Reactor performance and microbial community dynamics during solid-state anaerobic digestion of corn stover at mesophilic and thermophilic conditions

Reactor performance and microbial community dynamics were investigated during solid state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) of corn stover at mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. Thermophilic SS-AD led to faster and greater reductions of cellulose and hemicelluloses during the first 12 days compared to mesophilic SS-AD. However, accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) was 5-fold higher at thermophilic than mesophilic temperatures, resulting in a large pH drop during days 6–12 in the thermophilic reactors. Culture-based enumeration revealed 10–50 times greater populations of cellulolytic and xylanolytic microbes during thermophilic SS-AD than mesophilic SS-AD. DGGE analysis of PCR amplified 16S rRNA genes showed dynamic shifts, especially during the thermophilic SS-AD, of bacterial and archaeal communities over the 38 days of SS-AD as a result of acclimation of the initial seed microbial consortia to the lignocellulosic feedstock. The findings of this study can guide future studies to improve efficiency and stability of SS-AD.