Ethanol-mediated Anaerobic Digestion: Functional Bacteria and Metabolic Pathways

Abstract

Ethanol-mediated Anaerobic digestion (Ethanol-AD) is a biological process that converts organic waste into biogas, predominantly composed of methane (CH₄), hydrogen (H₂), and carbon dioxide (CO₂), through the breakdown of complex organic materials while ethanol is an intermediate metabolite. Ethanol improves the digestion of complex organic waste by serving as an electron precursor for interspecies electron transfer, leading to enhanced biogas production. It further serves as a substrate for acetogens or syntrophic bacteria, while mean its oxidation leads to acetate formation, which methanogens can then consume to generate methane. Methanogenesis, the final and crucial step in the anaerobic digestion in which methanogens produce methane through various metabolic routes, most notably via the hydrogenotrophic and syntrophic pathways. In hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, methanogens consume hydrogen as an electron precursor and carbon dioxide as an electron acceptor, leading to methane generation. Alternatively, syntrophic methanogenesis, which is increasingly recognized for its efficiency, is dominated by DIET between syntrophic partners, bypassing the need for hydrogen as a mediator. This mode of electron transfer enhances the metabolic cooperation between microbes, facilitating a more efficient methanogenesis process. As research continues to explore the mechanisms underlying DIET and the role of (semi) conductive materials, there is potential for optimizing AD systems for renewable energy production by advancing the methanogenesis process, and enhancing biogas quality. The novelty of this review lies in its dual exploration of direct and indirect interspecies electron transfer (DIET and IIET) within ethanol-mediated anaerobic digestion. While DIET in ethanol-driven systems has been previously discussed, this review is the first to comprehensively examine the interplay between both direct and indirect electron transfer mechanisms, offering new insights into optimizing microbial interactions and improving methane production efficiency.