True or False: Methane formers in anaerobic digestion are affected by small pH changes.

The correct answer is that methane formers in anaerobic digestion are not significantly affected by small pH changes. This is due to the resilience of methanogens, which are a group of microorganisms responsible for producing methane during the anaerobic digestion process. Methanogens typically function optimally within a pH range of about 6.8 to 7.4, but they can tolerate slight deviations from this range without significant disruption to their metabolic activity.

Small changes in pH do not usually pose a threat to the performance of methane formers, as these organisms have adapted to fluctuating environmental conditions. However, it is important to note that more drastic pH shifts, especially those that move outside the optimal range, can have detrimental effects on methanogenesis. Thus, while maintaining an appropriate pH is critical for overall digestion efficiency, minor fluctuations are generally not problematic for the methane-forming microorganisms.