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Power required for the abattoir operation is obtained by a biogas generator. Hot water required for
cleaning the abattoir is done using biogas. Dumping slaughter house waste has reduced resulting in
lower methane emissions to the atmosphere.
The activity was able to demonstrate that the abattoirs were unaware that they are: (a) dumping a
valuable resource which was contributing to greenhouse gases (CH4 emissions); and (b) contributing to
the contamination of ground water which was already in short supply due to the adverse impacts of
climate change.
One tonne of animal waste produces over 100 cubic meters of biogas which has a concentration of 65%
CH4 and 35 % CO2. The potency of Methane is about 21 times that of CO2 in trapping heat in the
atmosphere. This would translate into approximately 1500 cm3 of greenhouse gases emitted from the
dumpsite from around 15000 kg waste per day, over and above the emissions from previous dumping.
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Daily, over 300 cattle and 100 goats are slaughtered and delivered by the 4 abattoirs for a fee.
In addition to the population of 4,000 living within 1 km radius, the nearby Thogoto forest supports
a floating population of nearly 10,000 - pastoralists bringing cattle, traders and others in
slaughter services. Most of the 3,000 odd abattoir workers commute daily, mostly on foot from nearby
areas.
40% of the abattoir area populace lives in the 2 km long Kware slum along the river Kabuthi.
Anaerobic digestion of slaughter waste would uplift the living conditions of the urban poor.
Biogas for cooking would ease the financial and social burden of these families and reduce
deforestation and land degradation.
Electricity generated from biogas can provide employment to local youth and women, resulting in less
pollution and environmental contamination and healthier life for the poor residents. Abattoirs have
electricity, but as electric heating is costly, floor cleaning water is only warm. Hot water reduces
the water required for cleaning. Total water use in all plants is 20,000 l/day. Daily amount of
wastes generated from Dagoretti abattoirs is over 15 tonnes.
With the activity, the amount of wastes to be flushed out will be much less. Water can be heated by
biogas burners or by heat recovery from generators and help in sustainable water use.
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More than 30 % of the 40 million Kenyans live in urban centres, where access to commercial energy
services ranges from 20 % to 40 % only. Agriculture and horticulture being the main source of
revenues, Kenya has enormous amounts of agro waste. This can be very beneficially used as feedstock
in digesters to get biogas for cooking and generating electricity.
The two stage biogas digester technology is widely used for commercial power generation in Europe and
USA. The design was adapted by UNIDO to meet local African requirements (ease of replication,
up-scaling and maintenance) and can be implemented in any place where organic waste ( food waste,
market waste, fish waste, slaughter house waste, agro waste, chicken or animal manure) is available.
In the functional model implemented in Nairobi, only a fraction of the waste of one abattoir was
used. Based on the success of the model, the Government of Kenya has requested that the programme be
upscaled to process all the waste generated in the cluster, as was already indicated in the
feasibility report.
Scientists and Engineers from the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) were
involved in the implementation from the very beginning of the activity, which enabled UNIDO to
transfer the know-how and skills to local technicians, so that the maintenance, replication and
up-scaling process would be very smooth.
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