Global Research Trends and Technical Insights in Biogas Production from Organic Waste

The increasing accumulation of organic waste and the environmental challenges posed by saturated landfills have intensified global interest in sustainable waste-to-energy solutions. Biogas production via anaerobic digestion offers a dual benefit of renewable energy generation and waste valorization, making it a central technology in circular bio-economy and low-carbon energy strategies. This chapter provides a comprehensive analysis of biogas research by integrating bibliometric mapping of global research trends (2000–2022) with a technical overview of biogas production processes. Using the Web of Science database, bibliometric analyses in this chapter identify publication patterns, leading countries and keyword co-occurrence, revealing hotspots of research activity and emerging thematic clusters. In parallel, the chapter examines the biological and biochemical principles of anaerobic digestion, the role of microbial communities, operational optimization strategies (temperature, retention time, feedstock composition) and pre-treatment techniques to enhance substrate accessibility and improve methane yields. The synthesis of these perspectives highlights how bibliometric insights inform technical and operational research priorities, guiding the development of efficient, sustainable and scalable biogas systems. The chapter concludes with an outlook on future research directions, including co-digestion strategies, biogas upgrading to biomethane and policy frameworks supporting energy security and climate change mitigation.