Monitoring of the anaerobic methane fermentation process

The anaerobic methane fermentation process is being used more frequently for the treatment of liquid wastes. This is primarily due to the newer technologies that are able to realize the advantages of anaerobic treatment while minimizing the detriments. One obstacle remaining that would further increase the usage of these processes involves the need to monitor the process. Traditional indicators are adequate for gradual changes and for detecting process upsets once they are underway. However, the newer technologies are high-rate systems, and for these systems, shock overloads and toxic doses require prompt corrective responses in order to avoid process failure. Thus, along with the newer technologies have come new process indicators for monitoring the anaerobic methane fermentation process. An ideal indicator would be one that is easy to measure, related to the current metabolic status of the system, and perhaps available for on-line measurement. This paper will review the indicators that have been proposed for monitoring the anaerobic processes.

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