Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) Assay Method for Anaerobic Digestion Research

Abstract

Biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests are widely used for characterizing a substrate’s influence on the anaerobic digestion process. As of 2018, there continues to be a lack of standardization of units and techniques, which impacts the comparability and validity of BMP results. However, BMP methods continue to evolve, and key aspects are studied to further eliminate systematic errors. This paper aims to update these key aspects with the latest research progress both to introduce the importance of each variable to those new to BMP measurements and to show the complexity required to design an accurate BMP test.

Power and Limitations of Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) Tests

“…By design, a BMP test measures "the biodegradability of material subjected to anaerobic treatment" (Owen et al, 1979). The original approach was further developed and refined afterwards (Angelidaki and Sanders, 2004;Angelidaki et al, 2009;VDLUFA, 2011;Holliger et al, 2016;VDI 4630, 2016;Filer et al, 2019). Now, four decades later, several companies sell complete automated BMP test equipment, which led to a widespread use of BMP tests in AD research and practice.…”

Effect of the inoculum/substrate ratio on the biochemical methane potential (BMP) of grape marc

“…Given the diversity of factors that affect anaerobic digestion, anaerobic biodegradation tests are used to establish the potential for biodegradation and determine the methane production potential of waste (Angelidaki et al, 2009), and tests of Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) can be used for such purposes (Holliger et al, 2016). Also, the BMP of the I/S ratios can be used to design installation parameters of a full-scale reactor operation, and according to Filer et al (2019), even the size of the digesters and possibilities of biogas exploitation. For example, Holliger et al (2017) found that the weekly methane production rates of BMP were similar and followed the same pattern compared to the full-scale reactor installation.…”

SuperPro Designer®, User-Oriented Software Used for Analyzing the Techno-Economic Feasibility of Electrical Energy Generation from Sugarcane Vinasse in Colombia

“…The BMP is used to quantify the maximum amount of methane that can be produced during the AD of organic substrates [39][40][41]. It also provides information on degradation kinetics and potential inhibitors [42]. Techno-economic assessments of AD plants depend on different parameters including the rate of methane production from the organic materials to be digested [43][44][45][46].…”