TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOTECHNOLOGY - Preferred Process: The material or slurry is homogenized, preferably by milling, wet-milling, grinding or wet-grinding before to or during step (b) and/or step (c). A base is added to the material or slurry before to or while it is being homogenized. The starting pH in the step (b) is 7-12, preferably 8.5. The amount of material in the slurry is adjusted by continuous or stepwise addition of the material to the slurry during the step (b) and/or step (c). The amount of material accounts to above 2.5 wt.% dry matter, preferably above 25 wt.% dry matter of the slurry of the step (a). The step (c) is carried out at a pH of 3-7, preferably 5. The step (b) and/or (c) is carried out at a temperature of 20-70 degrees C, preferably 40-50 degrees C. A solid separation step is performed: after the step (b) but before step (c) to purge non-solubilized solids and optionally feed them back to the step (a) of the process; or after step (c) but before step (d) to purge non-solubilized solids and optionally feed them back into step (a) or (c) of the process. The material before added to the step (a) has been subjected to a microwave and/or an ultrasonic irradiation treatment. The material has been chemically, mechanically and/or biologically pre-treated before the step (a). Preferred Components: The enzyme or additional enzyme is an amylolytic enzyme, a lipolytic enzyme, a proteolytic enzyme, a cellulolytic enzyme, an oxidoreductase or a plant cell-wall degrading enzyme, preferably aminopeptidase, alpha -amylase, amyloglucosidase, arabinofuranosidase, arabinoxylanase, beta -glucanase, carbohydrase, carboxypeptidase, catalase, cellobiohydrolase, cellulase, chitinase, cutinase, cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase, ferulic acid esterase, deoxyribonuclease, endo-cellulase, endo-glucanase, endo-xylanase, esterase, galactosidase, beta -galactosidase, glucoamylase, glucose oxidase, glucosidase, haloperoxidase, hemicellulase, invertase, isomerase, laccase, ligase, lipase, lyase, mannanase, mannosidase, oxidase, pectate lyase, pectin lyase, pectin trans-eliminase, pectin ethylesterase, pectin methylesterase, pectinolytic enzyme, peroxidase, protease, phytase, phenoloxidase, polygalacturonase, polyphenoloxidase, proteolytic enzyme, rhamnogalacturonan lyase, rhamnoglucanase, rhamnogalacturonase, ribonuclease, SPS-ase (soya polysaccharide degrading complex), transferase, transglutaminase, xylanase or xyloglucanase.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The base is sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, calcium hydroxide, lime hydrate, ammonia and/or potassium hydroxide.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The material comprises or is derived from potato pulp, sweet potato pulp, cassava pulp, sugar beet pulp, apple pulp, pear pulp, banana pulp, orange pomace, grape pomace, lemon pulp, pineapple pulp and/or waste residue from carrots, cereal straw, wheat straw, palm fronds, palm fruits, empty palm fruit bunches, palm residues, switch grass, Miscanthus, rice hulls, municipal solid waste, industrial organic waste, office paper and/or bagasse of sugar cane. EXAMPLE - Dry matter content of the beet pulp was measured by using a HR 73 halogen moisture analyzer to 26.7 wt/wt.%. Beet pulp (94 g) was blended by hand to 406 ml of city water. pH was measured and adjusted to 9 by using 4 N sodium hydroxide. The mixture was stirred with a powerful stirrer of 150 rotations/minute, and the temperature was 50 degrees C during the reaction. Enzymes (E1) were added to all flasks. An amount of 0.25% enzyme product of dry matter was used of each of the 4 enzyme products. Hydrolysis was carried out for 23 hours. Viscozyme L (RTM: Cell wall degrading enzyme complex from Aspergillus sp.) (E2) in 0.5% on dry matter was added when pH was 5.12. Hydrolysis was running for additionally 78 hours. Samples were drawn for HPLC to give methane (50%).