The bioconversion of methane to liquid chemicals has attracted much attention. However, the production rate reported to date has been far lower than what is required for economical viability. This is partly due to the low solubility of methane, the low mass transfer rate, and low microbial activities. This study demonstrates a production rate of close to 10 g of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) per liter per day with a mixed-culture biofilm growing in a membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR). Hollow fiber membranes were used both to deliver a high flux of methane and to provide a surface on which slow-growing microorganisms could form biofilms with intensified activities. The rate achieved is nearly 2 orders of magnitude higher than the highest SCFA production rate reported to date and is close to the rates required for practical applications (∼12–120 g L^–1 day^–1). The consortium in the biofilm was dominated by methanogens Methanosarcina and Methanobacterium and acid-producing bacteria Sporolactobacillus and Propionispora, suggesting likely roles of these organisms in the bioconversion of methane into SCFAs. This work shows a methane-based MBfR represents a promising technology for achieving high-rate production of chemicals from methane.

中文翻译：

---

在混合培养膜生物膜反应器中由甲烷高产率地生产短链脂肪酸

甲烷生物转化为液体化学品引起了广泛关注。然而，迄今为止报道的生产率远低于经济可行性所需的生产率。部分原因是甲烷的溶解度低，传质速率低和微生物活性低。这项研究表明，在膜生物膜反应器（MBfR）中生长混合培养生物膜的情况下，每天每升的短链脂肪酸（SCFA）产量接近10 g。中空纤维膜既可用于输送高流量的甲烷，又可提供缓慢生长的微生物可以在其上形成具有增强活性的生物膜的表面。达到的速率比迄今为止报道的最高SCFA生产率高出近两个数量级，并且接近实际应用所需的速率（〜12–120 g L^–1天^–1）。生物膜中的财团主要由产甲烷菌甲烷甲烷菌和甲烷菌以及产酸细菌Sporolactobacillus和Propionispora占主导地位，表明这些生物在甲烷生物转化为SCFAs中的可能作用。这项工作表明，基于甲烷的MBfR代表了一种有前途的技术，可实现从甲烷高速率生产化学品。