ABSTRACT
The world’s population density is intense in developing countries due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. This has resulted into production of huge amount of wastes including sludge and wastewater. In India, amongst various challenges, wastewater treatment and increasing energy demand rank very high. However, these two major issues can provide a solution to each other. Wastewater is a rich source of valuable products if managed scientifically. For example, a huge amount of wastewater generated by food industries is a rich source of various types of carbohydrates (starch, lactose, glucose lignocellulose etc.). The wastewater can be treated via anaerobic process which results in the production of some valuable energy products (ethanol, butanol, biodiesel, hydrogen, biohythane etc.). This can help to tackle the upcoming future demands and challenges of fresh water and energy crisis along with sustainable development.
