An investigation into some crop residues generation from farming activities and inherent energy potentials in Kwara State, Nigeria

In recent time, interest in energy generation from biological materials has been on the increase because of its environmental benefits. The use of these waste materials as feedstock in energy generation plants has been used in many industrial processes. The availability of these wastes is key to the sustainability of such a process. Resource assessment is an important step for planning and implementation of any energy workflow. This research studied the quantity of crop residues generated from farming of some crops in Kwara State and the potential energy contents inherent in them which when properly harnessed can help to alleviate the energy challenge in the state. The crops investigated were rice, maize, sorghum, soybean, and sugar cane. Relevant data were collected by visiting major farm establishments in the state and also the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MANR). Obtained production outputs for two farming seasons were analysed using the corresponding residue-to-crop ratios (RPR) to obtain the quantity of wastes generated and the corresponding unit conversion ratio for biomass energy content to obtain the inherent energy potentials. A total crop output of 2531.46 ton was obtained from the study with an estimated residue of 6047.02 tons, and inherent energy potential of 109201 GJ.