2-1
Anaerobic granular sludge as a biocatalyst for 1,3-propanediol production from glycerol in continuous bioreactors
Monday, April 27, 2015: 1:00 PM
Aventine Ballroom DEF, Ballroom Level
1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) was produced from glycerol in three parallel
Expanded Granular Sludge Blanket (EGSB) reactors inoculated with granular
sludge (control reactor-R1), heat-treated granular sludge (R2) and disrupted
granular sludge (R3) at Hydraulic Retention Times (HRT) between 3 and 24 h.
Maximum 1,3-PDO yield (0.52 mol mol-1) and productivity (57 g L-1 d-1) were
achieved in R1 at HRTs of 12 h and 3 h, respectively. DGGE profiling of
PCR-amplified 16S rRNA gene fragments showed that variations in the HRT had
a critical impact in the dominant community of microorganisms. However, no
appreciable differences in the bacterial population were observed between R2
and R3 at low HRTs. Production of H2 was observed at the beginning of the
operation, but no methane production was observed. This study proves the
feasibility of 1,3-PDO production in EGSB reactors and represents a novel
strategy to valorise glycerol generated in the biodiesel industry.