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Challenges of biogas implementation in developing countries
Journal Pre-proof Challenges of Biogas Implementation in Developing Countries Regina J. Patinvoh, Mohammad J. Taherzadeh PII:
S2468-5844(19)30039-X
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2019.09.006
Reference:
COESH 135
To appear in:
Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health
Received Date: 19 August 2019 Revised Date:
16 September 2019
Accepted Date: 16 September 2019
Please cite this article as: Patinvoh RJ, Taherzadeh MJ, Challenges of Biogas Implementation in Developing Countries, Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health, https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.coesh.2019.09.006. This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Challenges of Biogas Implementation in Developing Countries
Regina J. Patinvoh1, Mohammad J. Taherzadeh2* 1
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Department of Chemical and Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Lagos State University, Lagos, 100268 Nigeria; [email protected]
Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, SE 50190, Borås, Sweden; [email protected]
*Correspondence: [email protected] Tel: + 46 33-435 5908
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ABSTRACT: There are immense potential and opportunities for biogas implementation in developing countries but lack of adequate infrastructures, sufficient capital, and appropriate policy have hindered successful implementation. The previous implementation was supported by governments, international organizations (UN and EU), NGO’s and partly by carbon trading through Voluntary Emission Reductions (VERs) managed by World Bank. However, biogas technology in developing countries still require advancement in all levels from small scale (household or domestic implementation) to large scale implementation for energy generation, electricity generation and transportation. There are challenges associated with policy, funding, technical services, sustainability, awareness and education which are key factors to achieving full potential of biogas in developing countries. These challenges and solutions are briefly discussed in this work. Technical training, enforcement of policy, Public-private partnership funding, Record keeping and advertisement of biogas programmes are recommended for enhanced biogas implementation.
Keywords: Biogas; Implementation; Challenges; Developing countries
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1. Introduction Developing countries with a population of about 80 % of the world’s population [1] face complex challenges relating to environment, health, deforestation and energy. An increase in population density and continuous dependence on rationally high priced fossil fuel enhance these challenges which are major constraints to economic growth [2]. Insufficient environmental regulations in these countries have led to improper management of massive wastes generated from agricultural, municipal and industrial activities. Over 90 % of these waste streams are often disposed in unregulated dumps or openly burned [3] and sometimes treated by composting. The environmental impacts of these prevailing methods of treating such wastes are enormous (Table 1) [4]; this damages the ecosystem and natural resources (air, soil and water) that are critical to health and subsistence of people. There is a deficiency to electricity and clean energy supply in developing countries most especially in Asia-Pacific region where about 500 million people don’t have access to electricity and about 2.1 billion rely on solid fuel for cooking and heating [5], also in Sub-Sahara Africa region where over 600 million people are without access to electricity [6]. Deforestation linked to biomass collection for cooking in such countries is of great concern and has led to soil erosion and loss of cultivable lands. The concerns have steered up interest and global support for biogas technology. Biogas technology is a renewable and environmentally sustainable technology for addressing waste and energy challenges while increasing agricultural efficiency through the use of biogas residue as fertilizers and soil conditioners. This technology is an effective measures for waste treatment, biogas production from a variety of organic wastes such as food wastes, manure, agricultural wastes, wastewater sludge etc. through anaerobic digestion processes [710] has been a global focus. There have been several investigations by researchers on improving the production process and upgrade of biogas produced [11, 12] as well as the
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quality of the residue (digestate) after biogas production. This technology has been promoted by international organizations (UN and EU) in several developing countries to preserve life, protect our ecosystem and natural resources as well as ameliorating climate change. Previous research and strategic implementation in developed countries have resulted in better environment, economy, social, agricultural, energy and health. They have motivated biogas implementation in a number of developing countries especially in China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso Burundi, Ethiopia, Senegal, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Uganda [13, 14]. However, many developing countries are far behind in meeting energy access target and abate the environmental crisis. There are numerous challenges inhibiting the advancement of biogas technology in developing countries: these must be addressed to ensure successful and progressive implementation in such countries. This work aims at reviewing biogas implementation in developing countries with specific attention to the challenges involved and proffer possible solutions.
2. Overview and Current Status of Biogas Implementation The world’s biogas volume is about 59 billion m3 biogas (35 billion m3 methane equivalent) with only European Union (EU) producing about half of the total volume [15]. So, biogas production in the developing countries has been unsatisfactory in the past; the progress has been slow. Developing countries have a long way to go in biogas production compared with their developed counterpart (Figure 1). The implementation of biogas in the developing countries varies greatly among countries due to climate conditions, technologies, developmental levels, natural resources endowment and socio-economic status [16, 17].
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Small scale and domestic biogas plants for household use are major implementation in these countries [18] with China having the highest number of household biogas plants in the world [19]. However, most of the developing countries are accelerating their pace to increase their biogas production by developing medium and large-scale biogas plants. This section discusses the biogas implementation and trends in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), and Africa; focusing on the developing countries in these regions.
2.1 Asia-Pacific Countries (APAC) In countries with proper waste management and zero landfill such as Germany and Sweden, biogas is a major implementation for treatment of food wastes. However, in other countries, waste management and biogas production is not hand in hand. For example, in East Asia and Pacific region, waste generation has reached about 270 million tons per year but biogas implementation is still less developed. In China, biogas implementation started as far back as 1974 providing energy for the rural communities and fortifying their economy. An estimate of 1.6 million biogas plants were installed but more than half of these plants failed by 1980 due to poor design of the digesters. The government invested a total of about 31 billion RMB into biogas development between 1996 and 2012 [20]. Despite this huge investment, the development has been slow; report showed that only about 19 % of the biogas potential has been utilized in rural China [18]. However, the number of household biogas digesters installed in 2010 was about 38.5 million with an annual production of 13.08 billion m3 [20] which increased to 41.93 million and 15.8 billion m3 respectively in 2015 [21]. The annual target value at 2020 was estimated to be 43.94 million household digesters and 20.7 billion m3 of biogas production [21]. Biogas implementation in China has improved greatly especially through agricultural-based projects
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and the production is currently increasing due to introduction of industrial scale digesters. While much has been achieved, there are still challenges associated with policy, pretreatment technology, imperfect industrial chain, standards and specification and technical problems due to faulty or low quality digesters [17, 22] India’s biogas implementation was established in 1981 through the National Project on Biogas Development (NPBD) to improve energy service condition of the people. In an attempt to overcome some of the challenges encountered such as sub-standard quality of construction and materials and lack of accountability for failure, the National Biogas and Manure Management programme (NBMMP) was started in 2005. Currently, a total of about 5 million biogas plants have been installed which is just 40 % of the estimated potential of 12 million [23]. Most commonly used biogas reactors are fixed dome reactors, floating drum reactors, and balloon or tube digesters. The FOV fabrics plug flow textile-based reactors have been introduced after studying operations of existing reactors and challenges involved [24]. Several of these newly introduced reactors have been installed in India treating food wastes, cow dung, human excreta and mixed feedstock. Although, the use of biogas generated from human excreta or animal feaces is a social cultural taboos in some places but this is illogical to biogas implementation. Despite the improvement in biogas implementation in India, the trend is not satisfactory. Annual biogas production in India is presently about 2.07 billion m3 which is just about 4 % to 7 % of its estimated potential of 29 – 48 billion m3 [23]. India is still experiencing a lot of operational difficulties especially in cold region [23]. Challenges to wider implementation are associated with process monitoring and control, mixing, low biogas yield, cost of installing a biogas plant, the maintenance of the plant, and reliability [25, 26]. The rate of biogas implementation in Nepal has increased over the years; about 250 plants were installed in mid-1970 by the government through agricultural department [27]. Thereafter the Biogas Support Program (BSP) through the financial assistance of Netherlands 6
[28] was initiated in 1992 resulting in about 6824 biogas plants between 1992 and 1994 which increased to a total of 174,591 in 2009 and presently over 300,000 biogas plants have been installed [29]. The dissemination has been supported by government and foreign donors but the technology has not been fully implemented; biogas contributes to only 0.6 % of the total energy share [30]. More so, Nepal has the potential of implementing about 1.9 million plants [28] but only about 9 % of this total potential has been utilized [27]. However, report has shown that biogas technology is now being partly sustained by carbon trading in Nepal; earning over 600,000 USD per year through Voluntary Emission Reduction (VER) managed by World Bank [31]. Major challenges associated with Nepal are lack of water and sufficient feedstock, cold temperature (about 10°C) in hilly region of Nepal, cost of installation and awareness [27, 31, 32]. Biogas technology has been implemented in Vietnam for over 30 years [33]; the potential for biogas is huge with annual discharge of about 85 million tons of livestock wastes [34]. A total of 152,349 biogas plants were installed by SNV Netherlands Development Organization in 2012 [35] which increased to 500,000 in 2015 [34]. Roubík, Mazancová [36] quantified Vietnam’s annual biogas energy potential to be 120 TJ in 2015 which is estimated to increase to 127 TJ in 2020. However, the potential has not been duly met due to challenges associated with technical services, funding, inadequate operational process and lack of adequate information [34, 36]. Indonesia and Malaysia have huge potential of biogas from palm oil mill effluent (POME) being key producers of palm oil. Indonesia has an annual total potential of producing 4.35 billion m3 of bio-methane from POME, sewage treatment plant (STP) and municipal solid wastes (MSW) while Malaysia has a total potential of 3 billion m3 bio-methane from such wastes streams [37]. Malaysia’s renewable energy through renewable resources is estimated to increase from 2 % to 20 % by 2025 [38]. Despite the potential and opportunities, biogas 7
implementation in Indonesia and Malaysia faces a series of challenges associated with funding, government coordination, synergy between programs and planning. In Pakistan, biogas implementation started in 2000 by the Pakistan government; presently, about 1200 biogas plants have been installed [39]. Additional 10,000 biogas plants installation have been projected for the next five (5) years aiming at reaching 27 % of the countries biogas potential [40]. Poor maintenance of biogas digesters have been reported as reasons for plant failure in Pakistan. Cambodia’s biogas execution was initiated in 2016
by SNV Netherlands Development
Organization in collaboration with Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) through the National Biodigester Programme (NBP) [41]. The NBP programme received financial support from Dutch, Germany, Czech Government, EU and Sweden through Cambodia Climate Change Alliance (CCCA). The project was also supported through Carbon finance; earning income from the sale of verified emission reductions. This resulted into about 294 biogas digesters installed in 2006 which increased to over 26,000 biodigesters in 2017 [42]. Poor understanding of the biogas technology, lack of trust in the technology, weather conditions and construction difficulties have been reported as major challenges hindering the full utilization of biogas potential in Cambodia [41].
2.2 African Countries Biogas technology was implemented in Africa (Table 2) through the African Biogas Partnership Program. A number of biogas digesters have been installed in Burundi, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Uganda. Estimates for biogas potential in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is 6.8 million cubic meters per day from animal manure
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[43] and 913,440 tons of methane from MSW, equivalent to 482 MW of electricity [44]; an estimate of 171 TJ of energy could be generated from biogas by 2030 in Nigeria [45]. Despite the potential of biogas in Africa countries and the demonstration by several programs of the viability of biogas technology, the technology is not being well spread and large-scale application has not been successfully implemented.
3.0 Challenges to Biogas Implementation in Developing Countries Biogas implementation varies between locations, form, cost structure and usage pattern; the variation depends on the development condition of the country [13]. In developing countries, there are challenges associated with policy, funding, technical services, sustainability, awareness and education which are key factors to proper implementation in order to achieve the full potential of biogas. In light of these challenges, this section identifies challenges associated with developing countries and outline strategic measures to overcome these challenges in the next session.
3.1 Technical and Infrastructural challenges Establishing a sustainable technology continues to remain a major challenge to biogas implementation in developing countries compared with their developed counterpart. Developing countries are rich with biomass but unable to utilize resources efficiently due inadequate infrastructures that can accommodate the required technology. In addition, the extent to which users understand the technical rudiments determines the effectiveness of biogas implementation [46]. Majority of biogas operators have not received adequate technical trainings on biogas production, this has made it difficult to combine biogas technology with eco-agricultural
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technology [18]; it has also resulted into low biogas production. For instance, the feedstock composition (organic and nutrient content, impurities and possible inhibitors) determines the yield of biogas produced and can as well results into failure of the entire biogas process. More so, lack of technical capacity for construction of high-quality digesters, little knowledge on proper management of these digesters and inefficient mixing capabilities are other reasons for low production and failure of digester [18, 22]. Process instability occurs in biogas digesters due to temperature fluctuations; it affects the performance of a biogas process adversely because the activity of the microorganism is reduced if temperature is above or below their optimum range [9]. No effective technology to regulate the operating temperature during winter especially for countries in cold region. Digesters without insulators do not function effectively when the temperature is below 15°C; a typical example is e.g. Nepal with cold temperature (about 10°C) in hilly region [27, 32]. Many of developing countries suffer from shortage in water supply. In the common technology of wet fermentation for biogas production, too much water is used which is a challenge with developing countries with water shortage. In addition, high volume of biogas residue is a barrier for transporting and applying digestate to agricultural lands.
3.2 Financial Challenges Lack of capital is a major challenge to advancement of biogas implementation in developing countries. Currently, a self-made home scale bio-digester with 50 kg daily input capacity is estimated to cost about $1500, this is huge investment for low income people considering other additional cost of storage tanks, operational cost, purification, biogas compressor and maintenance [12]. Sometimes, mechanical pretreatment is required prior to the digestion process for effective biogas production; the cost price for this is also quite high [47]. Furthermore, making the investment profitable requires industrial scale application and the
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equipment needed for such application is very expensive usually in thousands of dollars; the cost of a small industrial bio-digester with 2000 kg daily input capacity is reported between $500,000 and $1,000,000 [12]. Additionally, few technical experts are available leading to high maintenance cost. In developing countries especially in the rural areas, accessing commercial loans to invest in biogas infrastructure is very limited.
3.3 Policy and Political Challenges Majority of the developing countries do not have reliable system in place for waste collection and sorting. Often times, different streams of wastes are collected together by waste managers and disposed in unregulated dumps or openly burned [3]. The environmental policy is very weak [40] and there are no clear policy on the use of renewable energy. The lack of government commitment and poor continuity of previous biogas programme initiatives through successive governments is another key challenge limiting the advancement of biogas implementation [48]. An additional challenge is corruption, which increases the investment and operational costs for biogas implementation and thereby reduces the rate of return for the investment [49].
4. Strategic measures for improved biogas implementation Strategies that have been used by developed countries for successful implementation are discussed in this section. Developing countries need to adopt some of these strategies to stimulate the advancement of biogas implementation.
4.1 Technology and education Developing countries should innovate their own digestive systems; cost-effective systems with simple installation technology and operation. Technical services and appropriate
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management of bio-digesters should be simplified so that individuals are able to obtain high quality energy at low price [12]. In addition, conversion processes should be simplified in order to reduce production cost. International cooperation and exchange in the sharing of best practices should be encouraged. Additionally, measures should be taken to improve followup services and management of biogas plants [17]. It is not possible without a proper education. For example, if cost-effective household-based digesters would be the solution for e.g. villages in a developing country, the major hindrance is that the owners do not know how to operate the digesters. It means if the governments provide education and support service, it can be a great contribution to the proper operation of these digesters.
4.2 Funding Financial support from the government and non-governmental organisations is needed for significant improvements. In countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and Germany, there have been significant advances in biogas implementation for energy generation and vehicle fuel; this development has been made possible by many years of central government funding through local investment programs (LIP) and climate investment programs (KLIMP). In Denmark, the first plant built in Vester Hjermitslev, with the goal of making the town energy self-supporting [50], was implemented with almost complete governmental funding: a 4 million DKK grant from the government and an 8.4 million DKK loan from the North Jutland County Council [51]. There are also investment grants for centralised biogas plants (up to 40 % of costs) and loan schemes with long-term low interest rates. Carbon trading through Voluntary Emission Reduction (VER) managed by World Bank [31] is another feasible option to sustain biogas implementation in developing countries.
4.3 Policy There is need for policies that will support the development of biogas production for energy generation in developing countries. The government should develop state-of-the-art policies at all levels (federal, state, and local government) that will attract investment and encourage flexibility in energy generation. Also, there should be continuity of good policy; a change in government does not mean a change in policy. Policies such as feed-in tariffs, net metering, virtual net metering, and tax incentives have provided great support for renewable energy in 12
developed countries [52]. Policies in Sweden supporting renewable transport fuel include tax exemptions or reductions of taxes applied on fossil fuels and laws mandating refilling stations to provide at least one renewable fuel [53].
4.4 Public awareness campaigns and research and development People should be educated on the importance of proper management of the wastes generated daily and the benefits of biogas produced from these waste fractions. There is need for continuous counselling and training in communities, schools, and market places about how to manage their wastes effectively, reduce the amount of wastes generated as much as possible, reuse for a longer time, recycle to new products, and recover energy from wastes. The governments should support research and development (R&D) by ensuring strong collaboration between universities and industries in developing countries. A major hindrance in developing biogas plants is that the imported technologies do not match with the local needs and available infrastructures. Therefore, R&D is needed to develop new local technologies or to modify the available technologies. Pilot projects can be conducted in universities to evaluate the feasibility of the technology and obtain optimum conditions for successful implementation and thereafter the technology can be adopted by industries.
5.0 Conclusions and Recommendations 5.1 Conclusions Developing countries have a long way to go in biogas production compared with their developed counterparts. Effective implementation of biogas technology in developing countries requires national master plans, and innovative strategies which will lead to economic growth, environmental safety, and national security. 5.2 Recommendations Enhancing biogas implementation in developing countries requires technical assistance and continuous training on process design, operation and construction of digesters. Existing
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biogas plants can as well be visited by experts and instructional handbooks provided. Records of existing production should be kept to serve as source of data analysis and improvement. Funding from government, cooperative organizations and industries should be encouraged. A typical example is the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model whereby the government at the local, state and national levels in collaboration with private owned industries/businesses financially support industrial scale application thereby advancing biogas technology in developing countries. The government should enforce total adherence to policies on proper waste management and incentives should be given. Additionally, biogas programmes should be properly advertised through media coverage, posters, leaflet and the use of marketing materials.
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Hollander beater pretreatment on paper waste was investigated; this is the first time Holander beater was used as mechanical pretreatment of paper waste to improve biogas yield. Authors reported significant improvement in methane yield after pretreatment. . 48. Akinbomi, J., et al., Development and dissemination strategies for accelerating biogas production in Nigeria. BioResources, 2014. 9(3): p. 5707-5737. 49. Taherzadeh, M.J. and K. Rajendran, Factors affecting development of waste management. Waste Management and Sustainable Consumption: Reflections on Consumer Waste, 2014: p. 67. 50. Al Seadi, T., Danish centralised biogas plants–plant descriptions. Bioenergy Department, University of Southern Denmark, 2000: p. 28. 51. Geels, F.W. and R. Raven, Socio-cognitive evolution and co-evolution in competing technical trajectories: biogas development in Denmark (1970–2002). The International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 2007. 14(1): p. 63-77. 52. REN21, Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Centuery (REN21). Renewables 2017 Global Status Report (Paris: REN21 Secretariat) ISBN 978-39818107-6-9. 2017. 53. Lönnqvist, T., Biogas in Swedish transport–a policy-driven systemic transition. Doctoral thesis, in 2017, KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering: SE- 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden. The conditions for biogas in Swedich transport sector was criticaly analysed. The future of biogas successful implementation depends on policy. 54. NetherlandsDevelopmentOrganization(SNV). Domestic biogas newsletter. 2012; Available from: http://www.snv.org/public/cms/sites/default/files/explore/download/snv_domestic_bio gas_newsletter_-_issue_7_-_september_2012.pdf. 55. Raboni, M., V. Torretta, and G. Urbini, The Future of Biofuels for a Sustainable Mobility, in The 3rd World Sustainability Forum http://www.sciforum.net/conference/wsf3 2013. p. f009.
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Table 1. Environmental impacts of dominant waste management methods [4] Landfill
Composting
Incineration
Air
Emissions of methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO)
Emissions of methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO)
Water
Leaching of salts, heavy metals, and biodegradable and persistent organics to groundwater Accumulation of hazardous substances in soil Soil occupancy; restriction on other land uses
N/A
Emissions of SO2, NOx, HCl, HF, CO, CO2, N2O, dioxins, furans, heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cu, As) Deposition of hazardous substances on surface water
Soil Landscape
Ecosystem
Contamination and accumulation of toxic substances in the food chain
Urban areas
Exposure to hazardous substances
N/A Soil occupancy; restriction on other land uses Contamination and accumulation of toxic substances in the food chain N/A
Landfilling of ashes and scrap Visual intrusion; restriction on other land uses Contamination and accumulation of toxic substances in the food chain Exposure to hazardous substances
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Table 2. Number of installed biogas plants in African Countries (Adapted from [54] ) African Countries
Year of Implementation
Rwanda
2007
Total installed biogas plants (up to 2012) 2619
Ethiopia
2008
5011
Tanzania
2008
4980
Kenya
2009
6749
Uganda
2009
3083
Burkina Faso
2009
2013
Cameroun
2009
159
Benin
2010
42
Senegal
2010
334
20
Figure 1: Global biogas production in 2012 and its trend to 2022 [55]
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Competing interests: All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
S2468-5844(19)30039-X
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2019.09.006
Reference:
COESH 135
To appear in:
Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health
Received Date: 19 August 2019 Revised Date:
16 September 2019
Accepted Date: 16 September 2019
Please cite this article as: Patinvoh RJ, Taherzadeh MJ, Challenges of Biogas Implementation in Developing Countries, Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health, https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.coesh.2019.09.006. This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Challenges of Biogas Implementation in Developing Countries
Regina J. Patinvoh1, Mohammad J. Taherzadeh2* 1
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Department of Chemical and Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Lagos State University, Lagos, 100268 Nigeria; [email protected]
Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, SE 50190, Borås, Sweden; [email protected]
*Correspondence: [email protected] Tel: + 46 33-435 5908
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ABSTRACT: There are immense potential and opportunities for biogas implementation in developing countries but lack of adequate infrastructures, sufficient capital, and appropriate policy have hindered successful implementation. The previous implementation was supported by governments, international organizations (UN and EU), NGO’s and partly by carbon trading through Voluntary Emission Reductions (VERs) managed by World Bank. However, biogas technology in developing countries still require advancement in all levels from small scale (household or domestic implementation) to large scale implementation for energy generation, electricity generation and transportation. There are challenges associated with policy, funding, technical services, sustainability, awareness and education which are key factors to achieving full potential of biogas in developing countries. These challenges and solutions are briefly discussed in this work. Technical training, enforcement of policy, Public-private partnership funding, Record keeping and advertisement of biogas programmes are recommended for enhanced biogas implementation.
Keywords: Biogas; Implementation; Challenges; Developing countries
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1. Introduction Developing countries with a population of about 80 % of the world’s population [1] face complex challenges relating to environment, health, deforestation and energy. An increase in population density and continuous dependence on rationally high priced fossil fuel enhance these challenges which are major constraints to economic growth [2]. Insufficient environmental regulations in these countries have led to improper management of massive wastes generated from agricultural, municipal and industrial activities. Over 90 % of these waste streams are often disposed in unregulated dumps or openly burned [3] and sometimes treated by composting. The environmental impacts of these prevailing methods of treating such wastes are enormous (Table 1) [4]; this damages the ecosystem and natural resources (air, soil and water) that are critical to health and subsistence of people. There is a deficiency to electricity and clean energy supply in developing countries most especially in Asia-Pacific region where about 500 million people don’t have access to electricity and about 2.1 billion rely on solid fuel for cooking and heating [5], also in Sub-Sahara Africa region where over 600 million people are without access to electricity [6]. Deforestation linked to biomass collection for cooking in such countries is of great concern and has led to soil erosion and loss of cultivable lands. The concerns have steered up interest and global support for biogas technology. Biogas technology is a renewable and environmentally sustainable technology for addressing waste and energy challenges while increasing agricultural efficiency through the use of biogas residue as fertilizers and soil conditioners. This technology is an effective measures for waste treatment, biogas production from a variety of organic wastes such as food wastes, manure, agricultural wastes, wastewater sludge etc. through anaerobic digestion processes [710] has been a global focus. There have been several investigations by researchers on improving the production process and upgrade of biogas produced [11, 12] as well as the
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quality of the residue (digestate) after biogas production. This technology has been promoted by international organizations (UN and EU) in several developing countries to preserve life, protect our ecosystem and natural resources as well as ameliorating climate change. Previous research and strategic implementation in developed countries have resulted in better environment, economy, social, agricultural, energy and health. They have motivated biogas implementation in a number of developing countries especially in China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso Burundi, Ethiopia, Senegal, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Uganda [13, 14]. However, many developing countries are far behind in meeting energy access target and abate the environmental crisis. There are numerous challenges inhibiting the advancement of biogas technology in developing countries: these must be addressed to ensure successful and progressive implementation in such countries. This work aims at reviewing biogas implementation in developing countries with specific attention to the challenges involved and proffer possible solutions.
2. Overview and Current Status of Biogas Implementation The world’s biogas volume is about 59 billion m3 biogas (35 billion m3 methane equivalent) with only European Union (EU) producing about half of the total volume [15]. So, biogas production in the developing countries has been unsatisfactory in the past; the progress has been slow. Developing countries have a long way to go in biogas production compared with their developed counterpart (Figure 1). The implementation of biogas in the developing countries varies greatly among countries due to climate conditions, technologies, developmental levels, natural resources endowment and socio-economic status [16, 17].
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Small scale and domestic biogas plants for household use are major implementation in these countries [18] with China having the highest number of household biogas plants in the world [19]. However, most of the developing countries are accelerating their pace to increase their biogas production by developing medium and large-scale biogas plants. This section discusses the biogas implementation and trends in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), and Africa; focusing on the developing countries in these regions.
2.1 Asia-Pacific Countries (APAC) In countries with proper waste management and zero landfill such as Germany and Sweden, biogas is a major implementation for treatment of food wastes. However, in other countries, waste management and biogas production is not hand in hand. For example, in East Asia and Pacific region, waste generation has reached about 270 million tons per year but biogas implementation is still less developed. In China, biogas implementation started as far back as 1974 providing energy for the rural communities and fortifying their economy. An estimate of 1.6 million biogas plants were installed but more than half of these plants failed by 1980 due to poor design of the digesters. The government invested a total of about 31 billion RMB into biogas development between 1996 and 2012 [20]. Despite this huge investment, the development has been slow; report showed that only about 19 % of the biogas potential has been utilized in rural China [18]. However, the number of household biogas digesters installed in 2010 was about 38.5 million with an annual production of 13.08 billion m3 [20] which increased to 41.93 million and 15.8 billion m3 respectively in 2015 [21]. The annual target value at 2020 was estimated to be 43.94 million household digesters and 20.7 billion m3 of biogas production [21]. Biogas implementation in China has improved greatly especially through agricultural-based projects
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and the production is currently increasing due to introduction of industrial scale digesters. While much has been achieved, there are still challenges associated with policy, pretreatment technology, imperfect industrial chain, standards and specification and technical problems due to faulty or low quality digesters [17, 22] India’s biogas implementation was established in 1981 through the National Project on Biogas Development (NPBD) to improve energy service condition of the people. In an attempt to overcome some of the challenges encountered such as sub-standard quality of construction and materials and lack of accountability for failure, the National Biogas and Manure Management programme (NBMMP) was started in 2005. Currently, a total of about 5 million biogas plants have been installed which is just 40 % of the estimated potential of 12 million [23]. Most commonly used biogas reactors are fixed dome reactors, floating drum reactors, and balloon or tube digesters. The FOV fabrics plug flow textile-based reactors have been introduced after studying operations of existing reactors and challenges involved [24]. Several of these newly introduced reactors have been installed in India treating food wastes, cow dung, human excreta and mixed feedstock. Although, the use of biogas generated from human excreta or animal feaces is a social cultural taboos in some places but this is illogical to biogas implementation. Despite the improvement in biogas implementation in India, the trend is not satisfactory. Annual biogas production in India is presently about 2.07 billion m3 which is just about 4 % to 7 % of its estimated potential of 29 – 48 billion m3 [23]. India is still experiencing a lot of operational difficulties especially in cold region [23]. Challenges to wider implementation are associated with process monitoring and control, mixing, low biogas yield, cost of installing a biogas plant, the maintenance of the plant, and reliability [25, 26]. The rate of biogas implementation in Nepal has increased over the years; about 250 plants were installed in mid-1970 by the government through agricultural department [27]. Thereafter the Biogas Support Program (BSP) through the financial assistance of Netherlands 6
[28] was initiated in 1992 resulting in about 6824 biogas plants between 1992 and 1994 which increased to a total of 174,591 in 2009 and presently over 300,000 biogas plants have been installed [29]. The dissemination has been supported by government and foreign donors but the technology has not been fully implemented; biogas contributes to only 0.6 % of the total energy share [30]. More so, Nepal has the potential of implementing about 1.9 million plants [28] but only about 9 % of this total potential has been utilized [27]. However, report has shown that biogas technology is now being partly sustained by carbon trading in Nepal; earning over 600,000 USD per year through Voluntary Emission Reduction (VER) managed by World Bank [31]. Major challenges associated with Nepal are lack of water and sufficient feedstock, cold temperature (about 10°C) in hilly region of Nepal, cost of installation and awareness [27, 31, 32]. Biogas technology has been implemented in Vietnam for over 30 years [33]; the potential for biogas is huge with annual discharge of about 85 million tons of livestock wastes [34]. A total of 152,349 biogas plants were installed by SNV Netherlands Development Organization in 2012 [35] which increased to 500,000 in 2015 [34]. Roubík, Mazancová [36] quantified Vietnam’s annual biogas energy potential to be 120 TJ in 2015 which is estimated to increase to 127 TJ in 2020. However, the potential has not been duly met due to challenges associated with technical services, funding, inadequate operational process and lack of adequate information [34, 36]. Indonesia and Malaysia have huge potential of biogas from palm oil mill effluent (POME) being key producers of palm oil. Indonesia has an annual total potential of producing 4.35 billion m3 of bio-methane from POME, sewage treatment plant (STP) and municipal solid wastes (MSW) while Malaysia has a total potential of 3 billion m3 bio-methane from such wastes streams [37]. Malaysia’s renewable energy through renewable resources is estimated to increase from 2 % to 20 % by 2025 [38]. Despite the potential and opportunities, biogas 7
implementation in Indonesia and Malaysia faces a series of challenges associated with funding, government coordination, synergy between programs and planning. In Pakistan, biogas implementation started in 2000 by the Pakistan government; presently, about 1200 biogas plants have been installed [39]. Additional 10,000 biogas plants installation have been projected for the next five (5) years aiming at reaching 27 % of the countries biogas potential [40]. Poor maintenance of biogas digesters have been reported as reasons for plant failure in Pakistan. Cambodia’s biogas execution was initiated in 2016
by SNV Netherlands Development
Organization in collaboration with Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) through the National Biodigester Programme (NBP) [41]. The NBP programme received financial support from Dutch, Germany, Czech Government, EU and Sweden through Cambodia Climate Change Alliance (CCCA). The project was also supported through Carbon finance; earning income from the sale of verified emission reductions. This resulted into about 294 biogas digesters installed in 2006 which increased to over 26,000 biodigesters in 2017 [42]. Poor understanding of the biogas technology, lack of trust in the technology, weather conditions and construction difficulties have been reported as major challenges hindering the full utilization of biogas potential in Cambodia [41].
2.2 African Countries Biogas technology was implemented in Africa (Table 2) through the African Biogas Partnership Program. A number of biogas digesters have been installed in Burundi, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Uganda. Estimates for biogas potential in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is 6.8 million cubic meters per day from animal manure
8
[43] and 913,440 tons of methane from MSW, equivalent to 482 MW of electricity [44]; an estimate of 171 TJ of energy could be generated from biogas by 2030 in Nigeria [45]. Despite the potential of biogas in Africa countries and the demonstration by several programs of the viability of biogas technology, the technology is not being well spread and large-scale application has not been successfully implemented.
3.0 Challenges to Biogas Implementation in Developing Countries Biogas implementation varies between locations, form, cost structure and usage pattern; the variation depends on the development condition of the country [13]. In developing countries, there are challenges associated with policy, funding, technical services, sustainability, awareness and education which are key factors to proper implementation in order to achieve the full potential of biogas. In light of these challenges, this section identifies challenges associated with developing countries and outline strategic measures to overcome these challenges in the next session.
3.1 Technical and Infrastructural challenges Establishing a sustainable technology continues to remain a major challenge to biogas implementation in developing countries compared with their developed counterpart. Developing countries are rich with biomass but unable to utilize resources efficiently due inadequate infrastructures that can accommodate the required technology. In addition, the extent to which users understand the technical rudiments determines the effectiveness of biogas implementation [46]. Majority of biogas operators have not received adequate technical trainings on biogas production, this has made it difficult to combine biogas technology with eco-agricultural
9
technology [18]; it has also resulted into low biogas production. For instance, the feedstock composition (organic and nutrient content, impurities and possible inhibitors) determines the yield of biogas produced and can as well results into failure of the entire biogas process. More so, lack of technical capacity for construction of high-quality digesters, little knowledge on proper management of these digesters and inefficient mixing capabilities are other reasons for low production and failure of digester [18, 22]. Process instability occurs in biogas digesters due to temperature fluctuations; it affects the performance of a biogas process adversely because the activity of the microorganism is reduced if temperature is above or below their optimum range [9]. No effective technology to regulate the operating temperature during winter especially for countries in cold region. Digesters without insulators do not function effectively when the temperature is below 15°C; a typical example is e.g. Nepal with cold temperature (about 10°C) in hilly region [27, 32]. Many of developing countries suffer from shortage in water supply. In the common technology of wet fermentation for biogas production, too much water is used which is a challenge with developing countries with water shortage. In addition, high volume of biogas residue is a barrier for transporting and applying digestate to agricultural lands.
3.2 Financial Challenges Lack of capital is a major challenge to advancement of biogas implementation in developing countries. Currently, a self-made home scale bio-digester with 50 kg daily input capacity is estimated to cost about $1500, this is huge investment for low income people considering other additional cost of storage tanks, operational cost, purification, biogas compressor and maintenance [12]. Sometimes, mechanical pretreatment is required prior to the digestion process for effective biogas production; the cost price for this is also quite high [47]. Furthermore, making the investment profitable requires industrial scale application and the
10
equipment needed for such application is very expensive usually in thousands of dollars; the cost of a small industrial bio-digester with 2000 kg daily input capacity is reported between $500,000 and $1,000,000 [12]. Additionally, few technical experts are available leading to high maintenance cost. In developing countries especially in the rural areas, accessing commercial loans to invest in biogas infrastructure is very limited.
3.3 Policy and Political Challenges Majority of the developing countries do not have reliable system in place for waste collection and sorting. Often times, different streams of wastes are collected together by waste managers and disposed in unregulated dumps or openly burned [3]. The environmental policy is very weak [40] and there are no clear policy on the use of renewable energy. The lack of government commitment and poor continuity of previous biogas programme initiatives through successive governments is another key challenge limiting the advancement of biogas implementation [48]. An additional challenge is corruption, which increases the investment and operational costs for biogas implementation and thereby reduces the rate of return for the investment [49].
4. Strategic measures for improved biogas implementation Strategies that have been used by developed countries for successful implementation are discussed in this section. Developing countries need to adopt some of these strategies to stimulate the advancement of biogas implementation.
4.1 Technology and education Developing countries should innovate their own digestive systems; cost-effective systems with simple installation technology and operation. Technical services and appropriate
11
management of bio-digesters should be simplified so that individuals are able to obtain high quality energy at low price [12]. In addition, conversion processes should be simplified in order to reduce production cost. International cooperation and exchange in the sharing of best practices should be encouraged. Additionally, measures should be taken to improve followup services and management of biogas plants [17]. It is not possible without a proper education. For example, if cost-effective household-based digesters would be the solution for e.g. villages in a developing country, the major hindrance is that the owners do not know how to operate the digesters. It means if the governments provide education and support service, it can be a great contribution to the proper operation of these digesters.
4.2 Funding Financial support from the government and non-governmental organisations is needed for significant improvements. In countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and Germany, there have been significant advances in biogas implementation for energy generation and vehicle fuel; this development has been made possible by many years of central government funding through local investment programs (LIP) and climate investment programs (KLIMP). In Denmark, the first plant built in Vester Hjermitslev, with the goal of making the town energy self-supporting [50], was implemented with almost complete governmental funding: a 4 million DKK grant from the government and an 8.4 million DKK loan from the North Jutland County Council [51]. There are also investment grants for centralised biogas plants (up to 40 % of costs) and loan schemes with long-term low interest rates. Carbon trading through Voluntary Emission Reduction (VER) managed by World Bank [31] is another feasible option to sustain biogas implementation in developing countries.
4.3 Policy There is need for policies that will support the development of biogas production for energy generation in developing countries. The government should develop state-of-the-art policies at all levels (federal, state, and local government) that will attract investment and encourage flexibility in energy generation. Also, there should be continuity of good policy; a change in government does not mean a change in policy. Policies such as feed-in tariffs, net metering, virtual net metering, and tax incentives have provided great support for renewable energy in 12
developed countries [52]. Policies in Sweden supporting renewable transport fuel include tax exemptions or reductions of taxes applied on fossil fuels and laws mandating refilling stations to provide at least one renewable fuel [53].
4.4 Public awareness campaigns and research and development People should be educated on the importance of proper management of the wastes generated daily and the benefits of biogas produced from these waste fractions. There is need for continuous counselling and training in communities, schools, and market places about how to manage their wastes effectively, reduce the amount of wastes generated as much as possible, reuse for a longer time, recycle to new products, and recover energy from wastes. The governments should support research and development (R&D) by ensuring strong collaboration between universities and industries in developing countries. A major hindrance in developing biogas plants is that the imported technologies do not match with the local needs and available infrastructures. Therefore, R&D is needed to develop new local technologies or to modify the available technologies. Pilot projects can be conducted in universities to evaluate the feasibility of the technology and obtain optimum conditions for successful implementation and thereafter the technology can be adopted by industries.
5.0 Conclusions and Recommendations 5.1 Conclusions Developing countries have a long way to go in biogas production compared with their developed counterparts. Effective implementation of biogas technology in developing countries requires national master plans, and innovative strategies which will lead to economic growth, environmental safety, and national security. 5.2 Recommendations Enhancing biogas implementation in developing countries requires technical assistance and continuous training on process design, operation and construction of digesters. Existing
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biogas plants can as well be visited by experts and instructional handbooks provided. Records of existing production should be kept to serve as source of data analysis and improvement. Funding from government, cooperative organizations and industries should be encouraged. A typical example is the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model whereby the government at the local, state and national levels in collaboration with private owned industries/businesses financially support industrial scale application thereby advancing biogas technology in developing countries. The government should enforce total adherence to policies on proper waste management and incentives should be given. Additionally, biogas programmes should be properly advertised through media coverage, posters, leaflet and the use of marketing materials.
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Composition analysis was used to identify biogas dissemination barriers in India. Major barriers identified were financial, information, market, social and cultural. regulatory and institutional, technical and infrastructural barriers. Authors compared these barriers between rural and urban areas of India. Areas of improvement in policies and possible strategies to overcome identified barriers were also discussed. 24. Patinvoh, R., et al., Biogas digesters: from plastics and bricks to textile bioreactor—A review. Journal of Energy and Environmental Sustainability, 2017. 4: p. 31-35. The authors reviewed the design, operation and challenges of conventional household bioreactors for biogs production. This study focuses on cost effective textile bioreactors for biogas dissemination in developing countries. 25. Lohan, S.K., et al., Biogas: A boon for sustainable energy development in India ׳s cold climate. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015. 43: p. 95-101. 26. Surendra, K.C., et al., Biogas as a sustainable energy source for developing countries: Opportunities and challenges. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2014. 31(Supplement C): p. 846-859. 27. Gautam, R., S. Baral, and S. Herat, Biogas as a sustainable energy source in Nepal: Present status and future challenges. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2009. 13(1): p. 248-252. 28. Bajgain, S., I. Shakya, and M. Mendis, The Nepal Biogas Support Program: a successful model for public private partnership for rural household energy supply Report prepared by Biogas Support Program Nepal. 2005, Vision Press P. Ltd., Kathmandu, Nepal. 29. NBPA. Nepal Biogas Promotion Association (NBPA). Nepal Improved Biogas PlantOverview report of Research and Development phase 2015 23/7/2019]; Available from: http://energyefficiency.gov.np/downloadthis/nibp_overall_report_final.pdf. 30. WECS. Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS), Energy Sector Synopsis Report. , Kathmandu, Nepal 2010 23/07/2019]; Available from: https://www.wecs.gov.np/uploaded/snyopsis.pdf. 31. Katuwal, H. and A.K. Bohara, Biogas: A promising renewable technology and its impact on rural households in Nepal. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2009. 13(9): p. 2668-2674. 32. Surendra, K.C., et al., Current status of renewable energy in Nepal: Opportunities and challenges. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2011. 15(8): p. 41074117. 33. Silva-Martínez, R., A. Le Hung, and K. Koch, Feasibility assessment of anaerobic digestion technologies for household wastes in Vietnam. Journal of Vietnamese Environment, 2016. 7: p. 1-8. 34. Ho, T.B., T.K. Roberts, and S. Lucas, Small-Scale Household Biogas Digesters as a Viable Option for Energy Recovery and Global Warming Mitigation—Vietnam Case Study. Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology A, 2015. 5: p. 387-395. 35. Surendra, K.C., et al., Household anaerobic digester for bioenergy production in developing countries: opportunities and challenges. Environmental Technology, 2013. 34(13-14): p. 1671-1689. 16
36.
Roubík, H., et al., Quantification of biogas potential from livestock waste in Vietnam. Agronomy Research, 2017. 15.
Authors quantified biogas potential in Vietnam using method of calculation from statistical data and method for future forcast using middle scenario applications. This study identified animal waste as a potential feedstock for biogas dissemination in Vietnam. 37. H. Dekker and E.H.M. Dirkse, Biogas Potential in Indonesia - POME as a Source of Biomethane. BioEnergy Consult - Powering Clean Energy Future https://www.bioenergyconsult.com/tag/biogas-potential-in-indonesia/ Accessed 8/8/2019. 2019. 38. Abdullah, W.S.W., et al., The Potential and Status of Renewable Energy Development in Malaysia. Energies, 2019. 12(12): p. 2437. This study critically reviewed the potential of renewable energy in Malaysia. The authors concentrated on the major challenges and opportunities in Malaysia. 39. Yasar, A., et al., Socio-economic, health and agriculture benefits of rural household biogas plants in energy scarce developing countries: A case study from Pakistan. Renewable Energy, 2017. 108: p. 19-25. This study investigated the impact of biogas technology on Pakistan community. Study design were based questionnaire, field visit, observation, and manipulation. Authors reported significant improvement in economic, social and health of the community. 40. Jiang, Z., et al., Cultivation of the microalga, Chlorella pyrenoidosa, in biogas wastewater. African Journal of Biotechnology, 2011. 10: p. 13115-13120. 41. Hyman, J. and R. Bailis, Assessment of the Cambodian National Biodigester Program. Energy for Sustainable Development, 2018. 46: p. 11-22. The authors reviewed the status of NBP and discover that the project was undermined by some challenges despite the support from government and carbon finance. Construction services, technical maintenance and access to finance were discovered as crucial requirements to successful implementation. 42. NBP. National Biodigester Programme (NBP) of Cambodia. Gold Standard for the Global Goals Stakeholder Consultation Report. 2017 15/09/2019]; Available from: http://nbp.org.kh/Publication/10Aug18%20LSCR%20NBP%20GS751.pdf. 43. Aliyu, A.S., J.O. Dada, and I.K. Adam, Current status and future prospects of renewable energy in Nigeria. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015. 48: p. 336-346. 44. Suberu, M.Y., N. Bashir, and M.W. Mustafa, Biogenic waste methane emissions and methane optimization for bioelectricity in Nigeria. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2013. 25: p. 643-654. 45. Giwa, A., et al., A comprehensive review on biomass and solar energy for sustainable energy generation in Nigeria. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017. 69: p. 620-641. Authors reviewed the potential of clean energy implementation in Nigeria considering the obstacles and stimulants. Successful implementation is subject to incentives and financing, research and development, public enlightenment, government policies and private investments.
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Gebreegziabher, Z., et al., Prospects and challenges for urban application of biogas installations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2014. 70: p. 130-140. Rodriguez, C., et al., Mechanical pretreatment of waste paper for biogas production. Waste Management, 2017. 68: p. 157-164.
Hollander beater pretreatment on paper waste was investigated; this is the first time Holander beater was used as mechanical pretreatment of paper waste to improve biogas yield. Authors reported significant improvement in methane yield after pretreatment. . 48. Akinbomi, J., et al., Development and dissemination strategies for accelerating biogas production in Nigeria. BioResources, 2014. 9(3): p. 5707-5737. 49. Taherzadeh, M.J. and K. Rajendran, Factors affecting development of waste management. Waste Management and Sustainable Consumption: Reflections on Consumer Waste, 2014: p. 67. 50. Al Seadi, T., Danish centralised biogas plants–plant descriptions. Bioenergy Department, University of Southern Denmark, 2000: p. 28. 51. Geels, F.W. and R. Raven, Socio-cognitive evolution and co-evolution in competing technical trajectories: biogas development in Denmark (1970–2002). The International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 2007. 14(1): p. 63-77. 52. REN21, Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Centuery (REN21). Renewables 2017 Global Status Report (Paris: REN21 Secretariat) ISBN 978-39818107-6-9. 2017. 53. Lönnqvist, T., Biogas in Swedish transport–a policy-driven systemic transition. Doctoral thesis, in 2017, KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering: SE- 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden. The conditions for biogas in Swedich transport sector was criticaly analysed. The future of biogas successful implementation depends on policy. 54. NetherlandsDevelopmentOrganization(SNV). Domestic biogas newsletter. 2012; Available from: http://www.snv.org/public/cms/sites/default/files/explore/download/snv_domestic_bio gas_newsletter_-_issue_7_-_september_2012.pdf. 55. Raboni, M., V. Torretta, and G. Urbini, The Future of Biofuels for a Sustainable Mobility, in The 3rd World Sustainability Forum http://www.sciforum.net/conference/wsf3 2013. p. f009.
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Table 1. Environmental impacts of dominant waste management methods [4] Landfill
Composting
Incineration
Air
Emissions of methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO)
Emissions of methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO)
Water
Leaching of salts, heavy metals, and biodegradable and persistent organics to groundwater Accumulation of hazardous substances in soil Soil occupancy; restriction on other land uses
N/A
Emissions of SO2, NOx, HCl, HF, CO, CO2, N2O, dioxins, furans, heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cu, As) Deposition of hazardous substances on surface water
Soil Landscape
Ecosystem
Contamination and accumulation of toxic substances in the food chain
Urban areas
Exposure to hazardous substances
N/A Soil occupancy; restriction on other land uses Contamination and accumulation of toxic substances in the food chain N/A
Landfilling of ashes and scrap Visual intrusion; restriction on other land uses Contamination and accumulation of toxic substances in the food chain Exposure to hazardous substances
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Table 2. Number of installed biogas plants in African Countries (Adapted from [54] ) African Countries
Year of Implementation
Rwanda
2007
Total installed biogas plants (up to 2012) 2619
Ethiopia
2008
5011
Tanzania
2008
4980
Kenya
2009
6749
Uganda
2009
3083
Burkina Faso
2009
2013
Cameroun
2009
159
Benin
2010
42
Senegal
2010
334
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Figure 1: Global biogas production in 2012 and its trend to 2022 [55]
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Competing interests: All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.