Energy Potential of Waste Derived from Some Food Crop Products in the Northern Part of Cameroon

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to quantify the agricultural crop productions in each division of the northern regions of Cameroon, to evaluate the proportion of waste derived from these and to classify them according to their potential as energy sources. To achieve these goals, statistical data from Cameroon’s Ministry of Agriculture as well as standard methods of proximate analysis have been used to evaluate the proportion of each waste and its physico-chemical properties. The study reveals that agricultural activities generate an important quantity of waste (corn cobs and stalks, millet/sorghum stalks, rice hulls, cassava peelings, groundnut hulls, sweet potato peelings, Irish potato peelings and cotton hulls) of about 555 002.27 dry-bone tons per annum in the three northern regions of Cameroon. The highest waste production is found in the North region with 42.93% of the total waste, directly followed by the Far North region with 42.44%. Of the three regions, the Adamawa presents the smallest percentage (11.23%). The main agro-industrial waste of these regions includes cotton hulls, with 3.41% of the total waste. The anhydrous low heating values of the wastes derived from the selected food crop products vary between 13.51 and 29.97 MJ/(kg d-b), indicating a total biomass-energy potential in the northern part of Cameroon of 11.5 TJ per year.