Energy Audit and Alternative Energy Source for Sustainable Processing of Cassava Products in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Recently, the increase in electrical energy tariff in Nigeria coupled with the epileptic electricity supply has led to the rise in production cost and price of cassava products. In this study, an audit of the electrical energy used in three cassava processing industries (Niji farm, ATMANCorp Nigeria, and Psaltry International Limited) in Oyo state, Nigeria was carried out and biofuels as an alternative energy produced from cassava processing waste to enhance the sustainability of cassava processing are presented. The audit investigates the cost of energy consumption in producing different cassava products, ranging from garri, cassava flour, and cassava starch. The computation and analysis of energy use were carried out using the spreadsheet on Microsoft Excel. The results showed that the observed monthly energy consumed with the cost of the energy for Niji farm, ATMAN Corp Nigeria, and Psaltry International Limited were 45002.16 kW/h (NGN1,330,560), 65581.92 kW/h (NGN1,668,535), and 923774.40 kW/h (NGN27,501,120) respectively. The analysis also observed that bioenergy such as bioethanol, biodiesel, biomass, or biogas produced biochemically from cassava processing by-products can be used as a suitable biofuel to run types of machinery in cassava processing. This study proffers a solution to the high cost of energy used in cassava processing industries thereby reducing the production cost resulting in lower prices of cassava products in the market.