Lancaster University in Uk in collaboration with HATOF Foundation, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and other partners have set up anaerobic digestion ( advanced biodigester) system to support the profitable use of organic waste in Ghana.
The project is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Global Research Translation Award programme
The biodigester, which is set up at the Umar Bun Hatab Islamic School at Madina is part of a £700,000 project, dubbed “Accelerating the Adoption of Circular Sanitation Demonstration Systems for Improved Health Outcomes (ACTUATE).
The 18-month project kicked off in Ghana in 2019 and is being implemented by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s Institute of Industrial Research (CSIR-IRR); the Lancaster University, UK; HATOF Foundation and other partners.
The biodigester, according to the ACTUATE Project Coordinator at CSIR-IIR, Dr. Richard Bayiste is about 90 percent complete.
He said it is being constructed to show how organic waste could be converted into useful purposes and that it would be replicated in larger forms for the market later.
HATOF Foundation is one of the CSO’s leading in awareness creation about the importance of using waste as a resource in the circular economy.
A bio-digester is a plant which uses micro-organisms to convert organic waste into renewable energy called biogas and other materials for cooking, lighting and as fertiliser.
A key aim of ACTUATE is to work with the community to show the benefits of using a biodigester to highlight the value of waste to produce energy.
Umar Bun Hatab Islamic School will have a SHOW lab, supported by GreenAd, where school children and the Madina Zongo community will be able to use the biogas from the digester as fuel for light and heat.
The soil conditioner will be used by Blue Skies to grow plants.