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. 2020 Sep;67(5):744-750.
doi: 10.1002/bab.1925. Epub 2020 May 12.

Effect of nickel, cobalt, and iron on methanogenesis from methanol and cometabolic conversion of 1,2-dichloroethene by Methanosarcina barkeri

Lara M Paulo  1 , Mohamad R Hidayat  1 , Giulio Moretti  1   2 , Alfons J M Stams  1 , Diana Z Sousa  1
Affiliations

Effect of nickel, cobalt, and iron on methanogenesis from methanol and cometabolic conversion of 1,2-dichloroethene by Methanosarcina barkeri

Lara M Paulo et al. Biotechnol Appl Biochem. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Methanogens are responsible for the last step in anaerobic digestion (AD), in which methane (a biofuel) is produced. Some methanogens can cometabolize chlorinated pollutants, contributing for their removal during AD. Methanogenic cofactors involved in cometabolic reductive dechlorination, such as F430 and cobalamin, contain metal ions (nickel, cobalt, iron) in their structure. We hypothesized that the supplementation of trace metals could improve methane production and the cometabolic dechlorination of 1,2-dichloroethene (DCE) by pure cultures of Methanosarcina barkeri. Nickel, cobalt, and iron were added to cultures of M. barkeri growing on methanol and methanol plus DCE. Metal amendment improved DCE dechlorination to vinyl chloride (VC): assays with 20 µM of Fe3+ showed the highest final concentration of VC (5× higher than in controls without Fe3+ ), but also in assays with 5.5 µM of Co2+ and 5 µM of Ni2+ VC formation was improved (3.5-4× higher than in controls without the respective metals). Dosing of metals could be useful to improve anaerobic removal of chlorinated compounds, and more importantly decrease the detrimental effect of DCE on methane production in anaerobic digesters.

Keywords: cometabolic dechlorination; metals; methanogenesis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors declare no conflict of interests.

Figures

FIG 1
FIG 1
Cumulative methane production from the cometabolism of methanol and DCE by M. barkeri. Assays were done with supplementation of different concentrations of Co (A), Fe (B), and Ni (C); curves corresponding to controls “without DCE” (red circles) and “with DCE and no metals” (blue circles) are also shown.
FIG 2
FIG 2
Cumulative hydrogen (A, B, C) and acetate (D, E, F) production in the presence of Co (A, D), Fe (B, E), and Ni (C, F).
FIG 3
FIG 3
Cumulative VC production in the presence of Co (A), Fe (B), and Ni (C).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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