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Potential for waste to energy generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana

Eugene Amo-Asamoah (Institute of Distance Learning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana)
De-Graft Owusu-Manu (Department of Construction Technology and Management, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana)
George Asumadu (Department of Accountancy and Accounting Information Systems, Kumasi Technical University, Kumasi, Ghana)
Frank Ato Ghansah (Department of Construction Technology and Management, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana)
David John Edwards (School of Engineering and the Built Environment University, Birmingham, UK and University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa)

International Journal of Energy Sector Management

ISSN: 1750-6220

Article publication date: 15 June 2020

Issue publication date: 6 October 2020

707

Abstract

Purpose

Globally, waste management has been a topical issue in the past few decades due to the continual increase in municipal solid waste (MSW) generation that is becoming difficult to handle with conventional waste management techniques. The situation is much more pronounced in economically developing countries where population growth rate and urbanisation are becoming uncontrollable. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential for waste to energy generation in the Kumasi metropolis, the second-largest city in Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

To address the objectives of the study, a quantitative research approach, namely, the questionnaire was adopted. The data analysis was done using the statistical package for social sciences version 25, including both descriptive and inferential statistics to give an in-depth meaning to the responses from the participants.

Findings

The results showed that several factors hinder waste to energy technology in Ghana; key among them was high capital cost, high operational cost and lack of governmental support and policy framework. The results also revealed that 1 m3 of biogas generated from MSW in Kumasi could generate 36 MJ of energy, equivalent to 10 kW/h.

Originality/value

The unique contribution made by the paper is that it combines expert opinions, empirical data that included time series data and opinion of key actors in the waste management chain in assessing the potential for waste to energy generation in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the editors and anonymous reviewers whose invaluable comments and suggestions substantially helped in improving the quality of this paper.

Citation

Amo-Asamoah, E., Owusu-Manu, D.-G., Asumadu, G., Ghansah, F.A. and Edwards, D.J. (2020), "Potential for waste to energy generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the Kumasi metropolis of Ghana", International Journal of Energy Sector Management, Vol. 14 No. 6, pp. 1315-1331. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJESM-12-2019-0005

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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