[Sequence of formation of gaseous products during anaerobic decomposition of cellulose in the presence of several electron acceptors].

The course of anaerobic cellulose decomposition by a mixed microbial association was studied in the presence of nitrate and sulfate ions in the medium. The succession of reductive processes was evaluated by the formation of gaseous products, i. e. nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and methane. The sequence of processes in the course of cellulose degradation was determined by the energy yield of oxidative-reductive reactions. Sulfate reduction predominated if lactate was assimilated by the same microbial association, while denitrification prevailed when the association used acetate.