Assessment of the degradation efficiency of full-scale biogas plants: A comparative study of degradation indicators

- Four full-scale mesophilic biogas plants were assessed for degradation efficiency.
- Biogas plants vary in the feedstock, reactor volume and process configuration.
- BMP was projected as a reliable parameter to access process efficiency.
- Microbial community structure closely liaised to feedstock type.
- The BMP degradation rate aligned positively with microbial community structure.

Increasing popularity and applications of the anaerobic digestion (AD) process has necessitated the development and identification of tools for obtaining reliable indicators of organic matter degradation rate and hence evaluate the process efficiency especially in full-scale, commercial biogas plants. In this study, four biogas plants (A1, A2, B and C) based on different feedstock, process configuration, scale and operational performance were selected and investigated. Results showed that the biochemical methane potential (BMP) based degradation rate could be use in incisively gauging process efficiency in lieu of the traditional degradation rate indicators. The BMP degradation rates ranged from 70 to 90% wherein plants A2 and C showed the highest throughput. This study, therefore, corroborates the feasibility of using the BMP degradation rate as a practical tool for evaluating process performance in full-scale biogas processes and spots light on the microbial diversity in full-scale biogas processes.

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