ABSTRACT
Composting has become a sustainable technology to treat the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes. This fraction is often the most abundant in municipal solid wastes; therefore, the solutions proposed for its treatment have a great impact in the problems related to the overall waste management. Composting is a complex process. On one hand, the biological process implies the participation of many microbial communities. On the other hand, it is a highly multiphasic system with energy and mass transfer problems. Composting of food waste has particular issues that make it especially interesting. Regarding the process, the heterogeneity of the materials, the regulation of porosity and the stability/maturity of the compost are of especial relevance. Another main point is the gaseous emissions derived from food waste composting, including the case of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Traditionally, compost has been used as organic amendment and as a partial substitute of chemical fertilizers. However, other applications are suggested in scientific literature: soil bioremediation, suppressor of plagues or landfill restoration. This chapter deals with all these questions related to food waste composting and compost, from the scientific bases to the current challenges of the technology, especially those related to its integration in the framework of circular economy.
