Renewable Energy from Agricultural Waste: Biogas Potential for Sustainable Energy Generation in Nigeria’s Rural Agricultural Communities

Abstract

The use of fossil fuels dominates energy generation globally. As the world shifts towards developing sustainable processes and a circular economy, seeking renewable energy alternatives is crucial. Nigeria's agricultural sector produces large amounts of biodegradable waste daily with up to 227500 tonnes of animal manure produced per day and up to 84Mt of useful crop residues produced per year. This offers huge potential for bioenergy generation in agricultural communities, especially at the rural level. Biogas plants employ anaerobic digestion, which enables microorganisms to break down large organic molecules into biogas. This review examines the potential of biogas production in Nigeria. The technology of biogas production was explained and the trending issue of sustainable digestate management was also reviewed. A literature survey revealed that Nigeria has the potential of producing up to 6.8 million m3/day of biogas from animal waste, and 15.014 billion m3/year of biogas from crop residues. It also identified that while much research has been conducted on biogas production in Nigeria over the past two decades, much progress has not been made in implementing it on a large scale due to financial barriers, lack of awareness, policy support, technical expertise, etc. The absence of effective policies and regulatory frameworks were identified as the major challenge to biogas production in Nigeria. Nevertheless, the progress made in the small-scale implementation of biogas plants shows their potential for use in rural agriculture. Solutions to the barriers were also assessed which, if implemented, will aid rural farmers in affording an environment-friendly, off-grid energy supply for production.