Copper ion Toxicity Causes Discrepancy between Acetate Degradation and Methane Production in Granular Sludge

Metal ions have an adverse effect on anaerobic digestion. In an acetate degradation test of upflow of anaerobic sludge blanket granules with $Cu^{2+}$, not all of the acetate that disappeared was stoichiometrically converted to methane. In the presence of 400 mg/g-VSS (volatile suspended solids) $Cu^{2+}$, only 26% of the acetate consumed was converted to methane. To study acetate conversion by other anaerobic microorganisms, sulfate and nitrate reductions were investigated in the presence of $Cu^{2+}$ Sulfate and nitrate reductions exhibited more resistance to $Cu^{2+}$than methanogenesis, and the granules reduced 2.2 mM and 5.4 mM of nitrate and sulfate, respectively, in the presence of 400 mg/g-VSS copper ion. However, the acetate degraded by sulfate and nitrate reductions was only 24% of the missing acetate that could have been stoichiometrically converted to $CO_2$. Accordingly, 76% of the acetate consumed appeared to have been converted to other unknown compounds.