Enhancement of microbial diversity and methane yield by bacterial bioaugmentation through the anaerobic digestion of Haematococcus pluvialis

Abstract

Microalgae has recalcitrant cell walls that may limit digestibility and, therefore, reduce bioenergy production. In light of the fact that cellulose can increase the cell wall recalcitrance of the Haematococcus pluvialis species of microalgae, the objective of this research was to examine how bioaugmentation with the Clostridium thermocellum at various inoculum ratios represents a viable method by which the CH4 production of microalgae can be enhanced. The results of the investigation revealed that bioaugmentation with C. thermocellum increased the degradation of H. pluvialis biomass and resulted in a 18-38 % increase in methane production as a result of increased cell disruption. In addition, the use of Illumina Miseq sequencing highlighted that the bacterial and archaeal diversity and quantities in the genus were enhanced as a result of the addition of C. thermocellum and this, in itself, improved the efficiency of the biodegradation. Bioaugmentation with C. thermocellum (%15) was also determined to represent the most energy-efficiency method of producing methane.