Production of biofuels and useful materials by anaerobic organisms in ecosystem of methane fermentation

Abstract

The demand for saving used energy and its recovery from unused matter has been intensified by fears of fossil fuel depletion and global warming. In this context, the methane fermentation process to treat organic wastes with energy recovery has been widely used. However, improvement and modification of methane fermentation have been needed to expand availability to various types of organic matter. In this chapter, we introduce our attempts to treat some unusual organic matter with recovery of methane as a sustainable energy. Furthermore, it was also described that not only methane but also useful biofuels and biomaterials such as hydrogen, ethanol, optically active materials, and a physiologically active substance, vitamin B 12, can be produced using microorganisms participating in the ecosystem of methane fermentation.