Evaluation of system performance and microbial communities of a temperature-phased anaerobic digestion system treating dairy manure: thermophilic digester operated at acidic pH.

A temperature-phased anaerobic digestion system with the thermophilic digester acidified by acidogenesis products (referred to as AT-TPAD) was evaluated to treat high-strength dairy cattle manure at a 15-day retention time. Three temperatures (50, 55, and 60°C) were tested on the thermophilic digester, and 50°C was found to be the optimal temperature for overall performance of the AT-TPAD system, achieving 31% VS removal and 0.22 L methane/g VS fed. The mesophilic digester contributed significantly more to the overall system performance than the thermophilic digester. The thermophilic and the mesophilic digesters had different microbial communities under all conditions, and both microbial communities exhibited dynamic changes in response to different conditions. Certain microbial groups were found significantly correlated with the system performance. Methanosarcina was the most important methanogen genus of the AT-TPAD system and its population abundance was inversely correlated with high concentrations of volatile fatty acids (VFA).