, the H2-producing acetogenic bacteria, produce acetate and H2 from end-products of the first group. The methanogenic bacteria catabolize the endproducts, mainly acetate, CO2 and H2 produced jointly by the other two groups, to the terminal products. Reasons for the importance of the maintenance of a very low H2 concentration in the ecosystem by the methanogens for the efficient regulation of product formation such as maintaining low propionate and other reduced product formation and high acetate and H2 formation by the fermentative bacteria and its necessity for catabolism of fatty and probably aromatic acids to acetate and H2 are discussed. The stoichiometry, kinetics of growth and environmental factors affecting the efficiency of the fermentation are briefly discussed. Copyright © 1979. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1979 by American Society of Animal Science.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: