Potentials and prospects of solid biowaste resources for biofuel production in Ethiopia: a systematic review of the evidence

Abstract

Biowaste is becoming a significant category in the global energy mix to mitigate the negative impacts of burning fossil fuels. The aim of this review paper was to investigate the potential, conversion mechanisms, benefits, and policy gaps related to the utilization of solid biowaste resources as renewable, clean, and affordable energy sources. Thus, a systematic review approach was employed to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the studies that dealt with solid biowaste resources for energy recovery. This review paper was conducted from November 2022 to June 2023. The relevant literature was searched using databases from scholarly journal publishers, online search engines, and websites. A total of 82 studies were determined to be eligible from 659 records. Ethiopia has a huge potential for biowaste resources, with an annual generation potential of 18,446.4 MJ per year. The multifaceted advantages associated with biowaste-to-energy conversion such as clean energy production, waste management, forest conservation, greenhouse gas emission reduction, and maintaining soil fertility using the digestate left after anaerobic digestion were mentioned. This review highlights various conversion technologies for converting solid biowastes into valuable forms of energy, such as thermochemical, biochemical, and physico-mechanical techniques. It also investigated the value-added products of the Solid Biowastes-to-Energy (SBWtoE) process, including bio-oil, syngas, bioethanol, biodiesel, biomethane, bio-briquettes, and pellets, with applications ranging from transportation to power generation. Furthermore, this review addresses the multifaceted challenges associated with implementing a circular economy, emphasizing the need to overcome policy, technological, financial, and institutional barriers. These efforts are crucial for harnessing the growing biowaste resources in Ethiopia, ultimately promoting sustainable and cost-effective energy production while advancing the nation's environmental objectives.

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