Chapter 24 - Reaction mechanisms in the production of biomethane and biofertilizers from organic waste

Abstract

This chapter concerns residual organic substances from foodstuffs. In this perspective, domestic, agricultural, and industrial environments produce organic waste, which should be collected, stored, and recycled properly in order to avoid environmental pollution. In this context, experimental observations showed that biocatalysts are efficient to transform organic waste to produce biogas and organic, and mineral fertilizers for agriculture. These types of fertilizers of biological origin are suitable because they cannot harm the environment and mankind. This ongoing project is suitable to clean up the environment and improve agriculture, particularly in the Congo (RDC). In one of our publications, we proposed enzymatic reactions in the production of biomethane from organic waste, with an emphasis upon reaction mechanisms to show the generation of intermediate and final products in the reaction medium. Indeed, knowledge of the reaction mechanisms helps to select proper organic residues as starting materials. For instance, organic residues rich in carbohydrates are suitable for the biomethanation process because it has been observed that the major part of the methane comes from acetate, and this compound is obtained from the enzymatic degradation of glucose