Biofuels in Nigeria: A critical and strategic evaluation

Abstract

Nigeria is among the World’s 10 most important exporters of petroleum, but has several difficulties in its domestic energy situation. Power outages are frequent in the cities and 49% of the population has no access to electricity at all. The use of fossil fuels and firewood causes many environmental problems and the population increase in combination with a growing economy results in unmanageable amounts of waste in the cities. The use of biofuels has the potential to alleviate some of these problems and this review aims at evaluating the situation regarding biofuel production in Nigeria through literature studies and contacts. It was found that in spite of good geographic conditions and high investment in biofuel production, progress has been slow. The Nigerian sugarcane sector does not yet satisfy the domestic demand for sugar, while large-scale sugarcane-based ethanol production seems distant. Ethanol production from cassava would require input of energy and enzymes and would probably be too expensive. Sweet sorghum, which is relatively easy to process into bioethanol, has some advantages in a Nigerian context, being widely cultivated. Biodiesel production runs the risk of becoming controversial if edible crops currently being imported would be used. Jatropha curcas (non-edible) is an interesting crop for biodiesel production but the complete life cycle of this process should be further analyzed. The biofuel concept, which would bring the most immediate benefits, is probably biogas production from waste. It requires no irrigation or input of land and also provides a cleaner environment. Besides it would reduce the widespread use of firewood and produce fertilizer.