Effects of dairy manure and corn stover co-digestion on anaerobic microbes and corresponding digestion performance

This study investigated the effects of corn stover as a supplemental feed on anaerobic digestion of dairy manure under different hydraulic retention times (HRT). The results elucidated that both HRT and corn stover supplement significantly influenced microbial community and corresponding anaerobic digestion performance. The highest biogas production of 497 mL per gram total solid loading per day was observed at a HRT of 40 days from digestion of manure supplemented with corn stover. Biogas production was closely correlated with the populations of Bacteroidetes, Clostridia and methanogens. Composition of the solid digestate (AD fiber) from the co-digestion of corn stover and dairy manure was similar to the digestion of dairy manure. However, the hydrolysis of AD fiber was significantly (P < 0.05) different among the different digestions. Both HRT and feed composition influenced the hydrolyzability of AD fiber via shifting the composition of microbial community. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.