Work underway on Kenyan biogas and drinking water plant

Waste recycling company Asticom K reports that construction is underway on a biogas plant in Kenya on a five acre plot of land donated by a local housing co-operative.

The plant is being built with $12.7 million (€11.9m) funding from the multi-donor Climate Technology Initiative, according to the African Review.

Asticom CEO Leah Tsuma revealed that the plant will be the first in Africa to both purify sewage into clean water and convert solid waste into energy.

Two drainage canals will convey wastewater to the plant, while young people will be awarded contracts to deliver solid waste, said project leader Tsuma.

The plant’s planned power capacity is 8MW of electricity, which will be produced using biogas from solid waste.

It also expected to produce 6,000 tonnes of methane annually that will be sold for cooking.

The solid waste in the sewage water will be used to generate biogas, while the liquid part is purified, Tsuma said.

“Even the awful smell is removed, and so clean drinking water is produced,” she noted.