Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version.

If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, Click here for options.

Biomass residues generated annually in Nigeria include different types of organic materials from animal, rural and urban industrial wastes. Many of these residues are treated as materials having little or no significant commercial value. The two major forms of disposal adopted for them are land filling and incineration. Though there are no reliable current data on the quantum of these biomass wastes generated in the country annually, two major problems - the serious pollution hazards associated with the current non-efficient disposal methods adopted for these waste products; and the rising cost and inadequate supply of petroleum products for domestic cooking in the country- call attention to the need to utilize these materials in a more rational manner. These twin problems have resulted in an awakening of interest in the development of appropriate technologies for processing these renewable energy materials into up-graded fuel products. The various types of processing technologies that are being considered, and for which there are currently potentially viable local markets for the biofuel products in the country, include bio-digestion, gasification and briquetting / pelletizing. This paper reviews the status of research and development on the itemized biofuel production systems in Nigeria and highlights the factors currently militating against research and development on, and the adoption of these energy production systems the country.