Potential of Organic Waste for Biogas and Biofertilizer Production in Nigeria

With the growing demerits of fossil fuels - its finitude and its negative impact on the environment and public health - renewable energy is becoming a favored emerging alternative. For over a millennium, anaerobic digestion (AD) has been employed in treating organic waste (biomass). The two main products of anaerobic digestion, biogas and biofertilizer, are very important resources. Since organic wastes are always available and unavoidable, too, anaerobic digestion provides an efficient means of converting organic waste to profitable resources. This paper elucidates the potential benefits of organic waste generated in Nigeria as a renewable source of biofuel and biofertilizer. The selected organic wastes studied in this work are livestock wastes (cattle manure, sheep and goat manure, pig manure, poultry manure; and abattoir waste), human manure, crop residue, and municipal solid waste (MSW). Using mathematical computation based on the standard measurements, Nigeria generates about 542.5 million tons of the above selected organic waste per annum. This, in turn, has the potential of yielding about 25.53 billion m3 of biogas (about 169, 541.66 MWh) and 88.19 million tons of biofertilizer per annum. Both have a combined estimated value of about N 4.54 trillion ($ 29.29 billion). This potential biogas yield will be able to completely replace the use of kerosene and coal for domestic cooking, and reduce the consumption of wood fuel by 66%. An effective biogas program in Nigeria will also remarkably reduce environmental and public health concerns, deforestation, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.63.1.2912