scholarly journals SPEAR (Solar Pyrolysis Energy Access Reactor): Theoretical Design and Evaluation of a Small-Scale Low-Cost Pyrolysis Unit for Implementation in Rural Communities

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2189
Author(s):  
Cesare Caputo ◽  
Ondřej Mašek
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Agricultural Waste ◽  
Tracking Error ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Energy Access ◽  
Efficient System ◽  
Pyrolysis Unit

Energy access and waste management are two of the most pressing developmental and environmental issues on a global level to help mitigate the accelerating impacts of climate change. They are particularly relevant in Sub–Saharan Africa where electrification rates are significantly below global averages and rural areas are lacking a formal waste management sector. This paper explores the potential of integrating solar energy into a biomass pyrolysis unit as a potentially synergetic solution to both issues. The full design of a slow pyrolysis batch reactor targeted at biochar production, following a strict cost minimization approach, is presented in light of the relevant considerations. SPEAR is powered using a Cassegrain optics parabolic dish system, integrated into the reactor via a manual tracking system and optically optimized with a Monte-Carlo ray tracing methodology. The design approach employed has led to the development an overall cost efficient system, with the potential to achieve optical efficiencies up 72% under a 1.5° tracking error. The outputs of the system are biochar and electricity, to be used for soil amendment and energy access purposes, respectively. There is potential to pyrolyze a number of agricultural waste streams for the region, producing at least 5 kg of biochar per unit per day depending on the feedstock employed. Financial assessment of SPEAR yields a positive Net Present Value (NPV) in nearly all scenarios evaluated and a reasonable competitiveness with small scale solar for electrification objectives. Finally, SPEAR presents important positive social and environmental externalities and should be feasibly implementable in the region in the near term.

scholarly journals BioLPG for Clean Cooking in Sub-Saharan Africa: Present and Future Feasibility of Technologies, Feedstocks, Enabling Conditions and Financing

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3916
Author(s):  
Kimball C. Chen ◽  
Matthew Leach ◽  
Mairi J. Black ◽  
Meron Tesfamichael ◽  
Francis Kemausuor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Waste ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
Energy Access ◽  
Liquefied Petroleum Gas ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Private Sector Investment ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Public And Private Sector

Energy supply for clean cooking is a priority for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, i.e., propane or butane or a mixture of both) is an economically efficient, cooking energy solution used by over 2.5 billion people worldwide and scaled up in numerous low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Investigation of the technical, policy, economic and physical requirements of producing LPG from renewable feedstocks (bioLPG) finds feasibility at scale in Africa. Biogas and syngas from the circular economic repurposing of municipal solid waste and agricultural waste can be used in two groundbreaking new chemical processes (Cool LPG or Integrated Hydropyrolysis and Hydroconversion (IH2)) to selectively produce bioLPG. Evidence about the nature and scale potential of bioLPG presented in this study justifies further investment in the development of bioLPG as a fuel that can make a major contribution toward enabling an SSA green economy and universal energy access. Techno-economic assessments of five potential projects from Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda illustrate what might be possible. BioLPG technology is in the early days of development, so normal technology piloting and de-risking need to be undertaken. However, fully developed bioLPG production could greatly reduce the public and private sector investment required to significantly increase SSA clean cooking capacity.

scholarly journals Overcoming local constraints when developing renewable energy systems for the electrification of remote areas in Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Joseph Kenfack ◽  
Joseph Voufo ◽  
Paul Salomon Ngohe Ekam ◽  
Jeanine K. Lewetchou ◽  
Urbain Nzotcha
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Energy Access ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Local Constraints ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Energy Plants

Sub Saharan Africa has a great renewable energy potential. Rural areas are suffering from poor energy access. Some systems designed to address this issue are still faced with some difficulties. Appropriate approaches and energy plant development will help remote areas to address the issue of electricity access. The current development of some micro hydro and micro solar energy plants is of poor quality and maintenance, sometimes resulting in failures. There are also some common mistakes made when promoting (designing) an energy system in an African environment. Identifying issues from local constraints and lessons learned will contribute to determining the appropriate sizing, technology and tools to correctly develop micro hydro and micro solar energy plants.

South-to-South and Donor-driven Diffusion in Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 158-180
Author(s):  
Brian Wampler ◽  
Stephanie McNulty ◽  
Michael Touchton
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Marginalized Communities ◽  
New Development ◽  
Sub Saharan

Governments in sub-Saharan Africa began to adopt PB in the early 2000s. The World Bank, USAID, DFID, and other international organization led the push to expand PB. By 2019, the region included more than nine hundred programs. PB’s diffusion across sub-Saharan Africa has led to its transformation in scale, rules, and impact. Most PB programs in sub-Saharan Africa focus on building accountability and allowing participants to select small-scale development projects. These programs are located both in major cities (Maputo, Nairobi) as well as in poor, rural areas across the region. These programs are intended to improve local governance, but the involvement of international donors means that local governments must address their concerns as well as those of participants. The programs also emphasize placing new development projects in poor, marginalized communities, thus retaining potential for improving well-being. This chapter documents these trends by focusing on PB in Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda.

Design of Hybrid Energy Control System for Powering Small Scale Green House

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-112
Author(s):  
Vecky C. Poekoel ◽  
Riecky Poekoel ◽  
Jane I. Litouw ◽  
Sherwin R.U.A. Sompie ◽  
Reynold F. Robot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Control System ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Food System ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Electricity Sector ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Energy Access ◽  
Hybrid Energy

The world energy crisis from non-renewable fossil energy sources greatly impacts the electricity sector. Meanwhile energy is needed to ensure food security is estimated at 38 percent of the energy consumed in the food system. Agrifood systems require renewable energy, access to modern energy services in rural areas, technology related to climate-smart agriculture. Hybrid technology makes it possible, we combine several new and renewable energy sources to save electricity more effectively and efficiently. Able to manage the shifting period of any renewable energy source in hybrid energy by the control system. In this case, each of these new renewable energies can be arranged based on their respective existence. With the existence of a power plant with renewable energy in the form of hybrid energy, it can also facilitate farmers in terms of electricity sources because in the most recent agriculture there is no electricity installed. With this method farmers can process the natural products they have easily, and are cost-effective.

Assessment of nutrient fluxes and recovery for a small-scale agricultural waste management system

2020 ◽  
Vol 267 ◽  
pp. 110626
Author(s):  
Kevin D. Orner ◽  
Fabricio Camacho-Céspedes ◽  
Jeffrey A. Cunningham ◽  
James R. Mihelcic
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Management System ◽  
Agricultural Waste ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Nutrient Fluxes ◽  
Waste Management System ◽  
Agricultural Waste Management

scholarly journals Techno-Economic Analysis of a Small-Scale Biomass-to-Energy BFB Gasification-Based System

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Porcu ◽  
Stefano Sollai ◽  
Davide Marotto ◽  
Mauro Mureddu ◽  
Francesca Ferrara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Agricultural Waste ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Commercial Application ◽  
Small Scale

In order to limit global warming to around 1.5–2.0 °C by the end of the 21st century, there is the need to drastically limit the emissions of CO2. This goal can be pursued by promoting the diffusion of advanced technologies for power generation from renewable energy sources. In this field, biomass can play a very important role since, differently from solar and wind, it can be considered a programmable source. This paper reports a techno-economic analysis on the possible commercial application of gasification technologies for small-scale (2 MWe) power generation from biomass. The analysis is based on the preliminary experimental performance of a 500 kWth pilot-scale air-blown bubbling fluidized-bed (BFB) gasification plant, recently installed at the Sotacarbo Research Centre (Italy) and commissioned in December 2017. The analysis confirms that air-blown BFB biomass gasification can be profitable for the applications with low-cost biomass, such as agricultural waste, with a net present value up to about 6 M€ as long as the biomass is provided for free; on the contrary, the technology is not competitive for high-quality biomass (wood chips, as those used for the preliminary experimental tests). In parallel, an analysis of the financial risk was carried out, in order to estimate the probability of a profitable investment if a variation of the key financial parameters occurs. In particular, the analysis shows a probability of 90% of a NPV at 15 years between 1.4 and 5.1 M€ and an IRR between 11.6% and 23.7%.

scholarly journals Law and the Exclusionary Essence of Large-Scale Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa Land

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 315-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomaso Ferrando
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Global Land ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

Abstract ‘Global land grabbing’ represents one of the hottest topics of debate within the areas of developmental and agricultural studies. However, this article claims that a narrow focus on the illegality and consequences of the ‘grabbing’, rather than on large scale investments in land (LaSIL) as a form of economic development which is inherently exclusionary, can be detrimental to the future of small-scale farmers. A short-term perspective overlooks the indirect consequences of industrialization, and legitimizes long-term exclusions and marginalization. Through past and present evidence, this paper demonstrates that LaSIL as competing projects will inevitably produce the abandonment of rural areas, the proletarianization of peasants, and the increase in social inequality, against any possibility for coexistence and harmonious cooperation.

scholarly journals Appliance Ownership and Aspirations among Electric Grid and Home Solar Households in Rural Kenya

2016 ◽  
Vol 106 (5) ◽  
pp. 89-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Lee ◽  
Edward Miguel ◽  
Catherine Wolfram
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Energy Access ◽  
Grid Infrastructure ◽  
Electric Grid ◽  
Solar Systems ◽  
Rural Kenya ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Electrical Appliance

In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are active debates about whether increases in energy access should be driven by investments in electric grid infrastructure or small-scale “home solar” systems (e.g., solar lanterns and solar home systems). We summarize the results of a household electrical appliance survey and describe how households in rural Kenya differ in terms of appliance ownership and aspirations. Our data suggest that home solar is not a substitute for grid power. Furthermore, the environmental advantages of home solar are likely to be relatively small in countries like Kenya, where grid power is primarily derived from non-fossil fuel sources.

scholarly journals Electrical Energy Demand in Rural India - A Case Study of Arunachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh

2019 ◽  
Vol 101 ◽  
pp. 02002
Author(s):  
Anna-Kaarina Seppälä ◽  
Nabin Raj Gaihre ◽  
Rinald Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Uttar Pradesh ◽  
Electrical Energy ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Energy Access ◽  
Arunachal Pradesh ◽  
Potential Market

India currently has the biggest unelectrified population in the world. Renewable-based microgrids could provide a sustainable solution to providing universal energy access. However, the potential electricity demand in rural areas is unknown and hard to predict. This data is needed to analyse the purchasing power and potential market for microgrids, and to assess their success rate. This study surveyed 73 households in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in India, to study the energy need in rural communities. The data shows that many unelectrified households are already using electrical appliances powered by small photovoltaic panels or batteries. The consumption is not income-generating but potential productive use cases are widely present. In Uttar Pradesh, small-scale microgrids are already providing homes with enough power for lighting and mobile chargers. An average unelectrified household was found to consume 2.48 kWhe monthly, and to spend ₹ 155 on energy services. Villagers wish for more appliances and more power, and have the required finances to pay for it.

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