Comparison of two gas volume measurement systems by evaluating biochemical methane potential

Abstract

AbstractThe objective of this study is to compare and analyze the efficiency of an automated measurement system for biogas flow with a control performed by a programmable logic controller (PLC) called the SAMB compared to commercial equipment widely disseminated for this purpose, the automatic methane potential test system (AMPTS II). The objective is to identify the accuracy in gas flow analysis of the two systems. The experiments were conducted in triplicate at a constant temperature of 37°C in anaerobic reactors. Two synthetic substrates and two natural substrates combined with a microbial inoculum were used. Considering the different ways the two systems capture data, the results show that all samples differed statistically between them (p < 0.01) in each system. However, in relation to paired substrates between systems, the samples did not present statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). Thus, with the advancement and globalization of knowledge, it is necessary to develop systems capable of generating standardized, precise, and accurate data. In this context, the systems evaluated here present different forms of methane measurement but the results have no significant statistical differences.