Logo image
Broadening the potential of biogas in Sub-Saharan Africa: An assessment of feasible technologies and feedstocks
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Broadening the potential of biogas in Sub-Saharan Africa: An assessment of feasible technologies and feedstocks

G.V. Rupf, P.A. Bahri, K. de Boer and M.P. McHenry
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol.61, pp.556-571
2016
pdf
broadening the potential of biogas.pdfDownloadView
Author’s VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0 Open Access
url
Link to Published Version *Subscription may be requiredView

Abstract

This paper aims to provide a broad review and assessment of the feedstocks and applicable biogas technologies that are feasible in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Biodigesters and feedstocks available in SSA were identified according to scale and application – household, community, institutional, and commercial. Aside from livestock manure, suitable feedstocks for household, community, and institutional biodigesters include crop residues, night soil/domestic sewage, and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). Significant untapped feedstocks exist from SSA agro-processing and food production industries. Biodigesters available in SSA for household, community, and institutional installations include variations of fixed dome, plug flow, and floating cover digesters. Commercial digester designs applicable to the region include continuously stirred tank reactors and fixed film digesters. The key factors that need to be considered in selecting suitable biodigester designs for specific applications include: feedstock availability, water supply, energy demand, local materials and labour, and the level of commitment to operate and maintain the biodigester effectively.

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#6 Clean Water and Sanitation
#7 Affordable and Clean Energy
#12 Responsible Consumption & Production

Source: InCites

Metrics

469 File views/ downloads
270 Record Views

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Citation topics
3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
3.83 Bioengineering
3.83.416 Anaerobic Digestion
Web Of Science research areas
Energy & Fuels
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
ESI research areas
Engineering
Logo image