In year 2004, more than 40
million tonnes of POME was generated from 372 mills in
Malaysia. In addition, POME chemical properties vary widely
throughout the year due to mill operations and seasonal cropping
[2]. One of the significant drawbacks in anaerobic treatment of
wastewater is the difficulty of start-up procedures, which can be
time-consuming and unproductive. Major problems lie in the
inconsistency of effluent and the establishment of the most
suitable microbial population for the waste to be treated.