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Six different conversion processes are identified in the degradation of particulate organic material (biopolymers) to methane. Hydrolysis of particulate material is followed by the degradation of the hydrolysis and intermediary products by five independent groups of microorganisms. Process and growth kinetic data for the six processes are reviewed. The kinetic data are applied to the design of an anaerobic digester for raw domestic sludge. Variations in loading rates primarily affect acetate decarboxylation and, thereby, may cause shifts in pH which, in turn, cause the digester to operate in the acidic regime.

Using a continuum approach and observing conservation principles, an analytical mathematical model of microbial interaction in biofilms was developed. The model predicts changes in biofilm thickness and describes the dynamics and spatial distribution of microbial species and substrates in the film. It allows for biomass detachment due to shear stress and sloughing, external mass transfer limitations, as well as variations in substrate concentrations in the bulk liquid. A computer implementation of the model is provided using an example of heterotrophicautotrophic competition to illustrate how the observed phenomena can be numerically reproduced and indicating how they might affect overall biofilm performance.

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