Abstract
A tremendous amount of organic waste produced annually is often burned in the open or disposed in unmanaged open dumps, landfills, and wastewater streams. Organic waste naturally decomposes to release greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. However, organic waste can be anaerobically digested to produce methane, which can be captured and utilized as an alternative to fossil fuel-derived energy. Moreover, an additional product of anaerobic digestion, digestate, can be utilized as a soil ameliorant. This chapter provides an overview of the multi-faceted benefits of using anaerobic digestion as a nature-based solution to climate change mitigation through the valorization of organic wastes that emit greenhouse gases. Insights into some opportunities and challenges that are associated with anaerobic digestion as a solution for lowering greenhouse gas emissions are also discussed.
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This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF; grant numbers 128307, 121924, 129651, and 128102). Opinions expressed and conclusions reached are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the NRF.
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Rama, H. et al. (2023). Anaerobic Digestion: Climate Change Mitigation Through Sustainable Organic Waste Valorization. In: Leal Filho, W., Nagy, G.J., Ayal, D. (eds) Handbook of Nature-Based Solutions to Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98067-2_7-1
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