The nutritional composition and cell size of microbial biomass for food applications are defined by the growth conditions.

BACKGROUND: It is increasingly recognized that conventional food production systems are not able to meet the globally increasing protein needs, resulting in overexploitation and depletion of resources, and environmental degradation. In this context, microbial biomass has emerged as a promising sustainable protein alternative. Nevertheless, often no consideration is given on the fact that the cultivation conditions affect the composition of microbial cells, and hence their quality and nutritional value. Apart from the properties and nutritional quality of the produced microbial food (ingredient), this can also impact its sustainability. To qualitatively assess these aspects, here, we investigated the link between substrate availability, growth rate, cell composition and size of Cupriavidus necator and Komagataella phaffii. RESULTS: Biomass with decreased nucleic acid and increased protein content was produced at low growth rates. Conversely, high rates resulted in larger cells, which could enable more efficient biomass harvesting. The proteome allocation varied across the different growth rates, with more ribosomal proteins at higher rates, which could potentially affect the techno-functional properties of the biomass. Considering the distinct amino acid profiles established for the different cellular components, variations in their abundance impacts the product quality leading to higher cysteine and phenylalanine content at low growth rates. Therefore, we hint that costly external amino acid supplementations that are often required to meet the nutritional needs could be avoided by carefully applying conditions that enable targeted growth rates. CONCLUSION: In summary, we demonstrate tradeoffs between nutritional quality and production rate, and we discuss the microbial biomass properties that vary according to the growth conditions.

Trophic interactions shape the spatial organization of medium-chain carboxylic acid producing granular biofilm communities.

Granular biofilms producing medium-chain carboxylic acids (MCCA) from carbohydrate-rich industrial feedstocks harbor highly streamlined communities converting sugars to MCCA either directly or via lactic acid as intermediate. We investigated the spatial organization and growth activity patterns of MCCA producing granular biofilms grown on an industrial side stream to test (i) whether key functional guilds (lactic acid producing Olsenella and MCCA producing Oscillospiraceae) stratified in the biofilm based on substrate usage, and (ii) whether spatial patterns of growth activity shaped the unique, lenticular morphology of these biofilms. First, three novel isolates (one Olsenella and two Oscillospiraceae species) representing over half of the granular biofilm community were obtained and used to develop FISH probes, revealing that key functional guilds were not stratified. Instead, the outer 150-500 µm of the granular biofilm consisted of a well-mixed community of Olsenella and Oscillospiraceae, while deeper layers were made up of other bacteria with lower activities. Second, nanoSIMS analysis of 15N incorporation in biofilms grown in normal and lactic acid amended conditions suggested Oscillospiraceae switched from sugars to lactic acid as substrate. This suggests competitive-cooperative interactions may govern the spatial organization of these biofilms, and suggests that optimizing biofilm size may be a suitable process engineering strategy. Third, growth activities were similar in the polar and equatorial biofilm peripheries, leaving the mechanism behind the lenticular biofilm morphology unexplained. Physical processes (e.g., shear hydrodynamics, biofilm life cycles) may have contributed to lenticular biofilm development. Together, this study develops an ecological framework of MCCA-producing granular biofilms that informs bioprocess development.

Continuous cultivation of microalgae yields high nutrient recovery from nitrified urine with limited supplementation.

Microalgae can play a key role in the bioeconomy, particularly in combination with the valorisation of waste streams as cultivation media. Urine is an example of a widely available nutrient-rich waste stream, and alkaline stabilization and subsequent full nitrification in a bioreactor yields a stable nitrate-rich solution. In this study, such nitrified urine served as a culture medium for the edible microalga Limnospira indica. In batch cultivation, nitrified urine without additional supplements yielded a lower biomass concentration, nutrient uptake and protein content compared to modified Zarrouk medium, as standard medium. To enhance the nitrogen uptake efficiency and biomass production, nitrified urine was supplemented with potentially limiting elements. Limited amounts of phosphorus (36 mg L-1), magnesium (7.9 mg L-1), calcium (12.2 mg L-1), iron (2.0 mg L-1) and EDTA (88.5 mg Na2-EDTA.2H2O L-1) rendered the nitrified urine matrix as effective as modified Zarrouk medium in terms of biomass production (OD750 of 1.2), nutrient uptake (130 mg N L-1) and protein yield (47%) in batch culture. Urine precipitates formed by alkalinisation could in principle supply enough phosphorus, calcium and magnesium, requiring only external addition of iron, EDTA and inorganic carbon. Subsequently, the suitability of supplemented nitrified urine as a culture medium was confirmed in continuous Limnospira cultivation in a CSTR photobioreactor. This qualifies nitrified urine as a valuable and sustainable microalgae growth medium, thereby creating novel nutrient loops on Earth and in Space, i.e., in regenerative life support systems for human deep-space missions.

Greywater reuse as a key enabler for improving urban wastewater management.

Sustainable water management is essential to guaranteeing access to safe water and addressing the challenges posed by climate change, urbanization, and population growth. In a typical household, greywater, which includes everything but toilet waste, constitutes 50-80% of daily wastewater generation and is characterized by low organic strength and high volume. This can be an issue for large urban wastewater treatment plants designed for high-strength operations. Segregation of greywater at the source for decentralized wastewater treatment is therefore necessary for its proper management using separate treatment strategies. Greywater reuse may thus lead to increased resilience and adaptability of local water systems, reduction in transport costs, and achievement of fit-for-purpose reuse. After covering greywater characteristics, we present an overview of existing and upcoming technologies for greywater treatment. Biological treatment technologies, such as nature-based technologies, biofilm technologies, and membrane bioreactors (MBR), conjugate with physicochemical treatment methods, such as membrane filtration, sorption and ion exchange technologies, and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, may be able to produce treated water within the allowable parameters for reuse. We also provide a novel way to tackle challenges like the demographic variance of greywater quality, lack of a legal framework for greywater management, monitoring and control systems, and the consumer perspective on greywater reuse. Finally, benefits, such as the potential water and energy savings and sustainable future of greywater reuse in an urban context, are discussed.

Comparison of MBR and MBBR followed by UV or electrochemical disinfection for decentralized greywater treatment.

Greywater is an attractive source for water reuse at the household or building level, particularly for non-potable applications. Two greywater treatment approaches are membrane bioreactors (MBR) and moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR), yet, their performance has not been compared so far within their respective treatment flowsheets, including post-disinfection. Two lab-scale treatment trains were operated on synthetic greywater: a) MBR with either polymeric (chlorinated polyethylene, C-PE, 165 days) or ceramic (silicon carbide, SiC, 199 days) membranes coupled with UV disinfection; and b) single-stage (66 days) or two-stage (124 days) MBBR coupled with an electrochemical cell (EC) for in-situ disinfectant generation. Water quality was constantly monitored, and Escherichia coli log removals were assessed through spike tests. Under low-flux operation of the MBR (<8 L·m - 2·h - 1), the SiC membranes delayed the onset of membrane fouling and needed less frequent cleaning compared to C-PE membranes. Both treatment systems met most water quality requirements for unrestricted greywater reuse, at a 10-fold lower reactor volume for the MBR than the MBBR. However, neither the MBR nor the two-staged MBBR allowed adequate nitrogen removal, and the MBBR did not consistently meet effluent chemical oxygen demand and turbidity requirements. Both EC and UV provided non-detectable E. coli concentrations in the effluent. Although the EC provided residual disinfection, scaling and fouling decreased its energetic and disinfection performance over time, making it less efficient than UV disinfection. Several outlines to improve the performance of both treatment trains and disinfection processes are proposed, thus, allowing a fit-for-use approach that leverages the advantages of the respective treatment trains. Results from this investigation will assist in elucidating the most efficient, robust, and low-maintenance technology and configurations for small-scale greywater treatment for reuse.

Steering the product spectrum in high-pressure anaerobic processes: CO2 partial pressure as a novel tool in biorefinery concepts.

BACKGROUND: Elevated CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) has been proposed as a potential steering parameter for selective carboxylate production in mixed culture fermentation. It is anticipated that intermediate product spectrum and production rates, as well as changes in the microbial community, are (in)directly influenced by elevated pCO2. However, it remains unclear how pCO2 interacts with other operational conditions, namely substrate specificity, substrate-to-biomass (S/X) ratio and the presence of an additional electron donor, and what effect pCO2 has on the exact composition of fermentation products. Here, we investigated possible steering effects of elevated pCO2 combined with (1) mixed substrate (glycerol/glucose) provision; (2) subsequent increments in substrate concentration to increase the S/X ratio; and (3) formate as an additional electron donor. RESULTS: Metabolite predominance, e.g., propionate vs. butyrate/acetate, and cell density, depended on interaction effects between pCO2-S/X ratio and pCO2-formate. Individual substrate consumption rates were negatively impacted by the interaction effect between pCO2-S/X ratio and were not re-established after lowering the S/X ratio and adding formate. The product spectrum was influenced by the microbial community composition, which in turn, was modified by substrate type and the interaction effect between pCO2-formate. High propionate and butyrate levels strongly correlated with Negativicutes and Clostridia predominance, respectively. After subsequent pressurized fermentation phases, the interaction effect between pCO2-formate enabled a shift from propionate towards succinate production when mixed substrate was provided. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, interaction effects between elevated pCO2, substrate specificity, high S/X ratio and availability of reducing equivalents from formate, rather than an isolated pCO2 effect, modified the proportionality of propionate, butyrate and acetate in pressurized mixed substrate fermentations at the expense of reduced consumption rates and increased lag-phases. The interaction effect between elevated pCO2 and formate was beneficial for succinate production and biomass growth with a glycerol/glucose mixture as the substrate. The positive effect may be attributed to the availability of extra reducing equivalents, likely enhanced carbon fixating activity and hindered propionate conversion due to increased concentration of undissociated carboxylic acids.

Electrochemically assisted production of biogenic palladium nanoparticles for the catalytic removal of micropollutants in wastewater treatment plants effluent.

Biogenic palladium nanoparticles (bio-Pd NPs) are used for the reductive transformation and/or dehalogenation of persistent micropollutants. In this work, H2 (electron donor) was produced in situ by an electrochemical cell, permitting steered production of differently sized bio-Pd NPs. The catalytic activity was first assessed by the degradation of methyl orange. The NPs showing the highest catalytic activity were selected for the removal of micropollutants from secondary treated municipal wastewater. The synthesis at different H2 flow rates (0.310 L/hr or 0.646 L/hr) influenced the bio-Pd NPs size. The NPs produced over 6 hr at a low H2 flow rate had a larger size (D50 = 39.0 nm) than those produced in 3 hr at a high H2 flow rate (D50 = 23.2 nm). Removal of 92.1% and 44.3% of methyl orange was obtained after 30 min for the NPs with sizes of 39.0 nm and 23.2 nm, respectively. Bio-Pd NPs of 39.0 nm were used to treat micropollutants present in secondary treated municipal wastewater at concentrations ranging from µg/L to ng/L. Effective removal of 8 compounds was observed: ibuprofen (69.5%) < sulfamethoxazole (80.6%) < naproxen (81.4%) < furosemide (89.7%) < citalopram (91.7%) < diclofenac (91.9%) < atorvastatin (> 94.3%) < lorazepam (97.2%). Removal of fluorinated antibiotics occurred at > 90% efficiency. Overall, these data indicate that the size, and thus the catalytic activity of the NPs can be steered and that the removal of challenging micropollutants at environmentally relevant concentrations can be achieved through the use of bio-Pd NPs.

Transcriptional regulation in key metabolic pathways of Actinobacillus succinogenes in the presence of electricity.

The potential of renewable energy application via direct electrode interaction for the production of bio-based chemicals is a promising technology. The utilization of extracellular energy in pure culture fermentations aims in intracellular redox balance regulation in order to improve fermentation efficiency. This work evaluates the impact of a bioelectrochemical system in succinic acid fermentation and the metabolic response of Actinobacillus succinogenes. The metabolic pathway regulation of A. succinogenes was evaluated via RNA expression of the key enzymes that participate in TCA cycle, pyruvate metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation. The genes that were significantly overexpressed in BES compared to non-BES were phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (0.4-fold change), inorganic pyrophosphatase (2.3-fold change) and hydrogenase (2.2-fold change) and the genes that were significantly underexpressed were fumarase (-0.94-fold change), pyruvate kinase (-6.9-fold change), all subunits of fumarate reductase (-2.1 to -1.17-fold change), cytochromes I and II (-1.25 and -1.02-fold change, respectively) and two C4-carboxylic acid transporters.

Thermophilic caproic acid production from grass juice by sugar-based chain elongation.

Medium chain carboxylic acids (MCCA) such as caproic acid have a plethora of applications, ranging from food additives to bioplastics. MCCA can be produced via microbial chain elongation using waste and side-streams as substrates, a process that can be more sustainable than conventional production routes. Most chain elongation studies have focused on mesophilic conditions, with only two recent studies hinting at the possibility of thermophilic chain elongation, but a systematic study of its mechanisms is lacking. Here, we investigated thermophilic chain elongation from grass juice, to understand the effect of key operational parameters (pH, temperature, substrate) on the process performance and to establish the key microbial genera and their role in the system. The genus Caproiciproducens was identified as responsible for thermophilic chain elongation, and caproic acid production was most favorable at pH 6.0 and 50 °C among the conditions tested, reaching an average concentration of 3.4 g/L. Batch experiments showed that the substrate for caproic acid production were glucose and xylose, while lactic acid led to the production of only butyric acid. Fed-batch experiments showed that substrate availability and the presence of caproic acid in the system play a major role in shaping the profile of thermophilic chain elongation. The increase of the total sugar concentration by glucose addition (without changing the organic load) during continuous operation led to a microbial community dominated (75 %) by Caproiciproducens and increased by 76 % the final average caproic acid concentration to 6.0 g/L (13 gCOD/L) which represented 32 % (g/g) of the total carboxylic acids. The highest concentration achieved was 7.2 g/L (day 197) which is the highest concentration reported under thermophilic conditions thus far. The results of this work pave the way to the potential development of thermophilic systems for upgrading various underexplored abundant and cheap sugar-rich side-streams to caproic acid.

Microbial electrosynthesis of acetate from CO2 under hypersaline conditions.

Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) enables the bioproduction of multicarbon compounds from CO2 using electricity as the driver. Although high salinity can improve the energetic performance of bioelectrochemical systems, acetogenic processes under elevated salinity are poorly known. Here MES under 35-60 g L-1 salinity was evaluated. Acetate production in two-chamber MES systems at 35 g L-1 salinity (seawater composition) gradually decreased within 60 days, both under -1.2 V cathode potential (vs. Ag/AgCl) and -1.56 A m-2 reductive current. Carbonate precipitation on cathodes (mostly CaCO3) likely declined the production through inhibiting CO2 supply, the direct electrode contact for acetogens and H2 production. Upon decreasing Ca2+ and Mg2+ levels in three-chamber reactors, acetate was stably produced over 137 days along with a low cathode apparent resistance at 1.9 ± 0.6 mΩ m2 and an average production rate at 3.80 ± 0.21 g m-2 d-1. Increasing the salinity step-wise from 35 to 60 g L-1 gave the most efficient acetate production at 40 g L-1 salinity with average rates of acetate production and CO2 consumption at 4.56 ± 3.09 and 7.02 ± 4.75 g m-2 d-1, respectively. The instantaneous coulombic efficiency for VFA averaged 55.1 ± 31.4%. Acetate production dropped at higher salinity likely due to the inhibited CO2 dissolution and acetogenic metabolism. Acetobacterium up to 78% was enriched on cathodes as the main acetogen at 35 g L-1. Under high-salinity selection, 96.5% Acetobacterium dominated on the cathode along with 34.0% Sphaerochaeta in catholyte. This research provides a first proof of concept that MES starting from CO2 reduction can be achieved at elevated salinity.

How can we possibly resolve the planet's nitrogen dilemma?

Nitrogen is the most crucial element in the production of nutritious feeds and foods. The production of reactive nitrogen by means of fossil fuel has thus far been able to guarantee the protein supply for the world population. Yet, the production and massive use of fertilizer nitrogen constitute a major threat in terms of environmental health and sustainability. It is crucial to promote consumer acceptance and awareness towards proteins produced by highly effective microorganisms, and their potential to replace proteins obtained with poor nitrogen efficiencies from plants and animals. The fact that reactive fertilizer nitrogen, produced by the Haber Bosch process, consumes a significant amount of fossil fuel worldwide is of concern. Moreover, recently, the prices of fossil fuels have increased the cost of reactive nitrogen by a factor of 3 to 5 times, while international policies are fostering the transition towards a more sustainable agro-ecology by reducing mineral fertilizers inputs and increasing organic farming. The combination of these pressures and challenges opens opportunities to use the reactive nitrogen nutrient more carefully. Time has come to effectively recover used nitrogen from secondary resources and to upgrade it to a legal status of fertilizer. Organic nitrogen is a slow-release fertilizer, it has a factor of 2.5 or higher economic value per unit nitrogen as fertilizer and thus adequate technologies to produce it, for instance by implementing photobiological processes, are promising. Finally, it appears wise to start the integration in our overall feed and food supply chains of the exceptional potential of biological nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen produced by the nitrogenase enzyme, either in the soil or in novel biotechnology reactor systems, deserves to have a 'renaissance' in the context of planetary governance in general and the increasing number of people who desire to be fed in a sustainable way in particular.

High rate production of concentrated sulfides from metal bearing wastewater in an expanded bed hydrogenotrophic sulfate reducing bioreactor.

Metallurgical wastewaters contain high concentrations of sulfate, up to 15 g L-1. Sulfate-reducing bioreactors are employed to treat these wastewaters, reducing sulfates to sulfides which subsequently co-precipitate metals. Sulfate loading and reduction rates are typically restricted by the total H2S concentration. Sulfide stripping, sulfide precipitation and dilution are the main strategies employed to minimize inhibition by H2S, but can be adversely compromised by suboptimal sulfate reduction, clogging and additional energy costs. Here, metallurgical wastewater was treated for over 250 days using two hydrogenotrophic granular activated carbon expanded bed bioreactors without additional removal of sulfides. H2S toxicity was minimized by operating at pH 8 ± 0.15, resulting in an average sulfate removal of 7.08 ± 0.08 g L-1, sulfide concentrations of 2.1 ± 0.2 g L-1 and peaks up to 2.3 ± 0.2 g L-1. A sulfate reduction rate of 20.6 ± 0.9 g L-1 d-1 was achieved, with maxima up to 27.2 g L-1 d-1, which is among the highest reported considering a literature review of 39 studies. The rates reported here are 6-8 times higher than those reported for other reactors without active sulfide removal and the only reported for expanded bed sulfate-reducing bioreactors using H2. By increasing the influent sulfate concentration and maintaining high sulfide concentrations, sulfate reducers were promoted while fermenters and methanogens were suppressed. Industrial wastewater containing 4.4 g L-1 sulfate, 0.036 g L-1 nitrate and various metals (As, Fe, Tl, Zn, Ni, Sb, Co and Cd) was successfully treated with all metal(loid)s, nitrates and sulfates removed below discharge limits.

In silico assessment of household level closed water cycles: Towards extreme decentralization.

Water management in most of the developed world is currently practiced in a highly centralized manner, leading to major infrastructure and energy costs to transport water. To decrease the impacts of water scarcity and climate change, the decentralization of water can increase local robustness. In extremis, decentralization can involve building or house level water supply and treatment. Here, we constructed a MATLAB/Simulink model for two decentralized water management configurations at the household level, assuming the socio-environmental setting of Flanders, Belgium. Independence from the potable water grid and sewer system was pursued through rainwater harvesting, reuse of wastewater streams fit-for-purpose, and discharge via infiltration. The mass balance for water was calculated over the system boundaries showing high potential for independence from the grid with a reasonable treatment train and storage options. Next, the risk of contaminant accumulation within the circular system was assessed, showing a key limitation on decentralized system performance necessitating a system purge. Up to 59% of system rainwater usage was due to the replacement of this purge. Employing treatment units with high (95%) contaminant rejection efficiencies eliminated contaminant accumulation issues. The raw model output was quantitatively assessed by constructing four newly proposed key performance indicators (KPIs), quantifying system independence, circularity, drought tolerance and local water body recharge, which allowed for facilitated system comparison and communication to stakeholders. A sensitivity analysis was performed in which the effect of input parameter variability and uncertainty on system performance was quantified. The sensitivity analysis showed the importance of water recovery and contaminant removal efficiencies of the applied treatment technologies on system performance when contaminant accumulation in the system forms an issue. In systems not severely affected by pollutant accumulation, parameters such as inhabitant number and roof surface had the largest effect. As a whole, this work shows the potential of extreme decentralization of water systems and addresses the obstacle towards implementation formed by the accumulation of contaminants due to system circularity. Additionally, this study provides a framework for operational and technological decision support of decentralized household-scale water systems and, by extension, for future water policy-making.

Accelerating urea hydrolysis in fresh urine by modifying operating conditions of a sequencing batch reactor.

A number of existing and emerging technologies can recover nitrogen from urine. A preliminary step in many nitrogen recovery processes is hydrolyzing urea to ammonium, a biologically-mediated process that can take days to weeks without intervention. The ability to achieve urea hydrolysis quickly and reliably would increase the feasibility of decentralized nitrogen recovery, especially where space and treatment time are constrained. The goal of this research was to determine whether urea hydrolysis could be accelerated by providing an inoculum containing microorganisms likely to have urease activity (feces or soil), providing a carrier to support attached growth (plastic carriers, granular activated carbon, or no carrier), and modifying the hydraulic retention time (HRT; 1.3, 2, and 4 days) and feeding frequency (Δt = 4, 24 h). Inoculated reactors achieved significantly more urea hydrolysis, and reactors inoculated with soil were able to sustain higher urea hydrolysis rates over time than those inoculated with feces. The mean zero-order rate constants (mM/hr) for reactors with a soil inoculum (15.1) were about three times higher than that of reactors with an inoculum of feces (4.9). A reactor with GAC and an inoculum of soil fed daily with fresh urine achieved greater than 90% hydrolysis with an HRT of 2 days; results suggest the HRT could be reduced to 16 h without reducing performance. No significant benefit was provided by increasing the frequency of feedings for the same HRT, likely because urease enzymes were saturated and operating at maximum hydrolysis rates during most of the reaction period.

Lignocellulose Fermentation Products Generated by Giant Panda Gut Microbiomes Depend Ultimately on pH Rather than Portion of Bamboo: A Preliminary Study.

Giant pandas feed almost exclusively on bamboo but miss lignocellulose-degrading genes. Their gut microbiome may contribute to their nutrition; however, the limited access to pandas makes experimentation difficult. In vitro incubation of dung samples is used to infer gut microbiome activity. In pandas, such tests indicated that green leaves are largely fermented to ethanol at neutral pH and yellow pith to lactate at acidic pH. Pandas may feed on either green leaves or yellow pith within the same day, and it is unclear how pH, dung sample, fermentation products and supplied bamboo relate to one another. Additionally, the gut microbiome contribution to solid bamboo digestion must be appropriately assessed. Here, gut microbiomes derived from dung samples with mixed colors were used to ferment green leaves, also by artificially adjusting the initial pH. Gut microbiomes digestion of solid lignocellulose accounted for 30-40% of the detected final fermentation products. At pH 6.5, mixed-color dung samples had the same fermentation profile as green dung samples (mainly alcohols), while adjusting the initial pH to 4.5 resulted in the profile of yellow dung samples (mainly lactate). Metaproteomics confirmed that gut microbiomes attacked hemicellulose, and that the panda's alpha amylase was the predominant enzyme (up to 75%).

The third route: A techno-economic evaluation of extreme water and wastewater decentralization.

Water systems need to become more locally robust and sustainable in view of increased population demands and supply uncertainties. Decentralized treatment is often assumed to have the potential to improve the technical, environmental, and economic performance of current technologies. The techno-economic feasibility of implementing independent building-scale decentralized systems combining rainwater harvesting, potable water production, and wastewater treatment and recycling was assessed for six main types of buildings ranging from single-family dwellings to high-rise buildings. Five different treatment layouts were evaluated under five different climatic conditions for each type of building. The layouts considered varying levels of source separation (i.e., black, grey, yellow, brown, and combined wastewater) using the corresponding toilet types (vacuum, urine-diverting, and conventional) and the appropriate pipes and pumping requirements. Our results indicate that the proposed layouts could satisfy 100% of the water demand for the three smallest buildings in all but the aridest climate conditions. For the three larger buildings, rainwater would offset annual water needs by approximately 74 to 100%. A comprehensive economic analysis considering CapEx and OpEx indicated that the cost of installing on-site water harvesting and recycling systems would increase the overall construction cost of multi-family buildings by around 6% and single-family dwellings by about 12%, with relatively low space requirements. For buildings or combined water systems with more than 300 people, the estimated total price of on-site water provision (including harvesting, treatment, recycling, and monitoring) ranged from $1.5/m3 to $2.7/m,3 which is considerably less than the typical tariffs collected by utilities in the United States and Western Europe. Where buildings can avoid the need to connect to centralized supplies for potable water and sewage disposal, water costs could be even lower. Urine-diversion has the potential to yield the least expensive solution but is the least well developed and had higher uncertainty in the cost analysis. More mature layouts (e.g., membrane bioreactors) exhibited less cost uncertainty and were economically competitive. Our analysis indicates that existing technologies can be used to create economically viable systems that greatly reduce demands on centralized utilities and, under some conditions, eliminate the need for centralized water supply or sewage collection.

Pre-incubation conditions determine the fermentation pattern and microbial community structure in fermenters at mild hydrostatic pressure.

Fermentation at elevated hydrostatic pressure is a novel strategy targeting product selectivity. However, the role of inoculum history and cross-resistance, that is, acquired tolerance from incubation under distinctive environmental stress, remains unclear in high-pressure operation. In our here presented work, we studied fermentation and microbial community responses of halotolerant marine sediment inoculum (MSI) and anaerobic digester inoculum (ADI), pre-incubated in serum bottles at different temperatures and subsequently exposed to mild hydrostatic pressure (MHP; < 10 MPa) in stainless steel reactors. Results showed that MHP effects on microbial growth, activity, and community structure were strongly temperature-dependent. At moderate temperature (20°C), biomass yield and fermentation were not limited by MHP; suggesting a cross-resistance effect from incubation temperature and halotolerance. Low temperatures (10°C) and MHP imposed kinetic and bioenergetic limitations, constraining growth and product formation. Fermentation remained favorable in MSI at 28°C and ADI at 37°C, despite reduced biomass yield resulting from maintenance and decay proportionally increasing with temperature. Microbial community structure was modified by temperature during the enrichment, and slight differences observed after MHP-exposure did not compromise functionality. Results showed that the relation incubation temperature-halotolerance proved to be a modifier of microbial responses to MHP and could be potentially exploited in fermentations to modulate product/biomass ratio.

Methylotrophs: from C1 compounds to food.

Microbial protein (MP) is back on the table after decades of slumbering interest. One-carbon (C1) substrates are attractive for MP production due to their efficient production from CO2 and renewable electricity, linking carbon capture to food while circumventing agriculture. Here we compared all reported combinations of C1 (formate/methanol/methane) and microorganisms (bacteria/yeasts) in terms of engineering and biomass quality parameters, focusing on the amino acid match with human requirements. This meta-analysis based on >100 studies suggests that methanol is the most promising C1, and methanol-grown microorganisms seem most nutritional with bacteria and yeasts having different merits. More sustainable MP could be produced if metabolic engineering tools yielding microorganisms with more efficient C1 assimilation pathways and steered amino acid profiles are deployed.