Laboratory anaerobic incubation of manure is extremely helpful for finding maximum methane production potential from a given manure and comparing treatments that have been experimentally manipulated. Unlike in the field, in the lab we can control the temperature and other climate parameters, capture all biogas produced, and prevent any microbial contamination.
In our anaerobic incubation experiment we wanted to quantify the short-term and long-term treatment effect of acidifying liquid dairy manure with sulphuric acid. The short-term effect was studied my acidifying the manure prior to the incubation and mixing it with an inoculate of 6-month-old manure. The inoculum increases the production rate and the overall methane produced. For the long-term effects we mixed untreated fresh with an inoculating manure which had been previously (6 months prior) acidified. Additionally, we also had a control treatment which had an inoculum and no acidification.
Environmental Research - Vera Sokolov 