A molecular analysis found that poultry litter anaerobic digestion was dominated by hydrogenotrophic methanogens which suggests that bacterial acetate oxidation is the primary pathway in the thermophilic digestion of poultry litter. IWA Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1) was modified to include the bacterial acetate oxidation process in the thermophilic anaerobic digestion (TAD). Two methods for ADM1 parameter estimation were applied: manual calibration with non-linear least squares (MC-NLLS) and an automatic calibration using differential evolution algorithms (DEA). In terms of kinetic parameters for acetate oxidizing bacteria, estimation by MC-NLLS and DEA were, respectively, km 1.12 and 3.25 +/- 0.56 kg(COD) kg(COD)(1) d(1), K-S 0.20 and 0.29 +/- 0.018 kg(COD)m(3) and Yac-st 0.14 and 0.10 +/- 0.016 kg(COD) kg(COD)(1). Experimental and predicted volatile fatty acids and biogas composition were in good agreement. Values of BIAS, MSE or INDEX demonstrate that both methods (MC-NLLS and DEA) increased ADM1 accuracy. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.