bioassay for monitoring biochemical methane potential and anaerobic toxicity 

 -  Water Research, 13(6), p.485-492, 1979 .
<br/><br/> Techniques are presented for measuring the biodegradability (Biochemical Methane Potential - BMP)and toxicity (Anaerobic Toxicity Assay - ATA)of material subjected to anaerobic treatment. These relatively simple bioassays can be conducted in most research laboratories without the need for sophisticated equipment. BMP is a measure of substrate biodegradability determined by monitoring cumulative methane production from a sample which is anaerobically incubated in a chemically defined medium. The ATA measures the adverse effect of a compound on the rate of the total gas production from an easily-utilized, methanogenic substrate. These techniques are demonstrated by an analysis of the BMP and ATA of processed samples of peat