Exploring the optimization of aerobic food waste digestion efficiency through the engineering of functional biofilm Bio-carriers

•Biofilm biocarrier engineering for aerobic digestion of cellulose-rich food waste.•Chinese cabbage used as cellulose-rich food waste model.•Cabbage microflora challenged the stability of biocarrier microbial communities.•Enhanced aerobic digestion of cellulose-rich food using enriched biofilm consortium.•Future studies needed accurate measure of biocarrier functionality and stability. The possibility of breaking down cellulose-rich food waste through biofilm engineering was investigated. Six previously isolated strains from naturally degrading fruits and vegetables, screened for biofilm-forming ability and cellulolytic activity, were selected to enrich a biocarrier seeding microbial consortium. The food waste model used in this study was cabbage which was aerobically digested under repeated water rinsing and regular effluent drainage. The engineered biocarrier biofilm’s functionality was evaluated by tracing microbial succession following metagenomic sequencing, quantitative PCR, scanning electron microscopy, and cellulolytic activity before and after the digestion processes. The engineered microbial consortium demonstrated superior biofilm-forming ability on biocarriers than the original microbial consortium and generally displayed a higher cellulolytic activity. The presented study provides one of the few studies of food waste aerobic digestion using engineered biofilms. Insights presented in this study could help further optimize aerobic food waste digestion.