Assessment of Municipal Organic Solid Waste, as a Potential Feedstock for Briquette Production in Kampala, Uganda

The current shortage of energy resources coupled with environmental degradation problems resulting from deforestation in Uganda has contributed to increased demand for renewable energy resources including municipal organic solid waste and agricultural residues. However, organic waste from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) may contain contaminants that are harmful to public health and the environment. This study determined the heavy metal concentration in MSW in Kampala City, Uganda. Also, the physicochemical properties of briquettes produced from the MSW were compared with charcoal. The waste samples were collected from residential, institutional and market areas over a period of two weeks. They were then analyzed for the presence of heavy metals. Briquettes were made from the bio-waste and were subjected to calorific and proximate analysis. Results indicated that the mean concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, and Pb were 1.25 mg/kg, 2.04 mg/kg, 38.2 mg/kg, 3.97 mg/kg and 1.99 mg/kg respectively while Hg was not detected. The calorific values of briquettes ranged from 8.9 to 15.3 MJ/kg and were lower than those of charcoal. Heavy metal concentrations in bio-waste collected were below the permissible acceptable limits. These findings indicate that the sampled MSW does not pose a health hazard arising from the presence of such heavy metals and therefore could be a safe source of renewable energy.

Potential of organic waste to energy and bio-fertilizer production in Sub-Saharan Africa:a review

Many growing cities of Sub-Saharan Africa(SSA)are marred by the inefficient collection,management,disposal and reuse of organic waste.The purpose of this study was to review and compare the energy recovery potential as well as bio-fertilizer perspective,from the organic waste volumes generated in SSA countries.Based on computations made with a literature review,we find that the amount of organic wastes varies across countries translating to differences in the energy and bio-fertilizer production potentials across countries.Organic wastes generated in SSA can potentially generate about 133 million GWh of energy per year.The organic waste to bio-fertilizer production potentials range from 11.08 million tons to 306.26 million tons annually.Ghana has the highest energy and bio-fertilizer potential among the SSA countries with a total per capita of 630 MWh/year and 306.26 million tons,respectively.The challenges and technical considerations for energy and bio-fertilizer approaches in the management of organic waste in SSA have also been discussed.This study is of help to the readers and strategic decision makers in understanding the contribution of bioenergy and bio-fertilizer to achieving sustainable development goals,namely,7(Affordable and Clean Energy)and 13(Climate Action)in SSA.