Anaerobic digestion (AD) of waste activated sludge (WAS) has been widely used, while it poses problems including low methane yield and production rate. Hydrochar is produced by hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass; however, little is known about the role of hydrochar in promoting AD of WAS. The present study showed that hydrochar increased the methane production rate by 30.8% and yield by 31.4% of hydrothermal pretreated dewatered WAS. Hydrochar increased the methane production rate and yield by enhancing the acidification and methanogenesis processes. Genomiccentric metatranscriptomics were used to identify the metabolic activities and transcriptomic response of individual metagenomeassembled genomes that were enriched by hydrochar. Although Methanosarcina sp. FDU0106 had been shown unable to used H 2 , it had the complete pathway for the reduction of CO 2 to methane. Syntrophomonas sp. FDU0164 expressed genes for extracellular electron transfer via electrically pili, suggesting that Syntrophomonas sp. FDU0164 and Methanosarcina sp. FDU0106 were exchanging electrons via direct interspecies electron transfer. The expression of pili was decreased, indicating that hydrochar could replace its roles. Additionally, Firmicutes sp. FDU0048, Proteiniphilum sp. FDU0082, and Aminobacterium mobile FDU0089 were related to the degradation of organics, which could be related to the enhanced methane yield.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.