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Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 47 – 54

The 8th International Conference on Applied Energy – ICAE2016

Evaluation of CHP for Electricity and Drying of Agricultural Products in a Nigerian

Rural Community

Rasaq.O.Lamidia;Yao Dong Wanga; Pankaj B. Patharea and A.P Roskilya

a
Swan Centre for Energy Research, School of Mechanical and system Enginnering,
Newcastle University,United Kingdom.

Abstract

The techno-economic performance analysis of biogas production, power generation and recovery of heat for drying of
agricultural products for a Nigerian rural community is explored through process simulation. In this work, biogas
generation from a 10.33MT/day cattle market waste was fed into a 72kW e CAT internal combustion engine and the
model has been developed using Aspen HYSYSR process simulator. Simulation results shows that about 191.63MT per
annum of tomato can be dried with the recovered heat while heat recovery for anaerobic digestion and drying of
agricultural products increases the system’s heat efficiency from 25.6% to 58.4%. The results also show that, with the
current electricity tariffs for remote areas being charged at USD 0.02/kWh and Feed-in Tariffs (FITs), NPV is positive
and the payback period is 3.2 years. However, system less than 1MW is not currently captured in Nigeria’s FITs system
while the economic indices are negative without FITs. Effects of interest rate regimes on economic indices is also
explored as such system could be farm based and entitled to loan from the Nigerian Agricultural Development Bank,
Bank of Industry and Commercial banks with interest rates 7%, 9% and 20% respectively. The results presented in this
paper increased research knowledge on application of biogas CHP in Nigerian rural communities especially on
integration of energy generation with processing of agricultural products
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Selection and/or
Peer-review peer-reviewofunder
under responsibility responsibility
the scientific of of
committee ICAE
the 8th International Conference on Applied Energy.
CHP, electricity, drying, agricultural, products, biogas

1.0 Introduction
Sub Saharan African (SSA) countries is reported to have the greatest percentage of the global energy poor
and the retardation of its economic growth is strongly linked to inadequate electricity infrastructure [1;2].
Nigeria, a SSA country, has one of the global electricity challenge. The national grid connection is only
46% while over 96 million citizens have no access to electricity [2][3] At the moment, ineffective
generation, distribution and supply network coupled with an ineffective institutional framework and lack
of appropriate policies has led to supply deficit [4]. Apart from incessant breakage of pipelines that disrupt
gas supply to the 11 thermal plants, seasonal drying of dams also affects performance of the 3 hydro plants.
Thus, generation barely exceed 4000MW from 8039MW installed [3].
*Corresponding author. +44 (0) 191 208 6000;
E-mail address: [email protected]

1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 8th International Conference on Applied Energy.
doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.278
48 Rasaq.O.Lamidi et al. / Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 47 – 54

Therefore, decentralised off-grid renewable energy systems can go a long way in sorting Nigeria’s energy
challenge [5]. Since 1999 government policies have focused more on boosting of agricultural production
via soft loans and provision of farm tools to farmers without making any provision for the processing and
storage of agricultural products which has led to increased post-harvest loss [6]. At the moment,
approximately 45% of food produce is been wasted during distribution and consumption and could be as
high as 90% depending on the produce and seasons [7][8]
For instance, Nigeria is the second largest producer of tomato in Africa with about 1.5 million metric tons
produced in 2011, 60% of which got wasted. Therefore, about 300,000 tons was imported to meet up with
1.2 million metric tons local demand. Importantly, distress sales of agricultural products is very common
in most Nigerian rural communities. Rain fed agriculture is the predominant practice [8]. Therefore, crops
are planted, matured and harvested at the same time which lead to flooding of local markets with the crops
and farmers are forced to sell at ridiculous prices with miserable financial return.
Aspen Hysys is a simulation tools that can be used to predict thermodynamics properties and behaviour of
hydrocarbon and chemical systems [9]. Supplying necessary thermodynamic data, accurate operating
conditions, and required equipment models, plant’s behaviour can be simulated including its sensitivity
analysis. Hence, it is employed in this work. Importantly, the essence of this work is to examine feasibility
of off-grid combined power and drying system in Nigerians rural communities in context of the current
renewable energy policies of Nigerian government.

2.0 Materials and Methods

The methods used in this work involves field work, data collection and analysis of a local cattle market
waste. Given the nature of the waste: an anaerobic digestion system is proposed. Thus, the approach
involves: ultimate analysis of the waste sample, evaluation of potential biogas production through anaerobic
digestion, selection of digester, engine generator, dryer and computational simulation of the process using
Aspen Hysys. Finally, an economic evaluation of the potential utilisation of the cattle market waste for
electricity generation and drying of agricultural products is presented.

2.1 Study area

Igbo-ora, is an agrarian rural community in Oyo state South-western part of Nigeria. The population as at
2013 is 64,431 with about 440km2 landmass. Its geographical coordinates are (7° 26' 0" North; 3° 17' 0"
East). Daily temperature ranges between 20ͼC and 35ͼC with 28.5ͼC being the annual average. Its annual
rainfall is above 1000mm while humidity is also very high at about 70% annual average. Igbo-ora is a
market community where agricultural products are sold every 5th day and lots of market waste mainly
vegetables are generated on market days. Animal waste mainly cattle dung with leftover grasses is equally
generated at the cattle market (Figure 1a).

1a 1b
Figure 1: Cattle feeding stall in the market and weighing of waste.

2.2. Daily waste generated in the market.

Cleaning is done weekly. So Quadratic sampling was used for the estimation of cattle in the market and the
selected quadrats were cleaned and the generated waste, presented in Table 1was measured with a weighing
balance (Model: Hana, China) shown in Figure 1b.
 Rasaq.O.Lamidi et al. / Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 47 – 54 49

2.3 Waste characterisation and determination of methane generation potential

Characterisation of the waste into its compositional percentage was done using the method adopted by
[10] and [11]. Thus, as in the waste quantification, it will be challenging to sort all the waste. So, as
quantification was on-going, every 15th head-pan was sorted and the quantities of organic waste, plastic
bags, plastic bottles, paper, woods, textiles and other foreign materials were determined using weighing
balance. The overall wet weight of different component was evaluated, expressed in kilogram and then
stated in percentage as shown it the Table 2. Using AOAC analytical methods [12] for proximate and
ultimate analysis of the cattle market waste, the moisture content, total volatile content and fixed carbon
were determined. The proportion of chemical elements: Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), Oxygen (O), Sulphur
(S) and Nitrogen (N) were determined. Table 3 shows proximate and ultimate analysis of the waste.
Table 1: Daily waste generation in the market.

Particulars Quantity
Cleaning frequency weekly
Size of quadrat 18.3*36.6m2
Number of quadrat per acre 12
Number of quadrats in 3 acres 36
Number of pans per quadrats 245
Average weight per pan 8.2Kg
Weekly waste per quadrat 2009Kg
Daily waste per quadrat 287Kg
Daily cattle waste generated in the market 10,332Kg

Table 2: Characterisation of the waste.

Particulars Quantity (%)

Organic waste 98.4
Plastic bags 0.8
Plastic bottles 0.4
Woods 0.2
Paper 0.1
Textiles 0.05
Others 0.05

Table 3: Proximate and ultimate analysis of the waste.

Proximate analysis Ultimate analysis

Constituent % Constituent %
Moisture content (wet basis) 45.05 Carbon 40.73
Total solids 55.04 Hydrogen 5.17
Volatile solids 60.3 Oxygen 31.47
Ash content 19.15 Nitrogen 2.87
Sulphur 0.61

2.4 Theoretical determination of biogas and energy yield

The elemental percentage composition of the waste is known. Therefore, using Buswell equation (1) the
empirical formula and theoretical biogas generation is evaluated [13].
1 1 1
‫ ݏܵ ݊ܰ ݋ܱ ݄ܪ ܿܥ‬+ (4ܿ െ ݄ െ 2‫ ݋‬+ 3݊ + 2‫ܪ)ݏ‬2 ՜ (4ܿ െ ݄ + 2‫ ݋‬+ 3݊ + 2‫ܱܥ)ݏ‬2 + (4ܿ + ݄ െ
4 8 8
2‫ ݋‬െ 3݊ െ 2‫ܪܥ)ݏ‬4 + ݊ܰ‫ܪ‬3 + ݊‫ܪ‬2 ܵ (1)
50 Rasaq.O.Lamidi et al. / Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 47 – 54

The empirical formula is ‫ܥ‬ଵ଻଼ ‫ܪ‬ଶ଻ଵ ܱଵ଴ଷ ܰଵଵ ܵଵ . However, Buswell equation assumes 100% biodegradability
[14] of carbon whereas in practice degradability is less than 100% and it is substrate specific. Hence, 70%
conversion is assumed for cow dung. Thus, about 872.09Kg/day of methane can be obtained from 10,332Kg
being generated daily in the market.

2.5 Digester and Dryer

Based on the nature, quantity of the waste and agricultural produce considered, the features of the digester
and dryer used is presented in Table 4. Atesta dryer is chosen for its simplicity, ease of maintenance and
popularity in the Sub-Saharan African region [12].
Table 4: Features of dryer and digester used

Digester Dryer
Digester type Continuous stir Name Atesta gas dryer
HRT Days 20 Energy source Propane
Total solids used 10% Consumption 0.5kg/hr
Reactor volume 1291.5m3 Capacity 100kg/cycle
Reactor area 688.53m2 No of trays 20
Feed density 1040kg/m3 Tray unit area 0.84m2
Specific heat of feed 4.18kJ/kg/ͼC Drying time 24hrs
Cost (€/m2 of tray) 182
Operating temperature 60-90C
Suitability Mango, tomatoes

2.6 The system design of the combined power and drying system.
The system is shown in the Figure 2. The market waste was sorted, crushed and mixed with water in the
treatment tank, diluted to required total solids and raised to the digestion temperature. The conditioned
waste is anaerobically digested under mesophilic conditions and the biogas produced is pumped through
ferric oxide and calcium hydroxide solution columns. The treated biogas is then burnt in a reciprocating
internal combustion engine to produce electricity. Heat is recovered through jacket water to maintain the
digestion system while the recovered heat from the engine exhaust is used for drying of farm products.

Figure 2: Combined drying and power system

2.7 Process Simulation

Using technical data of a 72KWe biogas driven CAT gas engine Aspen HYSYSR software was used to
simulate and predict electricity and heat generation of the engine Figure 2. Aspen HYSYSR can be used for
an accurate prediction of thermodynamic behaviour of chemical and hydrocarbon systems [15]. The model
is based on blocks corresponding to unit operations as well as chemical reactions such as compression,
 Rasaq.O.Lamidi et al. / Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 47 – 54 51

expansion and combustion. A complete process could be built by connecting the blocks with materials
streams such as heat and work streams. The user needs to supply:
a) Flow rates, compositions and operating conditions of the inlet streams.
b) Operating conditions of the blocks used in the process, e.g. temperature and pressure.
c) Operating heat and/or work inputs into the process.
d) The appropriate fluid package for the thermodynamic properties of the system.
Once these are supplied, Aspen calculates the output streams’ flow rates, compositions and conditions. In
this work, Peng-Robinson equation of state is used as the property package as it is able to predict
thermodynamic behaviour of gases at high temperature [9][15].

Figure 3: Cat engine simulation in Aspen HYSYSR.

Using 67% methane purity of the fuel, at 100% load, the result of simulation is presented in Table 5.
Table 5: Simulation result.

Particulars Specification Simulation Deviation (%)

Power (kW) 72 72.93 +1.3
Combustion air flowrate (m3/h) 292 291.9 +0.04
Exhaust stack gas temperature (C) 581 587.2 +1.07
Exhaust gas flowrate (m3/h) 324 334 +3.1
Heat rejection to water jacket and lubricant (kW) -115 -115.1 +0.87

3.0 Drying of agricultural produce: tomato

The model proposes replacing propane gas burner in the dryer with the recovered heat from the CAT
engine’s exhaust.
Heat supplied Q P (kJ/h) by propane is QP = ী. (LHV) P (2)
Where ী and (LHV) P are mass flowrate and low calorific value of propane (46300kJ/Kg) respectively.
Thus, Q P is 23,150kJ/h
Recoverable heat from exhaust Q E at 200ͼC stalk temperature is calculated as 165,252kJ/h at 80% heat
exchanger efficiency. Hence, about 7 propane driven Atesta dryers can be driven with the exhaust gas of
the plant. Assuming, 90% plant availability and 24hour drying time per cycle for tomato. Then,
9581.25Kg/annum of tomato can be dried.

4.0: Heat Recovering for Digestion

Considering the nature of the waste, a cylindrical concrete mould continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR)
is considered in the study. The reactor size (Vr) was calculated based on feedstock characterisation in Table
3 and the total solid (TS) was assumed to be 10% while 20days was used as the hydraulic retention days
52 Rasaq.O.Lamidi et al. / Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 47 – 54

(HRT). The specific heat of the feed was assumed to be that of water 4.18kJ/kg/ͼC while the feed density
was set at 1040kg/m3 [16]
Digester volume (Vr) = SD*HRT (m3 = m3/day* number of days) (3)
Where SD is the daily substrate input. The required TS is 10%, therefore from Table 3, the ratio of substrate
to water is 1:5.5. This brings the daily substrate input and reactor volume to 67,158kg/day and 1291.5m3
respectively. According to [17], ratio of height to diameter of 2:1 is considered moderate and the calculated
area of reactor is 688.53m2. The digester is operated at mesophilic temperature of 35϶C and recovered heat
from water jacket and lubricant oil was used for the process. The engine used low grade biogas about 67%
methane. Hence, no rigorous upgrading is considered. The biogas is only pumped through ferric oxide and
calcium hydroxide solution columns which is considered enough to give the required biogas quality.
However, heat required for digestion is the heat needed to raise the temperature of feedstock from ambient
temperature (25ͼ) to digestion temperature (35ͼC) plus heat needed to maintain the temperature (heat loss)
Castellanos et al. [16]. Hence,
HT = HL + HF [kW] (4)
Where HT is the total heat demanded for digestion while HF and HL are heat requirements for digestion
and heat loss respectively.
According to [16], HL and HF can be obtained from equations 5
HF= ী.C.r (T op -T ab ) [kW] (5)
Where C is the specific heat capacity of feedstock [kJKg -1ͼC-1], ী is the volumetric flowrate of feedstock
[m3/s], r is the feedstock density [kgm-3], T op and T ab are digestion and ambient temperatures [ͼC]
respectively. Hence, HF= 32.49kw.
Using height to diameter ratio of 2 as suggested by [18][17] and heat transfer coefficient U [0.002kW
m-2ͼC-1] is for concrete block, HL can be evaluated from equation 6
HL=UA (T op -T ab ) [kW] (6)
Hence, from equation 6, HL is 13.771kW and the total heat required for digestion is 166538.6KJ/h. Thus,
the total heat recovered from the system for drying and digestion is 331790.6KJ/h.

5.0 Economic Analysis

The investment and operating cost for the system is drawn from the Nigeria’s National Electricity
Regulation Commission [19] for biomass based electricity generation. However, the cost of dryer is
calculated differently. Assuming 20 years life span of the plant and 90% availability. Therefore, the plant
will generate 567,648kWh per year and 11,353MWh in its lifespan 10% of which is used onsite (Ibid).
Hence, 56765kWh is sold off-site. The viability of the project is accessed using levelized cost of electricity
(LCOE), Net Present Value (NPV) and Payback period (PP) analysis as described by Short et al[15]. Input
for the economic analysis and the project is presented in Table 6.
Table 6: Input for the economic analysis and the project cost

Economic Analysis Project’s cost

Parameter Unit Amount AD unit Dryer
Capital cost $/kW 2900 208, 500 3471.32
Fixed O&M $/kW/yr. 53.5 77,040
Variable O&M $/MWh 0.95 10,785
Fuel cost $/MWh 5 56,765
Parasitic load % 10
Life Span Yr. 20
Interest rates % 7,9,20
Capacity kW 72
Availability % 90
Dryer Kg(wet) 191,625
Replacement (60000h) $ $1000/kW 189,216 9122.63
TOTAL 554,899.95
 Rasaq.O.Lamidi et al. / Energy Procedia 105 (2017) 47 – 54 53

Thus, using the above figures in Table 6 and $ 0.111/Kg and $3.5/Kg as local prices of wet (95%MC) and
dried tomatoes (8%MC) respectively, the economic performance at 7% interest rate with and without FITs
is presented in Table 7 while performance at different obtainable interest rate is shown in Table 8.
Table 7: Effect of electricity price and FITs on the system.

Consumers Electricity prices ($/kWh) NPV@ r =7% Payback Period (Yr.)

Rural (R1) 0.0200 -318316.67 >20
Sub urban (R2) 0.0897 46622.85 17
With FIT 0.1868 572,238.83 3.2

As shown in Table 7, the system is, without FITs, only economically feasible for semi-urban regions
classified as R2 by the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission with the current tariffs of
USD$0.0897/kWh. Though, its feasibility in this regards is subject to the interest rate regimes. Being farm
based, such systems are entitled to loan from the Nigerian Agricultural Development Bank, Bank of
Industry and Commercial banks with the interest rates 7%, 9% and 20% respectively. At these interest rates,
the Levelized Cost of Energy are $0.082, $0.090 and $0.141/kWh respectively. Besides, while NPVs of
$46,622.85 and 15,259.89 were obtained for 7% and 9% interest rates, the NPV is negative at 20% interest
rate Table 8. The payback periods are rather too long, 17, 19 and above 30 years respectively. Importantly,
systems less than 1MW are not currently included in the Feed in Tariffs. With FITs such systems have a
positive NPV even at 20% interest rates.
Table 8: Economic performance at different interest rate.

Interest rate (%) NPV (USD$) LCOE ($/kWh) Payback Period (Yr.)
7% 46622.85 0.082 17
9% 15259.89 0.090 19
20% -81637.85 0.141 >20
6.0. Conclusion
The results indicate that heat recovery for drying and digestion increases the system efficiency from 25.6%
to 58.4%. However, such system is not economically feasible with the current electricity retailing price of
$0.02/kWh in the rural area as all economic indices are negative. Nevertheless, such a system is, subject to
interest rates, promising in the suburban regions of the country. Inclusion of small scale renewable energy
systems in the Nigeria’s Feed-In-Tariffs is therefore recommended as economic indices show such a system
to be profitable regardless of the current interest rates of commercial banks.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the Nigeria’s Petroleum Technology Development Fund for sponsoring this
project.

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Biography
Rasaq Oladiti Lamidi holds a masters degree in Carbon and Resources Management. He has worked in food and
beverage industries for a decade. He is currently a PhD student in Energy at the School of Mechanical and
Systems Engineering, Newcastle University where he is working on sustainable synchronization of rural energy
with food processinng.