Study on methane fermentation and production of vitamin B12 from alcohol waste slurry.

We studied biogas fermentation from alcohol waste fluid to evaluate the anaerobic digestion process and the production of vitamin B12 as a byproduct. Anaerobic digestion using acclimated methanogens was performed using the continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and fixed-bed reactor packed with rock wool as carrier material at 55 degrees C. We also studied the effects of metal ions added to the culture broth on methane and vitamin B12 formation. Vitamin B12 production was 2.92 mg/L in the broth of the fixed-bed reactor, twice that of the CSTR. The optimum concentrations of trace metal ions added to the culture liquid for methane and vitamin B12 production were 1.0 and 8 mL/L for the CSTR and fixed-bed reactor, respectively. Furthermore, an effective method for extracting and purifying vitamin B12 from digested fluid was developed.