This review outlines the road map for the production of medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) from organic wastes by adapting the conventionally methanogenic process of anaerobic digestion (AD) for the production of volatile acids and the subsequent chain elongation, as well as for the production of hydrogen. The article analyses the state-of-the-art of these processes and discusses the modifications involved, the bottlenecks, challenges and opportunities. In particular, the various methods of inhibition of methanogenesis are described, their applicability is discussed and investigation of the use of naturally occurring inhibitors like bromoform is suggested. The review concludes that the using AD for MCFA production has a strong potential as a circular economy solution, avoiding many issues with the use of AD for biogas production while creating more economically viable products. The main bottleneck identified here is the downstream separation and extraction of the products. Standardization across studies and implementation of the various methods at pilot scale levels are critical to develop a clearer idea of the viability of the MCFA production process. More in-depth studies on the inhibition process and detailed cost–benefit and life cycle analysis are also recommended to for the use of this process and for its acceptance as a bioeconomy solution.

这篇综述概述了有机废物生产中链脂肪酸（MCFA）的路线图，方法是采用常规的产甲烷厌氧消化（AD）工艺来生产挥发性酸，随后进行链延长以及生产氢。本文分析了这些过程的最新技术，并讨论了所涉及的修改，瓶颈，挑战和机遇。特别是，描述了多种抑制甲烷生成的方法，讨论了它们的适用性，并建议研究使用天然存在的抑制剂（如溴仿）。审查得出的结论是，将AD用于MCFA生产具有作为循环经济解决方案的强大潜力，避免了将AD用于沼气生产的许多问题，同时创造了更具经济可行性的产品。此处确定的主要瓶颈是产品的下游分离和提取。在试验规模上研究和实施各种方法之间的标准化对于建立更清晰的MCFA生产过程可行性的想法至关重要。还建议对抑制过程进行更深入的研究，并进行详细的成本效益和生命周期分析，以利于该过程的使用并被其接受为生物经济解决方案。在试验规模上研究和实施各种方法之间的标准化对于建立更清晰的MCFA生产过程可行性的想法至关重要。还建议对抑制过程进行更深入的研究，并进行详细的成本效益和生命周期分析，以利于该过程的使用并被其接受为生物经济解决方案。在试验规模上研究和实施各种方法之间的标准化对于建立更清晰的MCFA生产过程可行性的想法至关重要。还建议对抑制过程进行更深入的研究，并进行详细的成本效益和生命周期分析，以利于该过程的使用并被其接受为生物经济解决方案。