20-Year-Old Kenyan Manufactures Biogas and Fertilizer from Organic Waste

Leroy Mwasaru a 20-year-old Kenyan runs a social enterprise, Greenpact, that creates biogas and fertilizer made from human and organic waste.

Speaking in a CNN program that engages with young innovators determined to shape the world, Mwasaru said that the idea to create such an enterprise struck him when he knew he had the power to find a solution to a problem facing many people.

“In high school, I would walk around with a notebook and a pen noting down the issues people face daily. When I encountered this problem, I knew I had to find a solution. Greenpact began as a high school project where we utilized human waste and organic waste, and we used that to generate biogas and fertilizer to cook light meals in the kitchen for the school,” he says.

He explained that the waste reactor uses the concept of anaerobic respiration and that the human waste doesn’t have a significant level of energy, which is why supplementation with organic waste is necessary.

“You put something in a container and restrict air from it, you get energy. And that energy is CH4, which is methane and that methane is what is useful as biogas,” he added.

According to the principle, once CH4 goes through a filtering process, hydrogen sulfide is removed. You can, therefore, harvest biogas.

Compared to other sources of fuel, wood, for instance, biogas systems have no waste or effects to the environment. The sludge from the waste is used as fertilizer.

Mwaseru hopes to take this venture further to enable Kenyans who can’t access renewable sources of energy find a perfect solution.

My vision for this invention is that it’s something that will be replicated across and be able to grow, not only in size but also in impact. There’s still a lot that must be done especially on the African continent in terms of utilizing the number of resources that we have at hand. And I think I’d be best placed to be able to solve these problems that we face as a continent,” he concluded.

Mwaseru’s idea comes at an impeccable time when the government has banned logging of trees, which many people rely on as a source of fuel.

Until recently, lots of households depended on charcoal but with the prohibition of the felling of trees for fears of environmental disasters, alternative sources of fuel need be explored. Biogas is one such source of clean energy.

Manufactured from waste, it has two benefits, fuel and fertilizer. It doesn’t take much of an effort for this dream to be widely adopted across the country. Furthermore, Kenya has promising potential for power generation from renewable energy sources.

The abundance of solar, hydro, wind, biomass and geothermal resources are the perfect indicators that should drive individuals and the government to venture into the expansion of renewable energy both in rural and urban centers.

However, by the time people learn of its importance, so much time and other resources will have been wasted. As such, there is a need for the initiation of environmental awareness programs for community and learning institutions to champion the issue. While at it, the society can also be enlightened on how the sources act as opportunities for earning some income.