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ISSN: 2475-7675

Review Article Open Access

Potential of Waste to Energy in African Urban Areas

Emmanuel Anosisye Mwangomo*
Department of Energy and Production, Mbeya University of Science and Technology, Mbeya, United Republic of Tanzania
*Corresponding author: Emmanuel Anosisye Mwangomo, Department of Energy and Production, Mbeya University of Science and Technology, Mbeya, United

Republic of Tanzania, Tel: +2556829939; E-mail: emwangomo@gmail.com

Received: August 17, 2018; Accepted: September 01, 2018; Published: September 07, 2018
Copyright: © 2018 Mwangomo EA. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Waste management is a cost-effective process in which African Urban Area Authorities incurred. Recovering
energy from the waste can be better means of managing environmental pollution caused by municipal waste
disposal. Urbanization in African countries is increasing annually resulting to the generation of volumes of wastes.
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is one source of renewable energy resource which is replenished in African urban
areas due to the poor waste management in these areas.

Keywords: Waste to wealth; Organic
bioremediation; Oil-impacted soil
Introduction
In African urban areas there are lot of waste which are generated
daily. These wastes led to the following negative impacts like air, water,
land and human health [1]. To alleviate a problem of waste a proper
waste management program has to be implemented. One of the
options to manage waste is changing waste into useful energy. Waste
management is a cost-effective process in which African Urban Area
Authorities incurred. For example, in African Countries municipalities
20% to 50% of their available budget are used for solid waste
management. However, this covers only 40-70% of all urban waste with
the remaining waste left uncollected and less than 50% of the
population being served [1]. Global municipal waste generation
nowadays is 1.3 billion tons per year with expectation increase to 2.2
billion tons per year in 2025 [2]. There are some factors which
contributes to the increasing waste in African Urban Areas these are
population growth, urbanization, economic development and lack of
infrastructure. By considering waste management hierarchy. There is a
room of changing waste into useful energy such as in the landfill and
incineration processing plants. These can produce both heat and
electricity to the area where there is a scarcity of source of energy
specifically in African Countries.
Recovering energy from the waste can be better means of managing
environmental pollution caused by municipal waste disposal [3]. The
main objective of this paper is to study the potential of waste to energy
in African Urban Areas.
Waste generated in African urban areas
African countries population is growing rapidly at a rate of four
percent per annum [4]. Increase of population is direct proportional to
waste; Enhanced the increase of waste generated daily which affect human health, safety
and environment. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a major portion of
the waste generated in Africans urban areas. Other types of waste are
Construction and Demolition wastes, end life, residential wastes,
Industrial wastes, Health Care wastes, Institutional wastes, Vehicle
wastes, Biomass Wastes, Forest Wastes, and Electronic (E-waste) [5].
Residential Wastes are produced in every minute in which generator is
a household residing in a particular location. Examples of residential
wastes are paper, tin, bottle, clothes, glass, metals, e-wastes and waste
water from households. Residential wastes are generated mainly in
African Urban Areas for example in Uganda percentage of residential
waste generated is 52-80% of the total waste produced [5]. Major waste
produced are food wastes, others are paper plastics and ceramic which
are minor portion. The same happens to other African Countries like
Kenya where four towns which are Nairobi, Nakuru, Mombasa and
Kisumu on which 61% of the waste produced are residential wastes [6].
The type of industrial waste generated differ from one African
Country to another depending mainly on production activities which
are taking place at that particular country. For example, in Egypt.
Ethiopia and Botswana textile waste are produced much because they
focus on textile industries as manufacturing subsectors. While food
waste is produced in Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa as a lot of food
Industries [5].
Other types of wastes which are generated in African Countries are
Institutional Sectors such as Schools, Construction and demolition
wastes produced from construction activities, street cleaning, and
Agricultural wastes those are produced from agricultural activities.
Agricultural waste can be used as a source of heat energy for useful
applications. They can be used as a raw material for biogas production
and fertilizers.
Waste composition in most African Countries comprises of
biodegradable organic materials as shown in Table 1 below.

Waste Composition (%) Dar es Salaam Moshi Kampala Jinja Lira Nairobi

Bio-waste 71 65 77.2 78.6 68.7 65

Adv Recycling Waste Manag, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 2 • 1000162
ISSN: 2475-7675
Citation: Mwangomo EA (2018) Potential of Waste to Energy in African Urban Areas. Adv Recycling Waste Manag 3: 162. doi:
10.4172/2475-7675.1000162

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Paper 9 9 8.3 8 5.5 6

Plastic 9 9 9.5 7.9 6.8 12

Glass 4 3 1.3 0.7 1.9 2

Metal 3 2 0.3 0.5 2.2 1

Others 4 12 3.4 4.3 14.9 14

Kg/Cap/day 0.4 0.9 0.59 0.55 0.5 0.6

Percent Collection 40 61 60 55 43 65

Population 3,070,060 183,520 1,700,850 91,153 107,809 4,000,000

Population paying for collection (% of 35 ND ND ND 45

total population)

Table 1: Composition of solid wastes generated in East African urban centers. Note: ND=Not determined, Source: NEMA [7].

Amount of waste generated in African Urban Areas depends on the Table 2 below shows waste streams and estimated contribution to
level of income of the households. Low income households generate the African Urban waste load where residential waste are leading.
between 0.22 and 0.3 Kg/Cap/day of solid waste while high income
households generate between 0.66 and 0.9 Kg/Cap/day on average [8].
Generally waste generation for east African Urban Centers is between
0.26 (low income) and 0.78 (high income) Kg/Cap/day [8].

Solid Waste Streams Contribution in Weight % Waste characteristics comments Comments

Domestic (Residential)
52-80 Major: Food wastes Waste quantity increasing with
population increase
Minor: Paper, plastic, Textiles, glass, ceramics,
ashes, leather, compound wastes -E-waste is emerging as significant
-Wastes collection by: urban
councils, private companies, NGOs
and CBOs

Markets 4-20 Major: Vegetable wastes (leaves, stalks), spoilt Markets in all municipalities
fruits
-Number increasing
Minor: damaged packaging materials (e.g., sacks,
-Waste collection: urban councils
paper, bags, timber)
and private collectors

Commercial (excluding markets)
3.7-8 Major: packaging materials, food wastes, Scrap Shops, hotels, restaurants, offices,
metals open pavement trading
Minor: grass, hazardous wastes (contaminated -Mobile open air traders
containers, batteries and cleaning textiles)
-Increasing business
-Increasing waste volumes
-E-wastes has become significant
Waste collection-urban council and
private collectors

Institutional (e.g., Government 5 Major: Food wastes, Stationery -Expanding in numbers in

and private-Ministries, population increase
Minor: Packaging (e.g., Cardboard, paper,
educational establishments,
plastics) -E-wastes has become significant
sports facilities, clubs)
Waste collection-mainly by private
companies

Industrial (manufacturing) 3 Various types depending on industry Production wastes: by-products and
(decomposable wastes from food industries, non- damaged items-Broken bottles:
degradable such as broken bottles and plastic recycled or dumped
containers)
-E-wastes has become significant
-Plastic: recovered, reused,
recycled or dumped

Adv Recycling Waste Manag, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 2 • 1000162
ISSN: 2475-7675
Citation: Mwangomo EA (2018) Potential of Waste to Energy in African Urban Areas. Adv Recycling Waste Manag 3: 162. doi:
10.4172/2475-7675.1000162

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-Scrap metals: recycled or dumped

-Recycling plants available in the
EAC

Waste Management-An 1 Major: domestic type of wastes Major hospital treats own
Integration Vision hazardous wastes.
Minor: hazardous (e.g., anatomical, contaminated
materials, sharps) -Clinics dump with other wastes
Health care (Hospitals, clinics,
drug shops) -Domestic: collected by private
companies.
E-waste is becoming significant.

Others 11-11.4 Examples: street sweepings, public park wastes,

construction wastes

(Source: Okot Okumu et al. [7].

Table 2: Solid waste streams and the estimated contribution to the urban waste load.

Waste collection and transportation Energy supply in Africa, is mainly composed of biofuel which
represents 47.6% of the total primary energy supply see Figure 1 below.
Solid waste collection and transport involves collecting waste from Others are oil, coal and natural gas which contributes 22, 15.7 and 12.4
the neighborhood pick up points and transporting to the disposal sites of total energy supply [12].
[9]. Collection of solid waste consumes a lot of money and hence cover
a greater percentage of the total solid waste budget. If there is an
improvement in collection systems overall cost of solid waste
management can be reduced. Collection and transportation of solid
waste is one of the solid waste management techniques others are
Resource Recovery and Recycling, Incineration and Energy Recovery,
Refuse Derived Fuel and Disposing by landfilling. Waste management
is more than just collecting waste. It is a collection, transport,
processing, recycling, disposal and monitoring of waste materials.

Energy mix in African countries

African Energy demand is 739 million tonnes of oil equivalent
(Mtoe) of which North Africa accounted for 23%. Still energy demand
in Africa is only 4% of the world total energy demand. Oil demand in
sub Saharan Africa is 1.8 million barrels per day (mb/d). Bioenergy is
dominant in the energy mix which accounts of the total energy used in
Africa. Coal is widely used in South Africa where it covers 70% of the
primary demand. In South Africa coal is used for the generation of
electricity. Natural gas makes up a small share of energy mix which is
only 4%. Of the total demand. Renewable energy sources in sub
Saharan Africa account up to 2% of the total energy demand.
Electricity demand in Africa was 605-terawatt hour (Twh) in 2012 with
North Africa accounting 40% of the total demand [10].
For the case of nuclear power plants, there are only two power
plants in Africa which are located in South Africa namely as Koeberg-1
started operation in 1984 and Koeberg-2 in 1985. Both Power plants
generates 900 MW [11].
Figure 1: Share of Total Primary Energy Supply in Africa in 2009.
Source: IEA [10].
Waste to energy technology applications
One of the waste management approach is to convert waste into
useful energy applications. According to Campos et al. the following
technologies can be used to convert waste into useful energy
applications these are Pyrolysis Process, Gasification Process, Plasma
Arc Gasification Process, Incineration, Landfilling, Anaerobic
Digestion and Refuse Derived Fuel [13,14]. Waste can be converted
directly into energy in form of biogas, syngas and heat. These
conversions can be done through Physical, Thermal and Biological
methods see Figure 2 below.

Adv Recycling Waste Manag, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 2 • 1000162
ISSN: 2475-7675
Citation: Mwangomo EA (2018) Potential of Waste to Energy in African Urban Areas. Adv Recycling Waste Manag 3: 162. doi:
10.4172/2475-7675.1000162
Figure 2: Schematic diagram of waste to energy management methods. Source: Rafati et al. [15].
Thermal methods
Pyrolysis: This is a process where waste is sorted and shredded to
reduce its size and is placed into a reactor with little or no oxygen. The
temperature required is between 1,200 and 2,200 of. The products of
pyrolysis process are solid char, oily liquids gases such as hydrogen
(H2), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Volatile Hydrocarbons such as
Methane (CH4) (Figure 3) [14].
Figure 3: Pyrolysis Process Flow Diagram.
Pyrolysis is used to produce charcoal from wood, flea from coal and
pitch from petrochemical products [15]. According to different
literatures pyrolysis has not been successful method of converting
waste into energy, since its main product is carbon monoxide (CO).
Pyrolysis has two stages pyrolysis and gasification. Pyrolysis is a
process of heating waste in an Oxygen deficient environment
producing char and other inorganic compounds. Gasification converts
carbonaceous material into a synthesis gas or syngas which comprises
mainly of Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen [2].
Plasma arc gasification
In arc plasma process, high heat caused by plasma arc leads to fast
decomposition of wastes and convert them to a gas [16]. A plasm torch
is used to inject a plasma arc which ignite the waste and undergoes
gasification process and syngas is produced. Syngas can be used for
generating electricity and heat. This system does not produce any
pollutant material and cause no increasing in leakage of pollutant
material into environment. Also it does not produce any bad smell and
it occupies small area see Figure 4 below.
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Figure 4: Plasma incineration process and source performance.
Source (Westinghouse Plasma Corporation).
Plasma arc reactor is also able to purify many types of wastes
including Urban, Industrial and Hospital. (With exception of nuclear).
Another advantages of plasma arc process is that there is no need of
separating, drying and chopping waste before they are entered into the
plasma arc generator. Investment cost of plasma arc generator is
estimated to be 80 to 100 million dollars for 350,000 tons per year [15].
By comparing with incineration this process is seems to be cheap and
affordable.
Combustion
Waste is burned directly to produce heat which can be used for
useful application for stance space heating and boiling water into
steam for power generation [13].
Gasification
Gasification is a process that converts Carbonaceous material such
as coal, petroleum, biofuel and biomass into Carbon Monoxide,
Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide etc. at a temperature greater than 700°C
with limited amount of Oxygen supply without combustion [13]. The
products of gasification is synthesis gas or producer gas. This gas is
used as a source of fuel for heat and power generation. Producer gas is
also used to drive gas turbine for power generation. Gasification is a
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Citation: Mwangomo EA (2018) Potential of Waste to Energy in African Urban Areas. Adv Recycling Waste Manag 3: 162. doi:
10.4172/2475-7675.1000162
method of extracting energy from many different types of organic
materials in effective way. This process of gasification can be done in a
device known as gasifier [17].
The advantages of gasification(syngas) is that it has more efficient
compared to the direct combustion of the original fuel because it can
be combusted at higher temperature. Syngas may be burned directly in
internal combustion engines or can be used to produce methanol and
hydrogen. At present gasification is widely used for generation of
electricity. A good thing of gasification it uses any type of organic
material such as wood, biomass and plastic waste for gasification
process. The Lower Heating Value (LHV) of syngas ranges from 4 to 13
MJ/Um3) [18].
Incineration
Incineration is a method for heating waste in the presence of air at
the temperature of 850°C and these wastes are converted into Carbon
Dioxide, Water and Non- Combustible materials with solid residue
(bottom ash) [19]. Raw waste can be used in the incineration process.
Incineration is used currently in many countries of the world as waste
management option for burning waste. However, dung incineration
heat generated can be used for other useful applications such for
electricity and heat generation. Next generation waste incinerators also
incorporate air pollution control system [20]. Incinerator is a facility
which is used to burn waste until it turns completely into ashes and
releasing heat. Incinerator is built with strong and well insulated
material so that to prevent heat lost and burning of waste very quickly
and in efficient way.
Biological method
Fermentation: It is a process which uses bacteria and yeast to
convert biomass waste to liquid ethanol. Fermentation is a metabolic
process that converts sugar to acids, gases or alcohol. It occurs in yeast
and bacteria.
Fermentation is a metabolic process that converts waste into
ethanol, acids and traces of gases in the absence of Oxygen. This
process is assisted by yeast which is a catalyst. The products of
fermentation of waste are powerful fuel. A gas produced is a biogas
which is used for heating and power production [13].
Landfill
Land filling is a method of disposing waste for the purpose of
processing environment. In landfilling the following process occurs,
biological, chemical and physical where waste is composed into
leachate and gas. The gas produced consist mainly of Methane, Carbon
Dioxide, Water and different traceable materials such as Ammonia
Sulphide (H2S) and volatile organic compounds [15]. Landfill is a
source of Methane production which is used to generate electricity.
Sanitary landfill can also being used for the production of biofuel gas.
Anaerobic digestion
If biomass resources are decomposes anaerobically by the aid of
bacteria methane and others gases are produced. A mixture of these
gases is known as Biogas. The components of biogas are Methane
(CH4), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S), Water
(H2O), Nitrogen (N), etc. Biogas has a thermal value of 15-25 MJ per
each cubic meter from which 1.5-2.2 KWh of electricity can be
obtained. Biogas consist of Methane (55-70%) and Carbon Dioxide
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(CO2) produced after 2-3 weeks after being placed in a digester.
Compost produced is used as an organic fertilizer for plants [19].
Physical method
Refuse derived fuel: Waste is mechanically processed to produce
compressed fuel suitable for use known as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF)
or Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF). RDF is fuel produced by either
shredding solid waste or treating it with steam pressure in autoclave.
RDF composed largely of organic materials taken from solid waste
streams such as plastics and biodegradable waste. Combusting RDF is
a cleaner method than incinerating MSW or other waste directly [20].
RDF is a clean and efficient method of producing an eco-friendly
and alternative source of feedstock to the power plants which are
running using coal as a fuel [2]. The main steps involved during RDF
are sorting, casting or crushing, drying, size reduction and formation.
RDF particles are mixed with binders such as Calcium Hydroxide.
Calcium Oxide (CaO) is added to the refuse dung RDF production.
CaO reacts with water to become Ca(OH)2. When flue gas is used as
drying gas Ca(OH)2 is reacted with CO2 to be CaCO3 then it is
converted into pellets in a required shape and size [2].
Factors influencing waste to energy technology
There are three factors which influence waste to energy technology
these Environmental Impacts, Technical Aspects and Socio-Economic
Facts [20].
Environmental Impacts: Waste to Energy (WTE) process has to be
treated so as to produce clean energy During WTE process there is a
potential for odour, leachate production and gases emission which can
be contaminated to the nearby environment.
Technical Aspects: WTE require high cost and sophisticated
technology which is not presently available in African Countries and
hence imported from other countries outside Africa. WTE projects
required high skilled technical expertise for both operation and
maintenance.
Socio-Economic Facts: WTE requires high Investment, operation
and maintenance cost and results in significant revenue generation
from electricity sale.
Materials and Methods
To conduct this review article scientific data related the topic were
studied and collected on different sources. The key issues which were
studied thoroughly are: waste to energy, Biogas, Incinerator, landfilling
and pyrolysis.
Waste to energy potential in African urban areas
Population growth, urbanization and economic development are the
factors which contributing increasing in wastes in African Urban Cities
and overburdening waste management systems [1]. The energy content
of waste can be recovered by the following processes Thermo-chemical
(combustion, pyrolysis, incineration and gasification), Biological and
refuse Derived Fuel. Currently the global energy potential from the
waste is estimated to be 8-18 EJ/year in year 2010 this is expected to
increase into 30 EJ in year 2025, with an average heating value of 9
MJ/Kg of waste [1]. Landfilling is the main disposal of the municipal
waste. In order to reduce waste prevention, reuse, recycling and
recovering should be focused. In developed countries landfilling is
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decreasing due to the advanced regulations which encourage waste
reduction and recycling. Developing countries like African Countries
are expected to have an increase in waste generation and hence
increased landfilling which will results in Methane generation and
other emissions which leads to environmental impact.
When waste is deposited in the landfill, waste decomposed into
Landfill Gas (LFG) which is a mixture of Methane (45-60%), Carbon
Dioxide (40-55%) and trace components. LFG can be captured and
used for generation of heat and electricity. Generally, emission of LFG
are generated within 25 years and the site can deliver (LFG) up to 50
years [1]. Studies shows that one tone of waste can generate 54 to 140
Nm3 of Methane [21]. Tables 3-5 shows waste to energy potential in
African urban areas.

Country 2012 2025

Generation (Kg/ Generation (103 t/ Collection Generation (Kg/ Generation (103 t/ Collection
Capita) year) Capita) year)
(103 t/year) (103 t/year)

Algeria 442 10,905 10,032 529 16,490 15,171

Angola 175 2126 914 256 4897 2938

Benin 197 792 182 274 1796 898

Botswana 376 483 208 511 820 492

Burkina Faso 186 892 357 274 2698 1619

Burundi 201 205 82 292 540 324

Cameroon 281 3448 1483 365 6601 3961

Cape Verde 183 58 55 274 109 104

Central African Rep. 183 329 132 256 675 405

Chad 183 620 124 256 1571 628

Comoros 814 210 42 767 303 151

Congo, Dem. Rep. 183 4640 1856 274 11,897 7138

Congo 193 515 222 274 1045 627

Cote d’Ivoire 175 1878 751 256 4232 2539

Djibouti 183 129 55 274 252 151

Egypt 500 18,350 11,560 657 31,899 25,519

Equatorial Guinea 281 84 36 365 169 101

Eritrea 183 230 92 256 599 360

Ethiopia 110 1615 646 237 5550 3330

Gabon 164 223 96 256 455 273

Gambia 193 211 84 274 471 282

Ghana 33 444 377 183 3756 3192

Guinea 164 627 251 256 1646 988

Guinea-Bissau 164 79 31 256 186 111

Kenya 110 1071 429 219 3834 2301

Lesotho 183 115 49 292 279 168

Liberia 164 339 135 256 814 489

Libya 438 2219 954 529 3225 1935

Madagascar 292 1984 357 402 4749 2375

Adv Recycling Waste Manag, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 2 • 1000162
ISSN: 2475-7675
Citation: Mwangomo EA (2018) Potential of Waste to Energy in African Urban Areas. Adv Recycling Waste Manag 3: 162. doi:
10.4172/2475-7675.1000162

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Malawi 183 604 253 292 2039 1223

Mali 237 1449 580 347 3876 2326

Mauritania 183 278 83 292 671 335

Mauritius 840 462 452 803 503 493

Mayotte 840 60 57 803 93 88

Morocco 533 10,326 8880 675 16,384 14,745

Mozambique 51 500 210 183 2963 1778

Namibia 183 169 73 329 450 270

Niger 179 518 218 274 1509 905

Nigeria 204 17,451 7329 292 40,438 24,263

Rwanda 190 416 175 310 1233 740

Reunion 840 687 652 803 750 713

Saint Helena 840 2 2 803 2 2

Sao tome 179 20 19 329 51 49

Senegal 190 1070 225 310 2743 1371

Seychelles 1088 53 51 913 53 50

Sierra Leone 164 394 173 310 1113 712

Somalia 110 412 173 219 1436 862

South Africa 730 23,214 11,607 730 27,064 18,945

Sudan 288 5481 2357 383 11,891 7135

Swaziland 186 48 23 310 104 62

Tanzania 95 1237 519 201 4988 3242

Togo 190 535 508 310 1341 805

Tunisia 296 2154 840 420 3663 3480

Uganda 124 605 182 237 2233 1340

Western Sahara 183 85 17 274 178 89

Zambia 77 385 162 201 1747 873

Zimbabwe 193 989 490 256 2010 1206

Total Africa 284 124,994 68,150 362 244,303 167,525

Sub-Saharan Africa 234 80,955 35,865 310 172,465 106,587

Table 3: Waste generation and collection in Africa.

Country 2012 2025

Potential (106 Waste Generated Waste Collected Potential (106 Nm3) Waste Generated Waste Collected
Nm3) (106 Nm3) (106 Nm3)
(103 Nm3) (103 Nm3)

Algeria 916 687 632 1308 981 903

Angola 179 134 58 389 291 175

Adv Recycling Waste Manag, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 2 • 1000162
ISSN: 2475-7675
Citation: Mwangomo EA (2018) Potential of Waste to Energy in African Urban Areas. Adv Recycling Waste Manag 3: 162. doi:
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Benin 63 47 11 143 107 53

Botswana 43 32 14 69 52 31

Burkina Faso 71 53 21 214 161 96

Burundi 16 12 5 43 32 19

Cameroon 290 217 93 524 393 236

Cape Verde 5 4 3 9 6 6

Central African Rep. 26 20 8 54 40 24

Chad 49 37 7 125 93 37

Comoros 17 12 2 24 18 9

Congo, Dem. Rep. 368 276 110 944 708 425

Congo 43 32 14 83 62 37

Cote d’Ivoire 149 112 45 336 252 151

Djibouti 11 8 3 20 15 9

Egypt 1541 1156 728 2531 1898 1518

Equatorial Guinea 7 6 2 15 11 7

Eritrea 18 14 5 48 36 21

Ethiopia 128 96 38 440 330 198

Gabon 20 15 6 38 29 17

Gambia 17 13 5 37 28 17

Ghana 35 26 22 298 223 190

Guinea 50 37 15 131 98 59

Guinea-Bissau 6 5 2 15 11 7

Kenya 85 64 25 304 228 137

Lesotho 10 7 3 22 17 10

Liberia 27 20 8 65 48 29

Libya 197 148 63 271 203 122

Madagascar 157 118 21 377 283 141

Malawi 48 36 15 162 121 73

Mali 115 86 34 308 231 138

Mauritania 22 17 5 53 40 20

Mauritius 41 31 30 42 32 31

Mayotte 5 4 4 8 6 6

Morocco 867 651 559 1300 975 877

Mozambique 40 30 13 235 176 106

Namibia 14 11 5 36 27 16

Niger 41 31 13 120 90 54

Adv Recycling Waste Manag, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 2 • 1000162
ISSN: 2475-7675
Citation: Mwangomo EA (2018) Potential of Waste to Energy in African Urban Areas. Adv Recycling Waste Manag 3: 162. doi:
10.4172/2475-7675.1000162

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Nigeria 1384 1038 436 3208 2406 1444

Rwanda 33 25 10 98 73 44

Reunion 61 46 43 67 50 47

Saint Helena 0 0 0 0 0 0

Sao tome 2 1 1 4 3 3

Senegal 85 64 13 218 163 82

Seychelles 5 4 3 4 3 3

Sierra Leone 31 23 10 88 66 42

Somalia 33 25 10 114 85 51

South Africa 2058 1544 772 2273 1705 1194

Sudan 486 364 157 999 749 449

Swaziland 4 3 2 9 7 4

Tanzania 110 82 35 419 314 204

Togo 42 32 30 113 84 51

Tunisia 191 143 56 308 231 219

Uganda 54 40 12 188 141 84

Western Sahara 8 6 1 15 11 6

Zambia 34 26 11 147 110 55

Zimbabwe 88 66 33 169 127 76

Total Africa 10,496 7872 4304 19.677 14.758 10,118

Sub-Saharan Africa 6776 5082 2264 13.945 10.459 6473

Table 4: Methane generated and recovered from waste landfilling in Africa in 2012 and 2025.

2012 2025

Waste Generation Waste Collected Waste Generation Waste Collected

Incineration Landfills Incineration Landfills Incineration Landfills Incineration Landfills

Algeria 98,143 24,663 90,292 22,690 148,409 35,223 136,536 32,405

Angola 19,133 4808 8227 2067 44,075 10,461 26,445 6276

Benin 7128 1692 1639 389 16,167 3837 8084 1919

Botswana 4344 1152 1868 496 7377 1854 4426 1112

Burkina Faso 8028 1905 3211 762 24,285 5764 14,571 3458

Burundi 1843 437 737 175 4859 1153 2916 692

Cameroon 31,034 7799 13,345 3353 59,413 14,101 35,648 8461

Cape Verde 519 130 493 124 981 233 932 221

Central African 2965 704 1186 281 6078 1442 3647 865
Rep.

Chad 5581 1325 1116 265 14,135 3355 5654 1342

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10.4172/2475-7675.1000162

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Comoros 1890 449 378 90 2725 647 1362 323

Congo, Dem. 41,761 9911 16,704 3965 107,072 25,412 64,243 15,247
Rep.

Congo 4638 1166 1994 501 9409 2233 5645 1340

Cote d’Ivoire 16,906 4013 6763 1605 38,087 9039 22,852 5424

Djibouti 1158 291 498 125 2264 537 1359 322

Egypt 165,149 41,502 104,044 26,146 287,088 68,137 229,670 54,510

Equatorial Guinea 754 200 324 86 1521 403 913 242

Eritrea 2074 492 830 197 5395 1280 3237 768

Ethiopia 14,535 3450 5814 1380 49,946 11,854 29,967 7112

Gabon 2006 532 863 229 4091 1028 2454 617

Gambia 1896 450 758 180 4235 1005 2541 603

Ghana 3997 949 3397 806 33,803 8023 28,732 6819

Guinea 5644 1340 2258 536 14,813 3516 8888 2109

Guinea-Bissau 708 168 283 67 1672 397 1003 238

Kenya 9642 2288 3857 915 34,510 8191 20,706 4914

Lesotho 1033 260 444 112 2515 597 1509 358

Liberia 3048 723 1219 289 7329 1739 4397 1044

Libya 19,970 5297 8587 2278 29,022 7293 17,413 4376

Madagascar 17,852 4237 3213 763 42,744 10,145 21,372 5072

Malawi 5432 1289 2281 541 18,351 4355 11,011 2613

Mali 13,040 3095 5216 1238 34,887 8280 20,932 4968

Mauritania 2502 594 750 178 6037 1433 3018 716

Mauritius 4156 1102 4072 1080 4524 1137 4434 1114

Mayotte 544 144 517 137 838 211 796 200

Morocco 92,934 23,354 79,923 20,085 147,452 34,996 132,707 31,497

Mozambique 4504 1069 1892 449 26,669 6330 16,002 3798

Namibia 1523 383 655 165 4053 962 2432 577

Niger 4662 1106 1958 465 13,578 3223 8147 1934

Nigeria 157,056 37,275 65,963 15,656 363,941 86,377 218,365 51,826

Rwanda 3743 888 1572 373 11,094 2633 6656 1580

Reunion 6180 1639 5871 1557 6750 1791 613 1701

Saint Helena 15 4 14 4 14 4 14 4

Sao tome 177 42 168 40 461 109 438 104

Senegal 9633 2286 2023 480 24,683 5858 12,342 2929

Seychelles 480 127 456 121 476 120 453 114

Sierra Leone 3545 841 1560 370 10,019 2378 6412 1522

Adv Recycling Waste Manag, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 2 • 1000162
ISSN: 2475-7675
Citation: Mwangomo EA (2018) Potential of Waste to Energy in African Urban Areas. Adv Recycling Waste Manag 3: 162. doi:
10.4172/2475-7675.1000162

Page 11 of 12

Somalia 3712 881 1559 370 12,924 3067 7754 1840

South Africa 208,926 55,420 104,463 27,710 243,576 61,211 170,503 42,847

Sudan 49,326 13,084 21,210 5626 107,020 26,894 64,212 16,136

Swaziland 436 116 209 55 935 235 561 141

Tanzania 11,131 2953 4675 1240 44,892 11,281 29,180 7333

Togo 4814 1142 4573 1085 12,068 3033 7241 1820

Tunisia 19,390 5143 7562 2006 32,968 8285 31,320 7871

Uganda 5447 1445 1634 433 20,095 5050 12,057 3030

Western Sahara 765 203 153 41 1601 402 801 201

Zambia 3462 918 1454 386 15,721 3951 7860 1975

Zimbabwe 8902 2361 4411 1170 18,088 4545 10,853 2727

Total Africa 1,124,946 282,602 613,346 154,520 2,198,725 529,813 1,507,728 363,244

Sub-Saharan 728,596 182,439 322,785 81,275 1,552,184 375,476 959,280 232,385

Africa

Table 5: Potential energy recovery from waste (incineration and landfill gas recovery) [TJ/year].

Figures 5 and 6 maps showing places of waste to energy potentials in

African urban areas.

Figure 5: Energy potential from waste generated (left column) and Figure 6: Energy potential of LFG from waste generated (left
collected (right column) in Africa in 2012 (top line) and 2025 column) and collected (right column) in Africa in 2012 (top line)
(bottom line). and 2025 (bottom line).

Conclusion
Urbanization in African countries is increasing annually resulting to
the generation of volumes of wastes. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is
one source of renewable energy resource which is replenished in
African urban areas due to the poor waste management in these areas.
There is a potential of MSW which can be used as a source of energy
and hence reduce dependence in fossil fuel for energy production.

Adv Recycling Waste Manag, an open access journal Volume 3 • Issue 2 • 1000162
ISSN: 2475-7675
Citation: Mwangomo EA (2018) Potential of Waste to Energy in African Urban Areas. Adv Recycling Waste Manag 3: 162. doi:
10.4172/2475-7675.1000162
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