Conversely, R3 inoculated with CM showed significantly slower adaption to the CO conversion, stabilizing only by day 70, with PRCH₄ and PRCO₂ values of 0.9 and 2.5 Nm³m⁻³d⁻¹ on average, respectively. Unlike AS and AD, the microbial community in CM initially struggled to establish an efficient CO-converting biofilm. One potential explanation for this delayed adaptation is the elevated VFA concentrations in CM, which may have inhibited methanogens and slowed the enrichment of functional CO-utilizing microbes. This relatively lower performance is consistent with findings from Since the CO did not reach full conversion in R3, the LRCO was not increased and was kept at 5.16