Environmental Impacts of Smallholder Ethanol Production from Cassava Feedstock for the Replacement of Kerosene Household Cooking Fuel in Nigeria

Abstract

The Federal Government of Nigeria in November 2009 announced the replacement of kerosene household cooking fuel with ethanol produced from cassava feedstock. The project tagged ‘cassakero’ involved the installation of 10,000 units of mini-ethanol refineries for the production of 1.44 billion liters of ethanol cooking fuel by smallholder processors. This study presents the pathway of ethanol production from cassava, which includes farming, processing of cassava tubers to flour, and conversion to ethanol. Potential environmental impact associated with the cassakero project is the production of liquid and solid waste streams, which could cause acidification, eutrophication, and aquatic toxicity and biodiversity impacts arising from the conversion of 400,000 ha of forest to farmland. Notwithstanding, these waste streams could be converted to useful by-products including fertilizer, animal feeds, biogas, and co-generated electricity using currently available technologies.