Bioenergy potential of agricultural crop residues and municipal solid waste in Cameroon

Robinson J. Tanyi; Muyiwa S Adaramola; Robinson J. Tanyi; Muyiwa S Adaramola

doi:10.3934/energy.2023002

AIMS Energy

2023, Volume 11, Issue 1: 31-46. doi: 10.3934/energy.2023002

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Research article Special Issues

Bioenergy potential of agricultural crop residues and municipal solid waste in Cameroon

Robinson J. Tanyi ¹,
Muyiwa S Adaramola ^{2
,
,}

1.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana
2.
Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway

Received: 22 July 2022 Revised: 18 December 2022 Accepted: 22 December 2022 Published: 10 January 2023

Biomass has emerged as an important and promising energy source, particularly in developing countries, owing to continuous research for sustainable energy sources that do not interfere with food, water or land needs. This study introduces the surplus availability factor (SAF), minimum, average and maximum biogas production technique in the assessment of crop production data in 2020 to provide a more precise and current estimate of Cameroon's crop residue and municipal solid waste (MSW) bioenergy potential. Crop residues contributed roughly 96% while MSW contributed the remaining 4% of the total bioenergy potential of 606 PJ per year. The bioenergy potential was calculated using crop production statistics derived from the FAOSTAT database of the Food and Agriculture Organization, while the residue-to-product ratio (RPR) and surplus availability factors (SAF) were found from related studies. The study concludes that crop residues and MSW have significant energy potential capable of meeting the country's electricity, transport fuel and biogas demand while simultaneously mitigating climate change through the capture of about 1.6 billion kg of CO₂ through biogas recovery. It also highlights the lack of accurate and up-to-date data on the country's biomass potential and recommends ground data collection and geospatial mapping of areas with enormous potential for these resources to guide policymakers and investment plans.
- Sub-Saharan Africa,
- energy access,
- crop residues,
- surplus availability factor,
- waste generated per capita
Citation: Robinson J. Tanyi, Muyiwa S Adaramola. Bioenergy potential of agricultural crop residues and municipal solid waste in Cameroon[J]. AIMS Energy, 2023, 11(1): 31-46. doi: 10.3934/energy.2023002

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Abstract

Biomass has emerged as an important and promising energy source, particularly in developing countries, owing to continuous research for sustainable energy sources that do not interfere with food, water or land needs. This study introduces the surplus availability factor (SAF), minimum, average and maximum biogas production technique in the assessment of crop production data in 2020 to provide a more precise and current estimate of Cameroon's crop residue and municipal solid waste (MSW) bioenergy potential. Crop residues contributed roughly 96% while MSW contributed the remaining 4% of the total bioenergy potential of 606 PJ per year. The bioenergy potential was calculated using crop production statistics derived from the FAOSTAT database of the Food and Agriculture Organization, while the residue-to-product ratio (RPR) and surplus availability factors (SAF) were found from related studies. The study concludes that crop residues and MSW have significant energy potential capable of meeting the country's electricity, transport fuel and biogas demand while simultaneously mitigating climate change through the capture of about 1.6 billion kg of CO₂ through biogas recovery. It also highlights the lack of accurate and up-to-date data on the country's biomass potential and recommends ground data collection and geospatial mapping of areas with enormous potential for these resources to guide policymakers and investment plans.

References

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