A GIS-Based Assessment of Biohydrogen Production Potential from Agriculture Crip Residues in Liberia

Abstract

As the globe is moving toward the use of renewable energy sources in place of fossil fuels, Liberia as a developing nation has huge agricultural crop residues that can be valorized. Over 70% of the population (mainly in rural areas) provides informal employment through agriculture activities. Therefore, a lot of crop residues are generated from these activities and most of them are not used for energy purposes. In this regard, it can promote the use of agricultural crop residues for energy generation. This study explores the energy potential of the crop residues generated by Rice, Cassava, Banana, Sugar cane, Cocoa, Oil palm, and Plantain. The obtained data were integrated into a geographic information system (GIS) to provide spatial distribution results. Nevertheless, several crop residues have competing uses such as livestock feeding and soil rejuvenation. It was gathered that the surplus residue potential revealed about 1,204, 033 t/yr (55.4% of gross) could be generated from gross crop residue. The estimated annual bioenergy of 20, 276 TJ/yr or 81,430 Tons of biohydrogen potential from surplus crop residue with Nimba (23,143 Tons) producing the highest amongst the 15 counties. Biohydrogen happens to be the most efficient and cleanest form of energy which is produced through the process of dark fermentation. Also, the total potential of electricity generation from all the sources is estimated to be about 5,632 GWh, representing approximately twenty times Liberia’s total electricity production of 2021; implying that biomass sources could significantly contribute towards meeting the future energy requirement of the country. Therefore, the information generated in this study is expected to aid a decentralized crop residue-based energy planning and policy by the counties, which would positively influence the overall renewable energy growth in Liberia.