Novel Control of Sulphate-Reducing Bacteria during Anaerobic Digestion

厌氧消化（AD）是一种常见的和日益增长的减少有机废物的手段，否则被送往填埋场，倾倒在海上或焚烧。这是英国政府致力于实现“零废物”经济和采取措施增加废物中可再生能源生产的核心。几乎任何适合AD的有机材料，产生的沼气都可以用于产生热量和电力，转化为生物燃料或注入国家天然气网。此外，所得到的植物体是有价值的生物肥料。AD过程涉及复杂的微生物群落，包括几个阶段。然而，在这些群落中，有一些无用的竞争者（硫酸盐还原菌（SRB）），它们可以显著降低AD过程的能量输出，并造成与生物肥料相关的难闻气味。在拟议项目中将解决的挑战是开发一种创新的除臭处理方法，专门去除这些SRB，从而提高AD产量并减少客户对气味的投诉，从而带来经济和社会效益。领先企业（Advanced Pest Solutions）正在开发一种创新的抗菌平台技术，该技术基于新型、天然存在的、高度特异性和安全的药剂（噬菌体）。该公司已经在好氧细菌领域取得了重大的商业进展（特别是在农业和食品加工市场），该项目代表了一个新的和迅速扩大的市场的发展。我们的目标是生产定制的噬菌体AD添加剂，针对SRB社区在各种消化器类型，为申请人带来商业利益，并为提高可再生能源的利用效率和促进可再生能源的生产提供了工具。

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a common and growing means of reducing the organic wastes,otherwise sent to landfill, dumped at sea or incinerated. It is central ato the UK’sGovernment’s commitment to work towards a ‘zero waste’ economy and to introducemeasures to increase renewabl energy production from waste. With almost any organicmaterial suitable for AD, the resulting biogas has applications in generating heat andelectricity, converted into biofuels or injected into the national gas grid. Furthermore, theresulting digestates are valuable biofertilers. The AD process involves complex microbialcommunities, over several stages. Within these communities, however, are uselesscompetitors (sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB’s)), which can significantly reduce the energyoutput of the AD process, as well as being responsible for unpleasant odours associated withbiofertiliers. The challenge that will be addressed in the proposed project is to develop aninnovate bactericide treatment that will specifically remove these SRB’s, with the resultingeconomic and social benefits of increased AD yield and reduced customer complaintsregarding odours. The lead business (Advanced Pest Solutions) is developing an innovativeantibacterial platform technology based on novel, naturally-occurring, highly specific and safeagents (bacteriophage). The company has already made significant commercial advances withthe technology in the field of aerobic bacteria (particularly in agricultural- and food processingmarkets) and this project represents a development into a new and rapidly expanding market.We aim to produce bespoke bacteriophage AD additives targeted at SRB communities in arange of digester types, bringing commercial benefit to the applicant, as well as providing atool to enhance AD efficiency and promote the process in the drive to increase renewableenergy production.