Profiling of Microbial Community and Their Role in Solid Waste Treatment

Solid waste treatment processes such as composting, anaerobic digestion and aerobic digestion rely on microbial communities to break down and transform organic matter into non-hazardous products without sanitary and pollution issues. The solutions that lead to converting valuable products or by-products are much more favourable. Profiling of microbial communities can help identify the dominant microbial species present in a particular environment and determine their roles in the solid waste treatment process. Microbial profiling can be achieved using conventional molecular techniques such as DNA sequencing, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification and fluorescent in situ hybridization. Moreover, advanced high-throughput microbial profiling approaches such as single-cell genome sequencing, single-cell RNA sequencing and metagenomic sequencing were developed. The process of composting involves microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes that break down organic matter into simpler compounds such as carbon dioxide, water and humus and the role of microbial community in composting reduces the volume of waste, eliminate pathogens and reduce the concentration of heavy metals. For instance, in anaerobic digestion, the microbial community breaks down organic matter without oxygen, producing biogas, which can be used as a renewable energy source. The anaerobic process includes various bacteria and archaea, which work together to produce biogas and reduce the amount of organic matter in the waste. On the contrary, aerobic digestion consists of the microbial community that breaks down organic matter in the presence of oxygen, producing carbon dioxide, water and heat. The microbial community in aerobic digestion includes bacteria, fungi and protozoa, which work together to break down the organic matter and produce value-added products or by-products. Therefore, this chapter deals with the conventional and advanced high throughput molecular techniques that are important to achieve detailed microbial profiling and understanding the whole microbial community’s role in solid waste treatment that can help to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the waste treatment process, leading to better waste management practices and a cleaner environment.