Organic Waste (food waste, animal and human waste)
One method of processing organic waste is with an anaerobic digester. As well as village waste, seaweed can be harvested to feed the digester and produce gas and nutrients.
According to wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_digestion):
Anaerobic digestion is a series of processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen.[1] It is used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste and/or to release energy
The digestion process begins with bacterial hydrolysis of the input materials to break down insoluble organic polymers, such as carbohydrates, and make them available for other bacteria. Acidogenic bacteria then convert the sugars and amino acids into carbon dioxide, hydrogen, ammonia, and organic acids. Acetogenic bacteria then convert these resulting organic acids into acetic acid, along with additional ammonia, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. Finally, methanogens convert these products to methane and carbon dioxide.
It is used as part of the process to treat biodegradable waste and sewage sludge.[3] As part of an integrated waste management system, anaerobic digestion reduces the emission of landfill gas into the atmosphere. Anaerobic digesters can also be fed with purpose-grown energy crops, such as maize.[4]
Anaerobic digestion is widely used as a source of renewable energy. The process produces a biogas, consisting of methane, carbon dioxide and traces of other ‘contaminant’ gases.[1] This biogas can be used directly as cooking fuel, in combined heat and power gas engines[5] or upgraded to natural gas-quality biomethane. The use of biogas as a fuel helps to replace fossil fuels. The nutrient-rich digestate also produced can be used as fertilizer
.