Kathmandu: The conversion of the waste biomass into valuable products can have significant environmental and economic benefits, a recent study has revealed.
A recent study “Possibilities and challenges for converting waste biomass into fuel, feed, and fertilizer in Nepal” published in the Regional Environmental Change states: “Waste biomass is mainly used conventionally, without being converted into valuable products in Nepal, mainly due to a lack of proper conversion knowledge, infrastructure, and resource data.”
The study was led by Sagar Kafle, assistant professor at the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Nepal who is currently pursuing a PhD from Auburn University, USA and co-led by researchers from Nepal, Germany, Netherlands, and the USA.
Nepal has enormous waste biomass potential, a resource that can significantly boost the economy if properly managed and valorized, adds study. “However, most of the waste biomass in Nepal is conventionally used as kitchen fuel and animal feed, without proper valorization. Open dumping and burning, especially of municipal waste, is a common practice in Nepal, impacting the overall ecosystems.”
“Our study has estimated the potential of about 89 million tonnes of waste biomass annually in Nepal, mainly from the agriculture, municipal, livestock, fowl, and human sectors,” said Kafle,
The study also revealed the potential at the sub-national level in Nepal, highlighting its possibilities and challenges for converting the fuel, feed, and fertilizers.
The study has shown enormous waste potential in Terai, especially in the Koshi province and the Morang district. Considering the geographical constraints and current consumptions, the study has estimated about 21 million tonnes of waste is available in Nepal for further valorization, such as to produce pellets, briquettes, biogas, animal feed, fertilizer, and biochar.
Dr Sushil Adhikari, co-author of the study and professor at Auburn University, the USA, highlighted the opportunities for producing fuel, feed, and fertilizers from such waste biomass.
“The pellets and briquettes produced from waste biomass could effectively replace coal in thermal power industries such as brick and cement. It can reduce the country’s carbon dioxide emissions by up to 52% and can meet up to 12% of current energy consumption,” he said.
He also shared the potential benefits of producing densified total mixed ration using crop residue. “In Nepal, where mass transportation systems are lacking, and transportation costs are high, such densified feed blocks could be a game changer in feed industries.” Biogas from waste biomass could reduce the dependency on imported LPG fuel and produce nutrient-rich fertilizers as by-products, he further said.
“The country lacks location-specific data on the potential and availability of waste biomass, which is important for planning waste-based industries,” said Dr Prajal Pradhan, the co-author of the study and Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
He highlighted the lack of mass transportation infrastructures and networks and challenges due to the topography and terrain, which creates difficulties in raw material and final product transportation. Additionally, uncertainty in investment and market, insufficient management regulations and policies, and poor intersectoral coordination hinder the promotion of such industries. “These challenges need to be addressed to promote waste biomass-based industries in Nepal,” said Pradhan, emphasizing the policy implication of the study.
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