THEORETICAL ESTIMATION OF BIOGAS POTENTIAL FROM HOUSEHOLD ORGANIC SOLID WASTE FOR BIOGAS PRODUCTION IN ONITSHA NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA.

Abstract

This study theoretically estimated the biogas potential from household organic solid waste for
biogas production in Onitsha North Local Government Area (ONLGA). The study was carried out
in two phases. The first phase of the study was field work for the identification and quantification
of the composition of organic solid waste generated by households and the second phase involved
the theoretical calculation of the amount of biogas obtainable from the generated quantity of
organic waste using the biogas potential estimation equation: Biogas potential = VS (%) × Biogas
yield (m3/t VS). The study revealed that organic solid waste generated by households in the study
area consists mostly of food waste, categorized into 45% fruits and vegetable peels, pits, stems
and seeds (F&V); 40% tubers peels (T); 8% leftover cooked food (LCF); 5% protein waste (meat
and fish bones and egg shells; P/W) and 2% other scraps associated with meal preparation, by
percentage composition. Also with an average 0.299kg of organic solid waste generated per person
per day in the study area, and a population of 201,358, ONLGA witnesses a daily generation of
about 60.206 tonnes of organic solid waste which can yield about 4,695.398m3 of biogas daily.
This translates to 1,713,820.27m3 per annum. The availability of the household organic solid waste
and the composition which is mostly high organic content food waste make it an excellent
feedstock for biogas production through anaerobic digestion. Hence anaerobic digestion should be
drafted into the waste management system in ONLGA.

Keywords: Household organic solid waste, biogas potential, biogas, anaerobic digestion, resource
recovery.