Volatile fatty acid (VFA) analysis is an excellent way to assess the effectiveness of the digestion process within a wastewater treatment plant.
Our test will provide you with a detailed profile of eight individual volatile acids (acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, isovaleric acid, caproic acid and heptanoic acid) as well as total volatile fatty acid as acetic acid equivalent.
Application
Our analysis enables wastewater treatment plant operators to optimise the operation of digesters in wastewater treatment plants so they can diagnose issues and adjust processes in the treatment plant.
When VFA is used with alkalinity, it is a useful tool for monitoring the digestion process in waste water treatment plants, much better than pH monitoring alone which may not indicate a problem until it is too late.
Key to optimising anaerobic digesters is understanding the composition of VFAs during all stages of the digestion process.
Interpreting the VFA speciation results allows operators to monitor the current state of the anaerobic digesters and reassess the operational strategies to improve performance.
Analysis of VFA concentrations and their changes on a regular basis allows early detection and diagnosis of anaerobic digester process upset. Where the traditional titration method doesn’t differentiate VFA species and cannot discover any potential biological stress that may lead to detrimental bacterial community change if not rectified at an early stage, our analysis does differentiate VFA species and discovers biological stress.
Our test method employs gas chromatography coupled with a flame ionization detector (GC/FID) to analyse VFAs. The method provides the detailed VFA profile that reports results as eight individual volatile acids (acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, isovaleric acid, caproic acid and heptanoic acid) as well as total VFA as acetic acid equivalent.
Sample container
120mL plastic (PT120)
Label
PT120 - none - none - no air gap, ice
Analytes & holding times
All water types
*VFA (ASAP)
Sampling requirements
No air gap
Storage and preservation
Iced or chilled to 4°C.
No preservative.