Current Status of Organic Waste-to-energy Technologies and Institutional Prospects of the Biogas Act in Korea

The <i>Act on the Promotion of Biogas Production and Utilization</i>, enacted in 2022 and enforced since 2023, represents South Korea’s first legal initiative to institutionalize the energy recovery of organic waste. It aims to support national efforts toward carbon neutrality and the transition to a circular economy. However, the Act is structurally biased toward a limited technological scope—primarily anaerobic digestion and methane production—thereby excluding promising emerging technologies such as biohydrogen generation, thermochemical gasification, and bioelectrochemical systems. This study critically analyzes the legal structure and implementation practices of the Act, identifying technical, economic, and social constraints that undermine its effectiveness. Key challenges include the increasing volume of organic waste, low energy recovery rates, the dominance of large-scale centralized infrastructure, and a lack of operational expertise. A comparative policy analysis of the United States, European Union, and Japan reveals the necessity of expanding the definition of bioenergy and designing technology-neutral regulatory frameworks. This review argues that the Biogas Act must move beyond its current methane- and anaerobic digestion-centric structure. For meaningful advancement in organic waste valorization and renewable energy development, the Act should be redesigned to incorporate high-value bioenergy technologies such as microbial fuel cells (MFC), microbial electrolysis cells (MEC), thermochemical gasification, and syngas-derived fuel production.