Methanol as a co-substrate with CO enhances butyrate production in microbial electrosynthesis.

Methanol is a promising feedstock for the bio-based economy as it can be derived from organic waste streams or produced electrochemically from CO. Acetate production from CO in microbial electrosynthesis (MES) has been widely studied, while more valuable compounds such as butyrate are currently attracting attention. In this study, methanol was used as a co-substrate with CO to enhance butyrate production in MES. Feeding with CO and methanol resulted in the highest butyrate production rates and titres of 0.36 ± 0.01 g L d and 8.6 ± 0.2 g L, respectively, outperforming reactors with only CO feeding (0.20 ± 0.03 g L d and 5.2 ± 0.1 g L, respectively). Methanol acted as electron donor and as carbon source, both of which contributed ca. 50% of the carbon in the products. Eubacterium was the dominant genus with 52.6 ± 2.5% relative abundance. Thus, we demonstrate attractive route for the use of the C1 substrates, CO and methanol, to produce mainly butyrate. KEY POINTS: • Butyrate was the main product from methanol and CO in MES • Methanol acted as both carbon and electron source in MES • Eubacterium dominating microbial culture was enriched in MES.