BIOGAS TECHNOLOGY FOR A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA
Björn Martén, Chairman
GEIST
Kärlingesund 209, 451 97 Uddevalla, Sweden
ABSTRACT: One of Africa’sr greatest challenges is to create water and food security. Over 200 million people in Africa
are cronically undernourished. Many people suffer from health problems due to consumption of drinking water
contaminated by leaking pit latrines. By improving soil fertilty and offering proper sanitation those problems can be curbed
and it is this context where biogas technology and IWESS Integrated Energy and Sanitations Solution can make a
contribution.
The basic idea is to prevent landgrabbing, lower dependence on cattle raising and turn waste and waste water into a resource
that will curb soil degradation, eutrophication desertification, deforestation and global warming by introduction of biogas
technology and the Industrial Cow concept. Introduction of source separated wastewater, IWESS and biogas technology can
pave the way for a sustainable development based on organic farming and use of biogas for vehicles and cooking fuel. It will
create an oppurtunity for farmers to lower the meat production and create a sustainable economy whitout heavy subsidies,
thus paving the way for farmers in developing countries to compete at the global market.
Keywords: Biogas, industrial cow, waste, soil fertility, vehicle fuel, rescuing of rainforests
BACKGROUND
The NGO GEIST and its members have been working
with development of sustainable technologies and
Education for Sustainable Development, ESD, in Sweden
for more than 25 years. Swedish Biogas Federation was
initiated 1987 and the same year the first biogas car
project in Sweden started, conversion of a Volvo 244
from gasoline to biogas. It continued with a Volvo 940
that was further developed and became the start of the
Volvo bifuel concept that was introduced at the
exhibition Clean Cars of Tomorrow 1994 in Paris. In
1998 the first digester running on 100% grass was started
in Lilla Edet. Since 2001 GEIST have been working with
sustainable development projects in Africa, involving
i.a. conversion of polyethylene water drums to digesters
and eco toilets and establishment of a resource center for
development of sustainable system solutions and ESD.
1 WHY BIOGAS?
The most unknown renewable energy source is
biogas. It has a unique environmental perspective that
will be used for solving problems with soil degradation,
sanitation, water scarcity, killing smoke from fire places,
deforestation, global warming due to uncontrolled release
of methane from i.a. land fills and pit latrines and exhaust
emissions from vehicles
It is vital to note that one of the most extraordinary
challenges our modern civilisation has to master is how
to stop soil degradation and maintain soil fertility. In The
world 70% of the arable is threatened by desertification.
With the increasing global population, it is obvious that
we need to take immediate actions to cure this problem
and that is where the implementation of biogas
infrastructure comes about.
1.1 Maintenance of soil fertility
The main output from the biogas plant is the digester
residue, a moll and nourish rich fertilizer that can be used
to maintain a living soil and thus securing food supply
and curbing desertification worldwide. Up till now the
lack of manure has limited the growth of organic farming.
Introduction of Biogas technology will change this for
the better. A digester is like an industrial cow that
produces fertilizer and biogas. Adding moll to the land
will increase the water retaining capacity of the soil thus
minimizing the water demand. The nitrogen content in
the digester residue can be taken up directly by the plants
and this minimizes nitrogen leakage to the environment.
1.2 Sustainable Bio fuel production
A global strategy for bio fuel production involves food
sovereignty, securing of biodiversity, mitigation of GHGemissions and securing biomass demand for biochemicals
like plastics and rubber. Biogas is the only bio fuel that
has the capacity to meet those demands. The main reason
is that the main output is fertilizer, bio manure, that can
secure soil fertility and pave the way for introduction of
organic multi cropping and saying no to land grabbing
and monocultures involving use of chemical pesticides,
chemical fertilizer and GMO – crops and violation of
food and water security.
Another reason is that the raw material for biogas
production is extremely flexible. Biogas can be produced
from any organic matter i.a. organic waste from
households and industries, sludge, manure, energy crops,
crop residues and algae. Still another reason is that the
use of biogas is extremely flexible. It can be used for
cooking, lightning, industrial applications, cogeneration
of electricity and hot water, fuel cells and as vehicle fuel.
Thermal gasification of biomass will increase the biogas
still further and the process gives up to three times
higher energy output compared to converting the same
amount of biomass to ethanol.
1.3 Optimal energy balance and safe market
The decomposition of organic matter in a digester is
an exciting process involving many different bacteria that
has developed their teamwork during millions of years.
To produce the same amount of fuel energy, ethanol
production consumes up to 4 times more energy than the
biogas production. Biogas can be produced for a local
market and from locally available raw materials, thus
minimizing transport energy and securing a safe and
stable price market for the biogas since it can’t be
imported on commercial basis.
1.4 Cleanest bio fuel
Biogas has also the lowest exhaust emissions of all
bio fuels and contains no cancerous aldehydes that you
find in the exhaust emissions from i.a. ethanol cars. Bio
methane can be used in normal diesel engines when
mixed with 10 % diesel. Thus biogas can be an
environmentally attractive substitute for both gasoline
and diesel.
1.5 Healthy women
By substituting wood fuel with biogas for cooking,
deforestation could be curbed worldwide
In The world around 70% of the cooking fuel is made
from firewood. The smoke from fireplaces is causing a
deadly health threat upon the women when cooking.
Around 1.8 million women dies every year due to lung
diseases caused by smoke from fireplaces. Getting the
wood fuel is very time consuming and imposes a very
heavy working load on the women. Substituting wood
fuel with biogas will create a healthy environment for the
women
1.6 Better immune defence and fertility
Biogas technology will also pave the way for
introduction of 100% organic farming without use of
chemical pesticides and thus improving immune defence
and fertility
1.7 Healthy children
Lowered demand for wood fuel will increase the
potential for fruit tree plantings. More fruit, biogas stoves
and proper sanitation will improve health for the children
1.8 Rescuing of Rainforests
The rainforests are treasuries of Mother Earth that it
has taken millions of years to develop and now are
threatened by extinction. They are able to create rain
clouds that distribute water from the rainforest to
surrounding regions and thus prevent drought problems
in other countries. The rainforest is also an important
carbon dioxide sink. As long as the canopy is there it can
prevent carbon dioxide emissions from the soil.
They are also a unique resource for producing medicines
and food that will secure global health. Species, still
unknown, from the rainforests, can help mankind to cure
diseases worldwide. There is extremely little knowledge
about the species in the rainforest. Their mechanical, and
chemical design is a masterpiece of engineering, and a
wonderful source book for learning about sustainable
design for engineers worldwide. Unfortunately this book
is still unknown to 99.99% and it is in the process of
loosing pages every day without even being opened. Over
100 species get extinct every day due to the clearing of
rainforests. Biogas technology will offer exploiters of the
rainforest an opportunity to operate outside the rainforest
through the introduction of sustainable system solutions
involving reestablishment of soil fertility for abandoned
land.
2 SUSTAINABLE SANITATION
Environmetal problems are generally closely
connected thus creating a need for sustainable system
solutions with a holistic approach.
To meet the UN millennium development goals by 2015
and curb global environmental problem we need to
develop multipurpose solutions with the goal of creating
a more sustainable way of living where the current
problems are correctly linked to a holistic solution.
Sustainability can only be reached if certain basic
criteria are fullfilled. One example is that the system
solution can not be dependent on storages and linear
flows. If you pick marbels from a bag and never put any
back, the bag will become empty. Thus, one obstacle to
overcome in reaching sustainability is to introduce
recirculation of lifesupporting recources like water and
nutrients. This is where IWESS will make a contribution.
The concept of IWESS involves recycling of our waste
water into our consumption chain. In addition, an
implementation of IWESS will also improve the
possibilities of solving a number of numerous related
environmental and health problems.
When comparing the organic components of domestic
waste which are mainly water and nutrients, it can easily
be realized that part of the current problems are not
caused by lack of resources but because of poor resource
management. By designing waste management systems,
based on source separation and recycling, the previously
mentioned problems can be solved.
2.1 Current water and waste management system
solutions
Today there are two major waste management
systems that are in use and being promoted around the
world especially in developing countries. The systems are
commonly called the flush-and-discharge and the dropand-store systems. For a long time the flush-anddischarge has been regarded as the perfect sanitation
system, especially for urban areas. It is still desired in a
lot of the developing countries and is often sponsored by
international donors. The drop-and-store is often used in
rural areas with very limited financial resources and is
considered an inferior, temporary solution compared to
the flush-and-discharge.
2.2 Pit latrines
The majority of the people in the world are using the
so called drop-and-store system. The pit latrine is one
example causing uncontrolled contamination of
groundwater risk for overflow during heavy rains. These
and additional disadvantages increase in severity when
the system is merged into urban areas The drop and store
system also suffer from the disadvantage of not allowing
for nutrient recirculation.
2.3 MIFSLA system principle
The flush and discharge system principle, most
common in urban and developed areas, is highly energy
consuming and inefficient concerning transportation,
centralized processing and disposal of the treatment
products. This traditional waste management system
follows a principle which can be called MIFSLA, Mix
First and Separate Later, where you actually only move
the problem around whitout solving it.This method also
uses large volumes of treated water for the transportation
only and it does not involve any solution for a
recirculation of nutrients, mainly phosphorous, back to
the agriculture.
In one year the average person in Sweden using the
MIFSLA system, flushes 400-500 litres of urine and 50
litres of faeces together with 15 000 litres of pure water.
The mixture, called black water, is then mixed again with
an additional 15 000 – 30 000 litres of water from bath,
kitchen and laundry water – referred to as grey water.
Before arriving to the sewage treatment plant, water from
industries are also added to the waste water. Pipe
infiltration. caused by insufficient sealing and cracks due
to poor maintenance will also mix with the waste water
before it is entering the sewage plant. The dangerous
component, the 50 litres of faeces, is contaminating not
only the urine but also tens of thousands of litres of
almost clean water.
Figure 1. Waste water constitutents
Waste water constituents
30000
25000
20000
15000
Faeces
10000
Urine
5000
Flushing water
0
es
ec
Fa
systems for fertilizer might affect the financial growth
and food security, due to lowered incomes and food
shortage.
2.5 Water shortage and water recirculation
The originating grey water, constituting the largest
volume of waste water, is by the mixing with black water
not possible to purify separately, in a process which
otherwise would be much less energy requiring and
leaving a product of much higher quality. If the proper
techniques are used, the separated grey water could even
be possible to re-circulate back to the consumer, saving
both financial resources as well as a reduction of the
strain on water supplies. Instead, the traditional MIFSLA
principle of waste water treatment does not include any
recirculation of organic nutrients in the water or reuse of
the treated water. The current high energy consuming
distribution, also has to be continuously repeated without
any decrease in volumes, since no water is retained nor
reused no matter the level of pollution. This system will
contribute to create water scarcity in dry areas. Further on
it requires large financial resources for it´s operation and
maintenance.
Grey water
r
e
er
te
in
at
Ur
wa y w
g
n
re
hi
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us
Fl
The system most commonly used in the developed world
is the flush-and-discharge method with the principle of
mixing grey water and black water, transporting it, and
later, treating it in a centralized plant. This traditional
waste management principle has also been used in most
of the larger urban settlements of developing countries.
2.4 Eutrophication
The output from the treatment process include two
phases, one solid and one liquid.. The solid waste is most
often deposited in lack of further treatment solutions.
Run off from these deposits, caused by rain, then
transport them to surface water sources and finally, to the
oceans from where they are practically impossible to
retain. The liquid treatment product is even more polluted
than the initial grey water. and contains vast amounts of
nutrients, now contributing to eutrophication in rivers,
lakes and oceans. Eutrophication is also the result from
the nutrients reaching the same surface water sources due
to run off from the solid waste.
All the nutrients in the waste are either deposited or
disposed. No recirculation to farming land, from which
the nutrients originates will take place. Instead they need
to be continuously regenerated by artificial fertilizers,
containing phosphourous mined in quaries. These
deposits of phosphorous are just like the fossil fules,
depletable. The phosphorous is also a key building stone
for all life on eartht that can’tbe replaced, thus creating a
situation that is a far more critical than the oil crisis.
In developing countries, with lack of financial capital, the
chemical fertilizers need heavy subsidies to become
available for the local farmers. Agriculture in developing
countries, is one of the largest and most important
contributors to the national economy. Lack of recycling
2.6. Lack of Sanitation
Few of the developing countries can afford the flushand-discharge system, since it requires water, financial
capital, and institutional capacity. By the year 2010 many
of the cities in these countries will experience extreme
water shortages. Around the world theses centralized
water-borne collection systems are a key factor to water
pollution, increased eutrophication, decreased fish
catches and toxic algae blooms. It is a fact that the third
world cities do not have the institutional capacities or
financial resources to run this kind of systems.
Most urban expansion is taking place in informal
settlements where local administrations are unwilling or
unable to provide the citizens with services such as piped
water, sewerage, drainage, and collection of garbage.
Effective sewage treatment is so expensive that it is rarely
achieved, especially in the fast growing urban centres of
the third world. Low-income households therefore rely
on different kind of drop-and-store sanitation systems to
deal with their needs, with previously discussed
disadvantages.
2.7 IWESS-Integrated Water Energy and Sanitation
Solution
The IWESS concept is an integrated solution linking
water, energy and sanitation demand, creating a
combined solution with the potential of solving the
related environmental and health problems discussed
above. The core of the concept is to turn waste into a
resource, by using source separation. Waste management
solutions can thus, be made more attractive by offering
related benefits as production of bio manure, biogas and
water for recirculation back to the consumer. Those
benefits are co-linked with solutions or improvements of
related environmental problems concerning nutrient
depletion, land erosion, deforestation, desertification,
global warming and full – scale introduction of organic
farming.. The IWESS concept can be adapted to local
conditions in large as well as small scale, suitable for
small settlements as well as larger towns.
IWESS will also contribute to release the power of
biogas technology and all it’s advantaged mentioned
above.
Figure 2 and 3 will show you the advantages with IWESS
compared to conventional waste management.
Figure 2. Traditional waste management
Metropolitan areas. It can also be used for producing
electricity.
3.2 Food sovereignty
All organic material can be used as a digester
feedstock and there is no need for large scale
monocultures. The local farmer can start organic farming
and decide upon what to grow, since any organic matter
can be used as feed stock for the biogas production.
There will be no need for chemical fertilizer, pesticides
and GMO-seeds and no need for green deserts with sugar
canes, where poor sugar cane workers die from overstrain
or use of chemical pesticides
3.3 Maintainance of soil fertility
The great challenge for The worldis to maintain
soilfertility. Sahara is i.a. expanding 10 km southwards
every year. Introduction of Biogas technology, IWESS
and organic farming will solve this problem for the better
Figure 3. IWESS – concept
3.4 Lowered meat production
Biogas technology will also create an opportunity for
meat producers to grow grass for the digester instead of
raising cattle, and start earning money without subsidies.
Meat production causes, deforestation, desertification,
ozon depletion, eutrofication and global warming.
Meat industry is responsible for the main part of all
global GHG:s, and production of meat demands up to 10
times more arable land and up to 100 times more water
then production of vegetable protein.
Biogas production can become a sustainable alternative
for meat producing farmers. Beans ands sprouts has
higher protein content then meat. Sprouted beans can be
eaten directly without use of cooking fuel and thus curb
deforestation and soil erosion
Globallly 240 Mha are used for producing cattle feed. If
we lower our meat production with 80% we can release
200 Million hectares for biogas production from any
crop, enough to run the whole worlds 700 million cars
on biomethane without landgrabbing and violation of
food sovereignty, food security and water security.
3. CONCLUSIONS – Way forward
Here come a summary of conclusions from this
presentation
3.1 Biogas a fuel for the future - today
Biogas technology can contribute to solve The
worldsmain problems caused by pit latrines, intensive use
of wood fuel, soil degradation and overgrazing.
It will create food security, improved health, safe
drinking water and curb water scarcity, soil degradation,
deforestation, desertification and eutrophication
Introduction of biogas technology in The worldwill also
curb global warming since it will prevent uncontrolled
leakage of nitrous oxide and methane from pit latrines
and landfills.
Biogas is also an excellent vehicle fuel with the potential
of supporting all cars in The worldwith biogas whitout
violating food security, and secure a good environment in
3.5 Obstacles to overcome
Biogas technology offers excellent solutions for
solving our global environmental problems so the
question is why are the unique environmental perspective
unknown to most people. Here comes a presentation of
some of the obstacles to overcome to be able to introduce
biogas technology as a key agent for sustainable
development
- Lack of proper teacher training. Biogas based system
solutions is not a part of the curriculum in natural
science. In some literature the authors don’t even know
the difference between biogas and natural gas.
- Lack of support from technical universities. Biogas
technology is to multidimensional, and non-technical.
One of the main challenges within biogas technology is
to optimize the complex collaboration and working
environment for hundreds of different bacteria. Solar and
wind power is much easier to overview,
- Lack of governmental support. A sectorial approach to
sustainable solutions makes biogas tend to fall between
the chairs. It’s much easier to get support for a pure
energy project then a project that has a unique holistic
perspective including energy, wastewater, waste, vehicle
fuels and organic farming. Biogas technology often
overrides the specified budget frames and is left out of
the discussion.
- Lack of proper LCA Scopes of definition. Numerous
reports have been made for comparing biogas with other
energy alternatives where exergy optimisation and soil
fertility aspects have been left out.
- Lack of understanding that we need to create circular
flows for fertilizers and organic waste. Rock phosphate is
a limited resource just like fossil fuels.
- Lack of understanding that the investment cost in a
digester is mainly for solving environmental problems
that still need to be solved. The biogas is just a by
product. The most valuable output from a soil fertility
perspective is the fertilizer, normally given no value.
This should be considered when calculating the real price
for the biogas in a national economy perspective.
- Lack of strong market actors. Biogas technology is a
small-scale technology mainly aiming at solving local
environmental problems by recycling organic waste to
farming land. Large-scale technologies like ethanol plants
are more attractive for financial investors and politicians.
- Expensive production cost due to tailor – made
production approach. To lower production costs for
digesters, they need to be put into series production with
a modular design.
- Lack of understanding that organic farming is a
cornerstone and an axiom for sustainable development.
Human beings have 2 kg of bacteria in their stomach.
There are more bacteria in the stomach then cells in the
whole body. As long as you treat them well, you can have
a healthy life, if not, they will stop working and you have
to go to the hospitals intensive care, where they will feed
you with nourishment through an injection needle in your
arm. Now, the plants also have bacteria as collaborators,
but they are in the soil. As long as the bacteria in the soil
have a healthy environment and access to proper food,
they will support the plant roots with nourishment that
will secure the health of the plants, and this is exactly
what organic farming is about to take care of those nontalking partners. Conventional farming, started after the
First World War. Ammonium nitrate, used for making
bombs, and chemical weapons, found a new market farming. Higher crop yields have ever since been the
mantra for companies supplying conventional farmers
with chemical pesticides, chemical fertilizer and GMseeds. However, once you establish soil fertility with
organic farming there will be no need for any of those
products since crop yield remains the same or even
increase. Further on it’s not the lack of genetic potential
in the seeds that is the problem, its soil degradation.
What is now limiting the introduction of full-scale
organic farming is lack of bio manure,
Biogas technology can solve this problem for the better.
The biogas plant acts like an artificial cow and produces
bio manure that is far more nutritious then chemical
fertilizer.
3.6 Biogas instead of ethanol and bio diesel
Ethanol and bio diesel are creating a giant threat
upon mankind by violating human rights and food
security. Something has to be done immediately to stop
the aggressive introduction of bio fuels since they also
create water scarcity and threatens the rainforest that has
the unique property of being able to create rain clouds, as
long as the canopy is there. The rain from the rainforest
are spread to surrounding countries, even far away.
Clearing rain forest is thus like stealing water from your
neighbour. Introduction of biogas technology will make
it possible to reclaim denuded land and offer the
exploiters an alternative outside the remaining
Rainforests
Further on ethanol and bio diesel creates cancerous
exhaust emissions, mainly aldehydes, and have a poor
energy balance compared to biogas. The sustainable
global potential is also very limited. Biogas is the only
bio fuel that can be scaled up to sustainable global level
and become an attractive substitute for gasoline and
diesel especially when combined with lowered global
meat consumption. The bio manure can be used to
reclaim denuded land and pave the way for full-scale
introduction of organic farming. Since any organic matter
can be used for biogas production, there will be no need
for huge monocultures. Further on bio methane can be
produced by thermal gasification of wood fuel three times
more efficient then when producing ethanol from wood,
and the technology is already there. We need to optimize
the use of biomass if we should be able to support the
demand of bio chemicals for plastic and rubber industry,
by using biogas instead of bio ethanol as a vehicle fuel.
3.7 Introduction of IWESS
Source separation of waste water will be needed if we
want to create a sustainable future. Black water should
always treated as a resource and recycled to farming land.
3.8 Sustainable lifestyle
Development of sustainable system solutions will
never solve our environmental problems if no one is
asking for them. If we don’t take warnings seriously,
keep on believe in what we don’t know, and stays in the
consumer society there will be no sustainable future.
Aldus Huxley already 1932 predicted the upcoming of
the consumer society in his novel Brave New World. His
conclusion was that to manage to create a consumer
society you need to destroy the natural sources of
creating happiness i.e., family life, nature and culture.
This is exactly what has happened in the developed world
To create a sustainable development we need to
introduce a sustainable lifestyle that will help us to
reclaim our natural sources of happiness.
Young people can build cheap self made houses of local
materials like clay and straw with three phase waste water
systems and start cooperatives with organic products, like
snack bars, natural coloured cotton, herbal teas and skin
preparative.
They can create green teams, assisting other people in
sustainable system design and they can promote their
traditional cultural heritage involving dance, song, music,
poetry and story telling, that will increase their life
quality and give them happy feet and at the same create a
base for earning money as “culture ambassadors”.
It’s in this context where Education for Sustainable
Development, ESD, can become a key agent by creating a
caring
relation to yourself, other people, coming
generations and nature. We are only one people living on
one planet with one common enemy the environmental
threats. Our planet needs emergency care now!
By creating close a relation to nature characterized by
reverence your sustainable lifestyle will come out as a
ripe fruit. Your cultural roots will help you to get this
relation. Try to be a voice for your non-talking partners
by using organic farming as an axiom. Eat less meat and
try to become a raw vegan. Don’t use research reports
with different scopes of definition for strategic decisionmaking, Use your insights and your inner compass to
navigate. You are important. No one can do anything but
everyone can do something.
3.9 Global Financial aspects – overview
Health problems, environmental problems, and heavy
subsidies for biofuel and animal production are now
undermining the global economy. In USA the annual
subsidies for biofuel production is more than 6 billion
USD and in Europe over 3 billion Euros
The annual global subsidies for Meat and Dairy
production equals almost 200 billion USD or 75 % of the
total global amount of subsidies for food production. ,
European Union supports the Swedish meat and dairy
industries with 3 billion EUR annually
There is a close relation between the rapid increase in
meat consumption and the increase of diabetes type 2,
cancer and, cardiovascular diseases. The cost of those
diseases is estimated to more than 1000 billion USD per
year.
However those subsidies are only some tiny figures
compared to what the world economy would benefit from
creation of food and water security, access to proper
sanitation and introduction of 100% organic farming.
The latest worldwide reports with testimonies on mass
death of birds, fishes, crabs, bees are extremely alarming
We need to act now to solve our global environmental
problems. Tomorrow it might be to late.
Farmers worldwide use 160 million tons of chemical
fertilizer and 3 million tons of chemical pesticides every
year. Most of those chemical fertilizers are drained to
surrounding waters. One percent of the pesticides reaches
the target, the rest is spread by the rain to ground water
aquifiers, rivers, lakes and seas or by the wind all over
the world Conventional farming will always put life on
earth to jeopardy. Time is ripe to raise organic farming to
the axiom level and prevent land grabbing
and lower meat production by introduction of a biogas
infrastructure that will be the key agent to bring this
vision to reality and secure a healthy global economy
Karlingesund June 2011
Bjorn Marten, Chairman Geist