ESTIMATION OF THE ELECTRIC POWER POTENTIAL OF HUMAN WASTE USING STUDENTS HOSTEL SOAK-AWAY PITS

Abstract

With the growing demand for electric power supply in Nigeria, there is a need to look into all possible means of electricity generation especially renewable ones. It is an established fact that methane gas is a major product of the anaerobic digestion of human waste and the combustion of this gas can be used to generate electricity. This paper presents a carefully articulated approach to the technique of estimating the amount of electricity that can be generated from a specified amount of human waste. The analysis of the acquired data from a student’s hostel pit toilet at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, shows that the available biomass waste in tonnes per day from the case study area is 3.66 tonnes and the biogas accruable bi-monthly is 154.76kg capable of running a 5KW biogas generator for six (6) days. Keywords: Key Words: Solid Waste, Human Waste, Bio-Gas and Electric Power