Development and in-vitro assessment of novel oxygen-releasing feed additives to reduce enteric ruminant methane emissions.

Ruminant livestock contribute significantly to global methane production and mitigation of which is of utmost importance. Feed additives represent a cost-effective means of achieving this. A potential target for such additives is rumen Oxidative Reduction Potential (ORP), a parameter which influences CH production rates, with methanogenesis occurring optimally at ORPs below -300 mV.

Dietary supplementation with calcium peroxide improves methane mitigation potential of finishing beef cattle.

Calcium peroxide (CaO) offers potential as an anti-methanogenic dietary feed material. The compound has been previously assessed in vitro, with methane (CH) reductions of > 50% observed. The objective of this study was to assess dietary supplementation of CaO at different inclusion levels and physical formats in a finishing beef system on the effects of animal performance, gaseous emissions, rumen fermentation parameters and digestibility.

Individual methanogenic granules are whole-ecosystem replicates with reproducible responses to environmental cues.

Background: In this study, individual methanogenic (anaerobic), granular biofilms were used as true community replicates to assess whole-microbial-community responses to environmental cues. The aggregates were sourced from a lab-scale, engineered, biological wastewater treatment system, were size-separated, and the largest granules were individually subjected to controlled environmental cues in micro-batch reactors (μBRs).

Results: Individual granules were identical with respect to the structure of the active community based on cDNA analysis.

Full-scale study on high-rate low-temperature anaerobic digestion of agro-food wastewater: process performances and microbial community.

The fast-growing global population has led to a substantial increase in food production, which generates large volumes of wastewater during the process. Despite most industrial wastewater being discharged at lower ambient temperatures (<20 °C), majority of the high-rate anaerobic reactors are operated at mesophilic temperatures (>30 °C). High-rate low-temperature anaerobic digestion (LtAD) has proven successful in treating industrial wastewater both at laboratory and pilot scales, boasting efficient organic removal and biogas production.