Biotechnologies for greenhouse gases (CH4, N2O, and CO2) abatement: state of the art and challenges

Abstract

Today, methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions represent approximately 98 % of the total greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory worldwide, and their share is expected to increase significantly in this twenty-first century. CO2 represents the most important GHG with approximately 77 % of the total GHG emissions (considering its global warming potential) worldwide, while CH4 and N2O are emitted to a lesser extent (14 and 8 %, respectively) but exhibit global warming potentials 23 and 298 times higher than that of CO2, respectively. Most members of the United Nations, based on the urgent need to maintain the global average temperature 2 °C above preindustrial levels, have committed themselves to significantly reduce their GHG emissions. In this context, an active abatement of these emissions will help to achieve these target emission cuts without compromising industrial growth. Nowadays, there are sufficient empirical evidence to support that biological technologies can become, if properly tailored, a low-cost and environmentally friendly alternative to physical/chemical methods for the abatement of GHGs. This study constitutes a state-of-the-art review of the microbiology (biochemistry, kinetics, and waste-to-value processes) and bioreactor technology of CH4, N2O, and CO2 abatement. The potential and limitations of biological GHG degradation processes are critically discussed, and the current knowledge gaps and technology niches in the field are identified.

Interactions Between Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Strains Improve CO2 Fixing Efficiency of Non-photosynthetic Microbial Communities

“…Microbial CO 2 fixation is considered as an important method of environmental protection and resource exploitation based on the entire carbon cycle [1][2][3]. Photosynthetic microorganisms, especially algae, have attracted increasing attention [4,5] not only for its CO 2 fixation capacity but also for its added value, such as its application in microbial fuel cell [6].…”

Phylogenetic Study of Methanol Oxidizers from Chilika-Lake Sediments Using Genomic and Metagenomic Approaches

“…For PCR amplification, final genomic DNA concentration was adjusted to 50 ng/ll. 16S rRNA gene was partially amplified using primers pA (5 0 -AGAGTTTGATCCTGGCTCAG3 0 ; E. coli position [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] and pH (5 0 -AAGGAGGTGATCCAGCCGCA3 0 ; E. coli position 1525-1544) [31]. Amplification was carried out on a thermal cycler (Biorad PTC0220) in 100 ll volume by mixing 50-90 ng template DNA with polymerase reaction buffer (109); 100 lM (each) dATP, dCTP, dTTP and dGTP; primers pA and pH (20 ng each) and 1.0 U Taq polymerase using following conditions: initial denaturation at 94°C for 1.5 min; 35 cycles at 95°C for 1.0 min, 55°C for 1.0 min, 72°C for 1.0 min; and final extension at 72°C for 5 min.…”

“…These symbioses differed from those reported for bivalves from hydrothermal vents and reducing sediments (23 to -34 % dC 13 ). The microbiology, the bioprocess of CH 4 , N 2 O, and CO 2 abatement, potential and limitations of the GHG biodegradation processes, technology niches and the knowledge gaps have been reviewed [19]. It is essential to mention that, methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions represent approximately 98 % of the global greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory.…”

EPS and SMP as Stability Indicators During the Biofiltration of Diffuse Methane Emissions

“…Besides the nitrogen source, there are other factors which have been reported to have a significant effect on methanotrophic activity such as methane concentration, copper concentration, oxygen supply, pH, temperature or the moisture content (López et al 2013). It is also important to take into account the microbial ecology of the inoculum used.…”