Biochemical Methane Potential Assays for Organic Wastes as an Anaerobic Digestion Feedstock

Abstract

The anaerobic digestion process is applied worldwide in the treatment of various organic wastes, allowing energy production from biogas and organic recovery from digested sludge. In the evaluation of suitable substrates for anaerobic digestion, Biochemical Methane Potential assays are the most applied, and, despite several efforts to standardize this method, it is observed that there are still several studies that do not apply all the criteria. This current paper’s main goal is to present a review of anaerobic feedstocks, BMP methodologies, experimental conditions, and results of specific methane production from 2008 to 2023. A wide range of anaerobic feedstocks was found, which was divided into five groups: animal manure, sludge, food wastes, energy crops, and other organic wastes. Several parameters were used to characterize the anaerobic feedstocks, like TS, VS, COD, and pH, displaying different value ranges. The number of publications concerning BMP assays increased significantly over the years until 2021, having stabilized in the last two years. This evolution allowed for several attempts to standardize the BMP method with positive developments, but there are still some gaps in the experimental conditions and the determination of specific methane production. All of this makes the comparison of some studies a challenge.