Equation for isotope accumulation in products and biomass as a way to reveal the pathways in mesophilic methanol methanization by microbial community

Isotope-labelling of substrate is used to reveal the methabolic pathways of substrate transformation by microbial community. In this paper, in order to describe the batch mesophilic anaerobic methanization of ¹³C-labelled methanol and microbial ecology analysis (Li et al., 2008), an equation for the isotope accumulation in products and biomass was included into the basic mathematical model based on stoichiometric chemical reactions. The higher was the isotope level in substrate, the larger fraction of ¹³C accumulated in products and biomass. Acetate, total organic and inorganic carbon (TOC, TIC) concentrations and methane production were used for the model calibration, whereas ¹³C enrichment of acetate, TIC and biomass were used for model validation. In the model, chemical transformations including methanol and acetate oxidation, homoacetogenesis, hydrogenotrophic and aceticlastic methanogenesis were considered. The rate-limiting reactions were methanol and acetate consumption. According to the model, homoacetogens performing acetate formation and oxidation were competed with hydrogenotrophic methanogens for hydrogen. Biphasic methane production was due to hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis in the first phase and due to acetiticlastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis following acetate oxidation in the second phase.