Temporal variation in methanogen communities of four different full-scale anaerobic digesters treating food waste-recycling wastewater

• Methanoculleus was dominant in the plug flow thermophilic digester.
• Methanoculleus and Methanothermobacter were dominant in the thermophilic CSTR.
• Methanosaeta was dominant in the UASB mesophilic digester.
• Methanoculeus and Methanosaeta were dominant in the mesophilic CSTR.

Methanogen communities were investigated using 454 pyrosequencing in four different full-scale anaerobic digesters treating food waste-recycling wastewater. Seasonal samples were collected for 2 years, and 24 samples were available for microbial analysis from a plug flow thermophilic (PT) digester, a continuously-stirred tank thermophilic (CT) digester, an upflow anerobic sludge blanket mesophilic (UM) digester, and a continuously-stirred tank mesophilic (CM) digester. Methanoculleus, Methanobacterium, Methanothermobacter, and Methanosaeta were revealed to be key methanogens in full-scale anaerobic digestion process treating food waste-recycling wastewater. In the PT digester, Methanoculleus was dominant (96.8%). In the CT digester, Methanoculleus was dominant (95.4%) during the first year of operation, but the dominant genus was shifted to Methanothermobacter (98.5%) due to pH increase. In the UM digester, Methanosaeta was dominant (87.2%). In the CM digester, Methanoculleus was constantly dominant (74.8%) except during CM5 when Methanosaeta was dominant (62.6%) due to the low residual acetate concentration (0.1 g/L).