Abstract
Nigeria is a developing country with an insufficient supply of energy to meet the continuously growing demand. However, there are several biomass resources available within the country. This paper presents a desk review, which investigates the potential resources for biomass energy generation within the country. Energy policies to aid biomass use as an energy source within the country were also reviewed. Biomass resources identified within Nigeria include forest residues, agricultural residues, human and animal wastes, aquatic biomass, and energy crops. However, several of the resources, particularly agricultural residues, have competing uses, such as livestock feed and soil rejuvenation. An estimation of the technical energy potential of the biomass resources revealed that about 2.33 EJ could be generated from the available resources in Nigeria. Agricultural residues have an energy potential of about 1.09 EJ, with cassava, maize, oil palm, plantain, rice, and sorghum being the major contributors. Animal wastes, municipal solid waste, and forest residues have energy potentials of 0.65, 0.11, and 0.05 EJ, respectively. The potentials of wood fuel and charcoal are 0.38 and 0.05 EJ, respectively. The study found that despite the available potential and existing policies, not much has been done in the implementation of large-scale bioenergy within the country. However, there has been laboratory and research-scale investigations. The review suggests that more policies and stronger enforcement will aid bioenergy development within the country. From the review, it has been suggested that the agricultural sector needs to be developed to generate more biomass resources. More research, development, and implementation have to be carried out on biomass resources and bioenergy generation processes. The production of non-edible energy crops in marginal lands should also be considered prime to the development of bioenergy within the country.
Highlights
The importance of energy in the development and growth of a nation cannot be overemphasized.Development growth and human prosperity are heavily dependent on adequate supply, security, and efficient use of energy [1]
This study identifies potential biomass resources, which can be deployed for the purpose of energy generation in Nigeria, and reviews the appropriate technologies, which can be used for bioenergy generation
The theoretical and technical potentials of available biomass resources are estimated, and the policies developed in Nigeria for promoting the use of biomass are reviewed
Summary
The importance of energy in the development and growth of a nation cannot be overemphasized. Developing countries, including Nigeria, very often, have an abundant stock of untapped renewable energy resources, which have several potential uses [6,7,8,9]. Piebalgs [10] opined that developing countries are in strong positions to promote the use of renewable energies due to abundant renewable resources, which include wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and hydro. This may, be with some financial and political support. Those in the sub-Saharan region, have a large base of arable land and agriculture contributes to a large extent to the economy Such regions have abundant biomass resources, which can be utilized for power generation. The theoretical and technical potentials of available biomass resources are estimated, and the policies developed in Nigeria for promoting the use of biomass are reviewed
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