The gas produced by an anaerobic sludge digester consists primarily of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Methane concentrations below 60% may indicate operational problems, and may also not burn well as a fuel. If there is a significant oxygen (O2) concentration, there may be air leaks in the digester. Besides being toxic to the anaerobic bacteria, oxygen forms an explosive mixture with methane in certain proportions. The Orsat analyzer shown here measures CO2 and O2 by the decrease in gas volume when they are absorbed into solutions of chemicals with which they react.
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