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Aerobic and Anaerobic Biodegradation

This document provides an in‐depth explanation, detailing the processes of aerobic
and anaerobic biodegradation. It is intended for general audiences and will provide
the reader with the necessary information to understand what is happening during
the biodegradation process. For those interested in the biochemical processes of the
microbial organisms this document will provide a high level explanation of the
aerobic and anaerobic processes.

Biodegradation
Biodegradation is the process by which organic substances are broken down into
smaller compounds by the enzymes produced by living microbial organisms. The
microbial organisms transform the substance through metabolic or enzymatic
processes. Biodegradation processes vary greatly, but frequently the final product of
the degradation is carbon dioxide or methane. Organic material can be degraded
aerobically, with oxygen, or anaerobically, without oxygen.

Biodegradable matter is generally organic material such as plant and animal matter
and other substances originating from living organisms, or artificial materials that
are similar enough to plant and animal matter to be put to use by microorganisms.
Some microorganisms have the astonishing, naturally occurring, microbial catabolic
diversity to degrade, transform or accumulate a huge range of compounds including
hydrocarbons (e.g. oil), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyaromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), pharmaceutical substances, radionuclides and metals.

Aerobic Biodegradation
Aerobic biodegradation is the breakdown of organic contaminants by
microorganisms when oxygen is present. More specifically, it refers to occurring or
living only in the presence of oxygen; therefore, the chemistry of the system,
environment, or organism is characterized by oxidative conditions. Many organic
contaminants are rapidly degraded under aerobic conditions by aerobic bacteria
called aerobes.

Aerobic bacteria (aerobe) have an oxygen based metabolism. Aerobes, in a process

known as cellular respiration, use oxygen to oxidize substrates (for example sugars
and fats) in order to obtain energy.

Before cellular respiration begins, glucose molecules are broken down into two
smaller molecules. This happens in the cytoplasm of the aerobes. The smaller
molecules then enter a mitochondrion, where aerobic respiration takes place.
Oxygen is used in the chemical reactions that break down the small molecules into
water and carbon dioxide. The reactions also release energy.

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Aerobic, unlike anaerobic digestion, does not produce the pungent gases. The
aerobic process results in a more complete digestion of waste solids reducing
buildup by more than 50% in most cases. The aerobic process also improves the
environment of the workers and the animals and helps to keep pathogens in check.

Anaerobic Biodegradation
Anaerobic digestion occurs when the anaerobic microbes are dominant over the
aerobic microbes. Biodegradable waste in landfill degrades in the absence of oxygen
through the process of anaerobic digestion. Paper and other materials that normally
degrade in a few years degrade more slowly over longer periods of time. Biogas
contains methane which has approximately 21 times the global warming potential of
carbon dioxide. In a cradle to cradle approach this biogas is collected and used for
eco‐friendly power generation.
Anaerobic digestion is a series of processes in which microorganisms break down
biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. It is widely used to treat
wastewater sludge and biodegradable waste because it provides volume and mass
reduction of the input material.

As part of an integrated waste management system, anaerobic digestion reduces

the emission of landfill gas into the atmosphere. Anaerobic digestion is a renewable
energy source because the process produces Methane and Carbon dioxide rich
biogas suitable for energy production helping replace Fossil fuels. Also, the nutrient‐
rich solids left after digestion can be used as fertilizer.

The Anaerobic Process

The digestion process begins with bacterial hydrolysis of the input materials in order
to break down insoluble organic polymers such as carbohydrates and make them
available for other bacteria. Acetogen then convert the sugars and amino acids into
carbon dioxide, hydrogen , ammonia , and organic acid. Acetogenic bacteria then
convert these resulting organic acids into acetic acid, along with additional
ammonia, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. Methanogen finally are able to convert
these products to methane and carbon dioxide.

There are a number of bacteria that are involved in the process of anaerobic
digestion including acetic acid‐forming bacteria and methane‐forming bacteria.
These bacteria feed upon the initial feedstock, which undergoes a number of
different processes converting it to intermediate molecules including sugars,
hydrogen & acetic acid before finally being converted to biogas.

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Aerobic and Anaerobic Biodegradation

There are four key biological and chemical stages of anaerobic digestion:

Hydrolysis
Acidogenesis
Acetogenesis
Methanogenesis

Hydrolysis
In most cases biomass is made up of large organic polymers. In order for the
bacteria in anaerobic digesters to access the energy potential of the material, these
chains must first be broken down into their smaller constituent parts. These
constituent parts or monomers such as sugars are readily available by other
bacteria. The process of breaking these chains and dissolving the smaller molecules
into solution is called hydrolysis. Therefore hydrolysis of these high molecular
weight polymeric components is the necessary first step in anaerobic digestion.
Through Hydrolysis the complex organic molecules are broken down into simple
sugars, amino acids, and Fatty acids. Acetate and hydrogen produced in the first
stages can be used directly by methanogens. Other molecules such as volatile fatty
acids (VFA's) with a chain length that is greater than acetate must first be
catabolised into compounds that can be directly utilised by methanogens.

Acidogenesis The biological process of Acidogenesis is where there is further

breakdown of the remaining components by acidogenic (fermentative) bacteria.
Here VFAs are created along with ammonia, carbon dioxide and Hydrogen sulfide as
well as other by‐products. The process of acidogenesis is similar to the way that milk
sours.

Acetogenesis The third stage anaerobic digestion is Acetogenesis . Here simple

molecules created through the acidogenesis phase are further digested by
acetogens to produce largely acetic acid as well as carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

Methanogenesis The terminal stage of anaerobic digestion is the biological process

of Methanogenesis. Here methanogens utilise the intermediate products of the
preceding stages and convert them into methane, carbon dioxide and water. It is
these components that makes up the majority of the biogas emitted from the
system.

Environmental Benefit
Anaerobic digestion facilities have been recognized by the United Nations

Development Program
As one of the most useful decentralized sources of energy supply, as they are less
capital intensive than large powerplants. Utilizing anaerobic digestion technologies

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can help to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in a number of key ways:

Replacement of fossil fuels

Reducing methane emission from landfills
Displacing industrially‐produced chemical fertilizers
Reducing electrical grid transportation losses

Methane and power produced in anaerobic digestion facilities can be utilized to

replace energy derived from fossil fuels, and hence reduce emissions of greenhouse
gases. This is due to the fact that the carbon in biodegradable material is part of a
Carbon cycle. The carbon released into the atmosphere from the combustion of
biogas has been removed by plants in order for them to grow in the recent past. This
can have occurred within the last decade, but more typically within the last growing
season. If the plants are re‐grown, taking the carbon out of the atmosphere once
more, the system will be carbon neutral. This contrasts to carbon in fossil fuels that
has been sequestered in the earth for many millions of years, the combustion of
which increases the overall levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Bio‐Chemistry of a Micro‐Organism for Biodegradation

Although food contains energy, it is not in a form that can be used by cells. Cellular
respiration changes food energy into a form all cells can use. This energy drives the
life processes of almost all organisms on Earth.

Cellular respiration is the set of the metabolic reactions and processes that take
place in organisms' cells to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into
adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and then release waste products. The reactions
involved in respiration are catabolic reactions that involve the oxidation of one
molecule and the reduction of another.

Nutrients commonly used by animal and plant cells in respiration include glucose,
amino acids and fatty acids, and a common oxidizing agent (electron acceptor) is
molecular oxygen (O2). Bacteria organisms may respire using a broad range of
inorganic molecules as electron donors and acceptors, such as sulfur, metal ions,
methane or hydrogen. Organisms that use oxygen as a final electron acceptor in
respiration are described as aerobic, while those that do not are referred to as
anaerobic.

When cells do not have enough oxygen for respiration, they use a process called
fermentation to release some of the energy stored in glucose molecules. Like
respiration, fermentation begins in the cytoplasm. Again, as the glucose molecules
are broken down, energy is released. But the simple molecules from the breakdown
of glucose do not move into the mitochondria. Instead, more chemical reactions
occur in the cytoplasm. These reactions release some energy and produce wastes,
i.e. methane.

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The energy released in respiration is used to synthesize ATP to store this energy. The
energy stored in ATP can then be used to drive processes requiring energy, including
biosynthesis, locomotion or transportation of molecules across cell membranes.
Because of its ubiquity in nature, ATP is also known as the "universal energy
currency".

Electron Acceptor Microorganisms such as bacteria obtain energy to

grow by transferring electrons from an electron donor to an electron
acceptor. An electron acceptor is a compound that receives or accepts an
electron during cellular respiration. The microorganism through its
cellular machinery collects the energy for its use. The process starts with
the transfer of an electron from an electron donor. During this process
(electron transport chain) the electron acceptor is reduced and the
electron donor is oxidized.

Examples of acceptors include; oxygen, nitrate, iron (III), manganese (IV),

sulfate, carbon dioxide, or in some cases the chlorinated solvents such as
tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE), dichloroethene (DCE),
and vinyl chloride (VC).

These reactions are of interest not only because they allow organisms to
obtain energy, but also because they are involved in the natural
biodegradation of organic substances.

Electron Donor

Microorganisms, such as bacteria, obtain energy to grow by transferring

electrons from an electron donor to an electron acceptor. An electron
donor is a compound that gives up or donates an electron during cellular
respiration, resulting in the release of energy.

The microorganism through its cellular machinery collects the energy for
its use. The final result is the electron is donated to an electron acceptor.
During this process (Electron Transport Chain) the electron donor is
oxidized and the electron acceptor is reduced.

Petroleum hydrocarbons, less chlorinated solvents like vinyl chloride, soil

organic matter, and reduced inorganic compounds are all compounds
that can act as electron donors. These reactions are of interest not only
because they allow organisms to obtain energy, but also because they are
involved in the natural biodegradation of organic substances. Note: Aerobic
respiration produces 30 ATP compared to the 2 ATP yielded from anaerobic respiration per
glucose molecule.

Electron transfer chain

The electron transfer chain, also called the electron transport chain, is a
sequence of complexes found in the mitochondrial membrane that
accept electrons from electron donors, shuttle these electrons across the

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mitochondrial membrane creating an electrical and chemical gradient,

and, through the proton driven chemistry of the ATP synthase, generate
adenosine triphosphate.

Adenosine‐5'‐triphosphate (ATP) is a multifunctional nucleotide, and is most

important in cell biology as a coenzyme that is the "molecular unit of currency" of
intracellular energy transfer. In this role, ATP transports chemical energy within cells
for metabolism. It is produced as an energy source during the processes of
photosynthesis and cellular respiration and consumed by many enzymes and a
multitude of cellular processes including biosynthetic reactions, motility and cell
division. ATP is made from adenosine diphosphate (ADP) or adenosine
monophosphate (AMP), and its use in metabolism converts it back into these
precursors. ATP is therefore continuously recycled in organisms, with the human
body turning over its own weight in ATP each day.

In signal transduction pathways, ATP is used as a substrate by kinases that

phosphorylate proteins and lipids, as well as by adenylate cyclase, which uses ATP to
produce the second messenger molecule cyclic AMP. The ratio between ATP and
AMP is used as a way for a cell to sense how much energy is available and control
the metabolic pathways that produce and consume ATP. Apart from its roles in
energy metabolism and signaling, ATP is also incorporated into nucleic acids by
polymerases in the processes of DNA replication and transcription.

Are Plastics Biodegradable?

Biodegradable plastics are plastics that will decompose in the natural environment.
Biodegradation of plastics can be achieved by enabling microorganisms in the
environment to metabolize the molecular structure of plastic films to produce an
inert humus‐like material that is less harmful to the environment. They may be
composed of either bioplastics, which are plastics whose components are derived
from renewable raw materials, or petroleum‐based plastics. The use of bio‐active
compounds compounded with swelling agents ensures that, when combined with
heat and moisture, they expand the plastic's molecular structure and allow the bio‐
active compounds to metabolise and neutralize the plastic.
Plastics Degradation Standards
ASTM International, originally known as the American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM), is one of the largest voluntary standards development
organizations in the world‐a trusted source for technical standards for materials,
products, systems, and services. Known for their high technical quality and market
relevancy, ASTM International standards have an important role in the information
infrastructure that guides design, manufacturing and trade in the global economy.

ASTM International has developed a set of specifications, test methods and

guidelines for biodegradable plastics. Visit the ASTM website at http://
www.astm.org. .

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ASTM Plastics Degradation Standards Specifications

D6400 Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics

Test Methods
D5247 Standard Test Method for Determining the Aerobic
Biodegradability of Degradable Plastics by Specific Microorganisms

D5338 Standard Test Method for Determining Aerobic Biodegradation of

Plastic Materials Under Controlled Composting Conditions

D5511 Standard Test Method for Determining Anaerobic Biodegradation

of Plastic Materials Under High‐Solids Anaerobic‐Digestion Conditions

D5338 Standard Test Method for Determining Aerobic Biodegradation of

Plastic Materials Under Controlled Composting Conditions

Guides

•D6002 Standard Guide for Assessing the Compostability of

Environmentally Degradable Plastics

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