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This study analyses technical potential and ex ante socioeconomic impacts of biogas production using cassava waste from agroprocessing plants. An analysis was performed for two biodigesters in two cassava processing communities in Ghana. The results showed that the two communities generate an excess of 4,500 tonnes of cassava peels per year. Using approximately 5% of the peels generated and livestock manure as inoculum can generate approximately 75,000 m3 of gas with an estimated 60% methane content from two separate plants of capacities 500 m3 and 300 m3 in the two communities. If used internally as process fuel, the potential gas available could replace over 300 tonnes of firewood per year for cassava processing. The displacement of firewood with gas could have environmental, economic, and social benefits in creating sustainable development. With a 10 percent discount rate, an assumed 20-year biodigester will have a Net Present Value of approximately US$ 148,000, 7-year Payback Period, and an Internal Rate of Return of 18.7%. The project will create 10 full-time unskilled labour positions during the investment year and 4 positions during operation years.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are emphatic on the role of energy for development. Targets include ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services to the about 1.3 billion people without electricity access, and to increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. For remote rural communities in developing countries where grid extension is often expensive, decentralised biomass mini-grids can be a reliable electricity supply source, as it provides 'base load' power and avoids the use of 'excessive' storage batteries. This paper presents a feasibility study for five rural communities in Ghana. Results show that the projected electricity demand of the communities compares favourably with the potential energy generation from available agricultural residues, and that there is a case for considering various levels of co-funding from private investors.

This paper highlights some of the commonly used bio-based materials studied for their applicability as adsorbents in wastewater treatment. Additionally, few processing techniques employed to enhance the ability and or affinity of the adsorbents for wastewater treatment have been discussed. More so, some of the commonly used characterization techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy among others often employed in a bid to elucidate the properties and morphologies of the adsorbents as well as the potential mechanism(s) underlying the adsorbate-adsorbent interaction(s) has also been extensively conferred. The potential draw-backs, recommendations and future perspectives on the use of bio-based materials as adsorbents in wastewater treatment has also been discussed in the concluding section of this paper.

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