Abstract
A mathematical model involving the syntrophic relationship of two major populations of bacteria (acetogens and methanogens), each responsible for a stage of the methane fermentation process is proposed. A detailed qualitative analysis is carried out. The local and global stability analyses of the equilibria are performed. We demonstrate, under general assumptions of monotonicity, relevant from an applied point of view, the global asymptotic stability of a positive equilibrium point which corresponds to the coexistence of acetogenic and methanogenic bacteria.