Biogas energy production in Ghana: environmental pollution analysis

Analysis of biomass fuel conversion options for biogas production at Appolonia in Ghana has demonstrated that the technique is promising not only for solving some of the country's energy and agricultural problems, but as a very useful way of waste treatment which should help improve waste management. Some environmental analyses were made and some of the preliminary results obtained are presented and discussed. There has been considerable decrease in both biochemical oxygen demand and biological oxygen demand of the effluents compared with the corresponding values obtained for the influents of the three most readily available biomass sources used - human faeces, cow dung and pig dung. Apart from methane (about 54%) and carbon dioxide (about 40%) the biogas produced at Appolonia , according to investigations, using a gas filter analyser and gas chromatography, was found to contain from 1 to 2% hydrogen sulphide which is poisonous. Two other components were detected in the gas but not identified in this present work. (author). 2 figs., 5 tabs., 8 refs