Techno-economic assessment of municipal solid waste gasification for electricity generation: a case study of Kampala City, Uganda

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dc.contributor.authorKivumbi, Bernard
dc.contributor.authorOlwa, Joseph
dc.contributor.authorMartin, Andrew
dc.contributor.authorMenya, Emmanuel
dc.date.accessioned2026-09-17T07:21:01Z
dc.date.available2026-09-17T07:21:01Z
dc.date.issued2015-12-29
dc.description.abstractThis study was aimed at assessing the techno-economic potential of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in Kampala City for electricity production through gasification. The quantity, characteristics and gasification parameters were determined. In addition, the gasifier- engine system components were sized, and an economic analysis was conducted to obtain the net present value (NPV) and the payback period. This study found that 523 t/d of MSW is collected in Kampala City. The biomass component of MSW was found to be 459.5 t/d with moisture content of 71.09% on as-received basis. The physical characteristics of the gasified biomass included 11.8% moisture content, 88.2% total solids, 25.9% ash content and 57.7 kg/m3 bulk density. The resulting normalized producer gas constituted 11.64% H2, 13.70% CO, 16.09% CO2, 54.12% N2, 4.45% CH4 and lower heating value (LHV) of 4.75 MJ/Nm3. The design fuel flow rate of 0.23 kg/s, specific gasification rate (SGR) of 5089.29 kg h-1 m-2 and specific energy demand of 42.75 GJ m-2 h-1 were obtained. This yields net electrical power output of 425.17 kW with an overall efficiency of 15.6%. The net annual electricity generation from a single gasifier-engine system was found to be 2.97 GWh/a. The economic analysis for this system worth $887 333 of investment cost yielded a payback period of 6.57 years while the NPV at 6% interest rate was found to be nine years with a value of $316 47.
dc.description.sponsorshipThe authors wish to extend their sincere gratitude to the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), KTH, Royal Institute of Technology and the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) at Makerere University for the financial and technical support .
dc.identifier.citationBernard Kivumbi, Joseph Olwa, Andrew Martin, Emmanuel Menya. 2015. Techno-economic assessment of municipal solid waste gasification for electricity generation: a case study of Kampala City, Uganda. Agric Eng Int: CIGR Journal, 17(4):141-155.
dc.identifier.urihttps://cigrjournal.org/index.php/Ejounral/article/view/3363/2250
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14270/936
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherAgricultural Engineering International
dc.relation.ispartofseriesVol. 17; 4
dc.subjectmunicipal solid waste
dc.subjectbiomass
dc.subjectgasification
dc.subjecteconomic analysis
dc.subjectproducer gas
dc.subjectelectricity
dc.titleTechno-economic assessment of municipal solid waste gasification for electricity generation: a case study of Kampala City, Uganda
dc.typeArticle

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