14 - Production, commercial status, and role in the bioeconomy of biogas: opportunities and challenges of Latin America

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion is a process regulated by several classes of Bacteria and Archaea, which, through a complex ecological succession, is used to treat wastewater, manure, and solid waste. The bioprocesses involved in the anaerobic degradation of organic matter achieved, in the last decades, an important status in the social aspects of rural energy in different parts of developing regions of the world, including many countries in Latin America, with its combined potential of producing effective fertilizers through the treatment of waste materials. The agricultural tradition of the region has been linked to remarkable developments of biodigesters since the 1970s, especially in areas traditionally lacking basic infrastructure in terms of energy storage and distribution. In this sense, most of the technologies applied to the region are based on low-cost and decentralized systems, which can provide biogas as fuel primarily for direct burning use. Nonetheless, considering the potential of anaerobic digestion in the region, with the abundant feedstock and warm climate in most parts and the growing energy requirement of the population, there seems to be a lack of long-term effective governmental programs that could fulfill such needs. In this sense, this chapter presents some of the core concepts involved in anaerobic digestion, with some insights in terms of production, commercial status, and the role of the technology in the Latin American region, providing some opportunities and challenges for the years to come.