Feasibility study for sustainable, affordable solar PV/T-biomethane energy solution for rural Pakistan

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Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world with a population of 216.5M and annual growth rate of 2%. It is an agrarian country with two thirds of its population living in rural areas. Despite its abundant renewable energy sources, Pakistan is facing severe energy crises where it imports a third of its energy requirements and is still using conventional methods of energy generation that produce significant CO2 emissions.Majority of the rural population in Pakistan meet their cooking and heating needs by burning biomass like animal dung, wood fuel and charcoal in traditional cook stoves which are inefficient and causes household indoor air pollution (HAP). About 28,000 people die each year due to HAP, and it accounts for 40 million cases of acute respiratory illnesses per annum causing significant economic burden which costs about 1% of GDP per annum. Also, Pakistan is facing severe deforestation problem and currently forests cover only 2.5% of the land area as every year 27000 hectare is lost due to deforestation leading to increased CO2 accumulation in the atmosphere.There are huge amounts of waste in Pakistan including 20MT/yr solid waste of which almost half is biomass like (food waste, paper leaves, grass and fodders), 70MT/year of agriwaste like wheat and rice husks, cotton sticks and sugar-cane residues, and 365MT/Yr of animal waste coming from more than 170M heads of cows, buffalos, cattle, sheep, camels and goats. Exploiting this agricultural and animal waste, this project aims to investigate the feasibility of a novel Waste to Energy system to produce biogas which will be further upgraded and separated into biomethane and carbon dioxide. The biogas (before upgrading) will be piped to households close to the anaerobic digestion plant and investigated for cooking and the effects of using it on the indoor air quality will be assessed compared to using wood for cooking. Then the upgraded biogas to biomethane will be used for cooking and heating while CO2 will be used for wide range of industrial applications. Also, the proposed system will produce nitrogen enriched bio-fertilisers that can be used for soil enhancement, increased land fertility and food production.The widespread of the proposed technology will have major impacts on Pakistan population where clean, affordable and secure source of energy can be generated using locally available waste. Based on the waste produced from the 70M heads of cows and Buffalos only, over 57488Mm³/yr of biogas and 30MT/yr of nitrogen enriched bio-fertilisers can be produced. This will significantly reduce Pakistan fuel imports, enhance the living standards of the rural communities particularly women, girls and disadvantaged groups, reduce CO2 emissions and improve the environment.