The Scope and Potential for Mini-Grid Power Systems Based on Biomass Waste for Remote Areas in Sub-Saharan Africa

2022 ◽  
pp. 277-296
Author(s):  
Gratitude Charis ◽  
Tafadzwa Nkhoma ◽  
Gwiranai Danha
Keyword(s):  
Power Systems ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Landfill Gas ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Biomass Waste ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Biogas Plants ◽  
Sub Saharan

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been experiencing an energy crisis. Socio-economic balances depend on access to clean, convenient, and dependable energy. This is critical for remote areas which are off the national grid, necessitating the installation of renewable energy sources such as bioenergy plants. These plants could valorize waste using combustion and gasification or biogas plants. The challenge is to produce a competitive levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Nations like Germany and Sweden have successfully launched these. SSA can benchmark from these and valorize its biomass wastes. Key issues to consider would be cost-effective supply chains, sustainable harvest rates, after sales support, and good regulatory frameworks. This study was mostly a desktop review with a few field study observations. It was concluded that the stoker fired boiler and landfill gas ‘biomass only' technologies would have the least capital costs, although gasification and anaerobic digestion are also competitive in terms of LCOE.

scholarly journals Inhibition of Ammonia and Hydrogen Sulphide Using Plant Waste Materials for Faecal Sludge Odour Control in Dry Sanitation Toilet Facilities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernice Mawumenyo Senanu ◽  
Patrick Boakye ◽  
Sampson Oduro-Kwarteng ◽  
Divine Damertey Sewu ◽  
Esi Awuah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rice Husk ◽  
Hydrogen Sulphide ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Open Defecation ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Sanitation Systems ◽  
S Peak ◽  
Faecal Sludge ◽  
Peak Value

Abstract On-site dry sanitation facilities, although cheaper than wet sanitation systems, suffer from high malodour and insect nuisance as well as poor aesthetics. The high odour deters users from utilizing dry sanitation toilet as an improved facility leading to over 20% open defecation in Sub-Saharan Africa. To address this malodour concern, this study first assessed odour levels, using hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and ammonia (NH3) as indicators, on two (2) dry sanitation facilities (T1 and T2). The potential of using biomass (sawdust, rice husk, moringa leaves, neem seeds), ash (coconut husk, cocoa husk) or biochar (sawdust, rice husk, bamboo) as biocovers to remove or suppress odour from fresh faecal sludge (FS) over a 12-day period was investigated. Results showed high odour levels, beyond and below the threshold limit for unpleasantness for humans on H2S (peak value: T1 = 3.17 ppm; T2 = 0.22 ppm > 0.05 ppm limit) and NH3 (peak value: T1 = 6.88 ppm; T2 = 3.16 ppm < 30 ppm limit), respectively. The biomasses exhibited low pH (acidic = 5-7) whereas the biochars and ashes had higher pHs (basic = 8-13). Acidic biocovers generally reduced NH3 emission significantly (12.5% to 64.8%) whereas basic biocovers were more effective at H2S emission reduction (80.9% to 96.2%). In terms of H2S and NH3 removal, sawdust biochar was the most effective biocover with odour abatement values of 96.2% and 74.7%, respectively. The results suggest that locally available waste plant-based materials, like sawdust, when converted to biochar can serve as a cost-effective and sustainable way to effectively combat odour-related issues associated with dry sanitation facilities to help stop open defecation.

Self Supply

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Sutton ◽  
John Butterworth
Keyword(s):  
Universal Access ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Public Provision ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Water Provision

While governments and development partners focus on improving community and utility-managed water supplies to ensure access for all, hundreds of millions of people are taking actions to supply their own water. In the WASH sector household investment in construction and improvement of facilities is widely employed in sanitation but in water similar efforts are ignored. Recognition of the contribution of self-supply towards universal access to water and its full potential, is hampered by a lack of data, analysis and guidance. This well-reasoned source book highlights the magnitude of the contribution of self-supply to urban and rural water provision world-wide, and the gains that are possible when governments recognise and support household-led supply development and up-grading. With limited public finances in low- (and many middle-) income countries, self-supply can fill gaps in public provision, especially amongst low-density rural populations. The book focuses on sub-Saharan Africa as the region with the greatest predicted shortfall in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal for water. Household supplies can be created, or accelerated to basic or safely managed levels, through approaches that build on the investment and actions of families, with the availability of technology options and cost-effective support from the private and public sectors. The role of self-supply needs greater recognition and a change in mindset of governments, development partners and practitioners if water services are to be extended to all and no-one is to be left behind.

Parametric Modeling and Optimal Control of a Combined Heating and Power System With Energy Storage

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Lucia De Pascalis ◽  
Stephanie Stockar
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Power Systems ◽  
Power System ◽  
Energy Management ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Parametric Modeling ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Energy Management Strategy ◽  
Generation Cost

Abstract Cogeneration is a well-known and cost effective solution for generating power and heat within the same plant, leading to improved overall efficiency and reduced generation cost. Combined heating and power systems can facilitate the penetration of renewable energy sources in medium size applications through the integration of electric and thermal energy storage units. Due to the complexity of the plant as well as significantly variability in power demand and generation, the design and operation of such systems requires a systematic co-optimization of plant and controller for guaranteeing near optimal performance. In this scenario, this paper presents a physics-based parametric modeling approach for the characterization of the main components of a 1MW combined heating and power system that includes renewable sources, electric and thermal storage devices. To demonstrate the model flexibility and potential benefits achieved by an optimal sizing, the system energy management is optimized using Dynamic Programming. The operational costs for different configurations are compared showing that an optimization of the energy management strategy in conjunction with an improved system sizing lead to more than 6% of reduction in the operational cost.

Religious Tourism in Africa's Global South

2021 ◽  
pp. 283-296
Author(s):  
Unathi Sonwabile Henama ◽  
Lwazi Apleni
Keyword(s):  
Economic Benefit ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
International Tourist ◽  
African Spirituality ◽  
Religious Tourism ◽  
Beaten Track ◽  
Sub Saharan

International tourist arrivals are projected to surpass 1.8 billion by 2030 on the back of rapid growth in emerging tourism economies. Tourism has emerged as an economic messiah for a plethora of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has emerged as a cost-effective means by which countries can diversify their economies, especially countries with low economies that depend on agricultural products to diversify their economies. Religious tourism can contribute to deeper economic benefit for a destination. The synthesis of literature adds to the paucity of academic gaze on religious tourism in Southern Africa. The synthesis takes the reader on a religious tourism journey that includes African spirituality, Pentecostal Christianity, and the interface between Africans spirituality and Christianity. These areas are neglected in the academic gaze and are outside the tourism beaten track, and these forms of religious tourism bring in much needed economic activities for areas on the tourism fringe.

scholarly journals Management of Advanced and Metastatic Prostate Cancer: A Need for a Sub-Saharan Guideline

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayun Cassell ◽  
Bashir Yunusa ◽  
Mohamed Jalloh ◽  
Medina Ndoye ◽  
Mouhamadou M. Mbodji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Androgen Deprivation Therapy ◽  
Metastatic Prostate Cancer ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Androgen Deprivation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
International Agency ◽  
Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Castrate Resistant

The estimated incidence rate of prostate cancer in Africa was 22.0/100,000 in 2016. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has cited prostate cancer as a growing health threat in Africa with approximated 28,006 deaths in 2010 and estimated 57,048 deaths in 2030. The exact incidence of advanced and metastatic prostate cancer is not known in sub-Saharan Africa. Hospital-based reports from the region have shown a rising trend with most patients presenting with advanced or metastatic disease. The management of advanced and metastatic prostate cancer is challenging. The available international guidelines may not be cost-effective for an African population. The most efficient approach in the region has been surgical castration by bilateral orchidectomy or pulpectomy. Medical androgen deprivation therapy is expensive and may not be available. Patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer tend to be palliated due to the absence or cost of chemotherapy or second-line androgen deprivation therapy in most of Africa. A cost-effective guideline for developing nations to address the rising burden of advanced prostate cancer is warranted at this moment.

scholarly journals Contrasting Response Mechanisms of Maize Lines to Striga hermonthica

Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 485
Author(s):  
Nnanna N. Unachukwu ◽  
Abebe Menkir ◽  
Adekemi Stanley ◽  
Ebenezer O. Farombi ◽  
Melaku Gedil
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Striga Hermonthica ◽  
Maize Line ◽  
Parasitic Weed ◽  
Resistant Lines ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Better Than

Strigahermonthica (Del.) Benth is a parasitic weed that devastates cereals in Sub-Saharan Africa. Several control measures have been proposed for the parasite, of these, host plant resistance is considered the most cost-effective for poor farmers. Some tolerant/resistant lines have been developed and these lines display tolerance/resistance mechanisms to the parasite. A series of studies was done to investigate some of the mechanisms through which a resistant (TZISTR1108) and a susceptible (5057) maize line responds to S. hermonthica infestation, as well as the effects of parasitism on these lines. In this study, TZISTR1108 stimulated the germination and attachment of fewer S. hermonthica plants than 5057, both in the laboratory and on the field. In TZISTR1108, the growth of the S. hermonthica plants, that successfully attached, was slowed. When compared to the un-infested plants, the infested resistant plants showed fewer effects of parasitism than the infested susceptible plants. The infested TZISTR1108 plants were more vigorous, taller and resembled their un-infected counterparts. There were substantial reductions in the stomatal conductance and nitrogen content of the 5057 upon infestation. The resistant inbred line showed multiple mechanisms of resistance to S. hermonthica infestation. It thrives better than the susceptible line by reducing the attachment of S. hermonthica and it delays the parasite’s development.

scholarly journals Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Iron and Zinc Deficiency in Maize (Zea mays L.)

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1812
Author(s):  
Mallana Gowdra Mallikarjuna ◽  
Nepolean Thirunavukkarasu ◽  
Rinku Sharma ◽  
Kaliyugam Shiriga ◽  
Firoz Hossain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Differential Expression ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Zn Deficiency ◽  
Metal Transporters ◽  
Maize Cultivars ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Iron And Zinc ◽  
Sub Saharan

Globally, one-third of the population is affected by iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiency, which is severe in developing and underdeveloped countries where cereal-based diets predominate. The genetic biofortification approach is the most sustainable and one of the cost-effective ways to address Fe and Zn malnutrition. Maize is a major source of nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America. Understanding systems’ biology and the identification of genes involved in Fe and Zn homeostasis facilitate the development of Fe- and Zn-enriched maize. We conducted a genome-wide transcriptome assay in maize inbred SKV616, under –Zn, –Fe and –Fe–Zn stresses. The results revealed the differential expression of several genes related to the mugineic acid pathway, metal transporters, photosynthesis, phytohormone and carbohydrate metabolism. We report here Fe and Zn deficiency-mediated changes in the transcriptome, root length, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and reduced rate of photosynthesis. Furthermore, the presence of multiple regulatory elements and/or the co-factor nature of Fe and Zn in enzymes indicate their association with the differential expression and opposite regulation of several key gene(s). The differentially expressed candidate genes in the present investigation would help in breeding for Fe and Zn efficient and kernel Fe- and Zn-rich maize cultivars through gene editing, transgenics and molecular breeding.

scholarly journals Enhancing Maternal and Perinatal Health in Under-Served Remote Areas in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Tanzanian Model

PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e0151419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo S. Nyamtema ◽  
Nguke Mwakatundu ◽  
Sunday Dominico ◽  
Hamed Mohamed ◽  
Senga Pemba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Perinatal Health ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Sub Saharan
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