MAKERERE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, DESIGN, ART AND

TECHNOLOGY (CEDAT)
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

CIV 4100: CIVIL ENGINEERING PROJECT I

BIOHYDROGEN PRODUCTION POTENTIAL FROM DARK FERMENTATION OF
AGRIFOOD WASTE GENERATED FROM OPEN-AIR FOOD MARKETS IN KAMPALA

BY

AMANYA HENRY 20/U/0106

KISAAKA ELIZABETH 20/U/0298

Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of a Degree of

Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

…………………………………….. ………………………………..

ENG DR ROBINAH KULABAKO ENG DR SWAIB SEMIYAGA

OCTOBER 2023
BIOHYDROGEN PRODUCTION POTENTIAL FROM DARK FERMENTATION OF
AGRIFOOD WASTE GENERATED FROM OPEN-AIR FOOD MARKETS IN
KAMPALA

Problem Statement

Many sub-Saharan cities such as Kampala, Uganda, have open-air agrifood markets. These
markets generate a significant amount of agrifood waste. A survey that was conducted in the
markets of Kitintale, Nateete, Kansanga, and Kalerwe in Kampala revealed that the agrifood
waste ranged from 1.43 to 7.6 kg/trader/day of which Kalerwe market with an estimated number
of 1000 traders had the highest amount (7.6 kg/trader/day). The reason for this was that Kalerwe
market directly sources its food products from farmers, and it is common for traders from other
markets to acquire their food supplies from Kalerwe.

The agrifood waste from Kalerwe market consists of spoilt agrifood products mainly fruits and
vegetables such as mangoes, pineapples, jackfruits, watermelons, tomatoes, cabbages, greens,
among others, and crop-based residues of bananas, cassava, sweet potatoes, irish potatoes, and
their peelings. The waste generated from the traders’ individual stalls in Kalerwe market is
discarded at the designated dumping sites in the market from which it is collected and
transported to the Kiteezi landfill. However, there is a problem of irregular collection of market
waste which is attributed to the high costs of waste collection and limited collection and
transportation facilities. This results in challenges such as odor nuisance from the decomposing
waste, breeding of disease-causing agents and flies, and attraction of scavenging animals such as
dogs and cows. Some of the waste also ends up in the open drainage channels. This leads to the
blockage of the channels and causes flooding whenever it rains.

The current practice of open burning and unsanitary landfilling of the agrifood waste collected
from the market leads to a significant loss of the energy value of this waste. A study on Kalerwe,
Nakawa, and Kasubi markets revealed that 34.8 terajoules of agrifood waste energy equivalent is
landfilled per year. Furthermore, landfilling is unsustainable and also poses significant risks to
public health and the environment. Diverting the agrifood waste from landfilling to biohydrogen
production through dark fermentation could result into creating value for the waste while
producing a sustainable and cleaner energy source. This could encourage the waste’s proper
management and reduce the amount ending up at the landfill.
Main objective

To estimate the biohydrogen production potential through dark fermentation of agrifood waste
generated from open-air food markets in Kampala.

Specific objectives

1. To quantify and characterize the agrifood waste collected from the open-air food markets.
2. To estimate the biohydrogen yield from dark fermentation of the agrifood waste.
3. To evaluate the costs of the entire process, from waste collection and pretreatment to
fermentation and biohydrogen production.