Abstract:Anaerobic digestion process is widely used in the treatment and disposal of various types of wastewater. But in actual operation, the digestion system often suffers from acid inhibition caused by excessive accumulation of volatile fatty acids due to the influence of digestion conditions and material properties. It causes problems such as decreased gas and methane production. In recent years, some researchers have found that the type and concentration of volatile fatty acid, pH and temperature are the main factors affecting acid inhibition. Based on this point, the methods of adding alkaline chemicals, adding trace elements, using bioaugmentation technology and microbial electrochemical technology have been used to relieve acid inhibition. We review here the production process, inhibition mechanism and recovery method of acid inhibition in the anaerobic digestion process, to provide references for solving the acid inhibition problem in anaerobic digestion.