A Deeside-based waste-to-energy company has unveiled its role on a project that will use waste tea clippings to make greener power for Kenyan farmers.

Firm to power Kenyan farms from tea clippings
l-r: Emily Mutindi Mutua of IITA, Paul Willacy of CSS, Niel Schulz from United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and Aarti Shah of IITA at a tea plantation in Limuru highlands, Kenya. (Photo credit: CSS)

Kenya produces £1bn of tea per year, with up to a quarter used for British tea bags.

Compact Syngas Solutions has developed an advanced gasification process that uses waste products to generate a syngas – a mix of hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide and monoxide.

This can be burned as a greener fuel, and will support farmers who are faced with an unreliable and expensive electricity grid that cuts out for an hour a day on average.

Carbonized biomass – for biochar – produced in the process can be applied to farmland to improve soil fertility and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as part of a capture and storage scheme.

Paul Willacy, managing director of Compact Syngas Solutions, said: “Every year Brits drink millions of cuppas from Kenya, but the tea industry there is at risk from an unreliable and expensive power supply.

“We’re going to provide energy security to the factories that process our tea, while reducing emissions, improving crop yields and bringing jobs to the country.

“We’re hugely excited about the impact this could have on the tea industry in Kenya and worldwide.”

Dr Dries Roobroeck, technical lead at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, added: “We’re always looking for innovative ways to improve crop yields, protect farmer livelihoods, and create sustainable farming systems, and this project ticks all these boxes.

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“Gasification will also allow tea factories to reduce their carbon footprint and help global tea brands decrease their Scope 3 emissions.  More reliable electricity will improve the quality of the final product – so the benefits will be felt all the way across to the consumer.”

By Alice Bird

https://farmerstrend.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Compact_Syngas_Solutions-1024x576.jpghttps://farmerstrend.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Compact_Syngas_Solutions-150x150.jpgFarmersTrend# TrendingAgricultural Innovation,aquaculture,biochar in farming,biomass for energy,carbon capture in farming,carbon footprint reduction,circular economy in agriculture,Compact Syngas Solutions,emissions reduction,energy challenges in tea farming,energy security in agriculture,energy shortages in Kenya,energy-efficient farming,gasification technology,global tea brands sustainability,green energy for farmers,hydrogen from gasification,improving crop yields,Kenya Climate Innovation Center,Kenya tea factories,Kenyan tea industry,methane fuel,power solutions for farmers,renewable energy in Kenya,renewable energy solutions,Scope 3 emissions reduction,soil fertility improvement,sustainable energy,sustainable tea farming,syngas production,tea clippings gasification,tea factory energy costs,tea production sustainability,tea waste recycling,waste-to-energyA Deeside-based waste-to-energy company has unveiled its role on a project that will use waste tea clippings to make greener power for Kenyan farmers.Kenya produces £1bn of tea per year, with up to a quarter used for British tea bags.Compact Syngas Solutions has developed an advanced gasification process that uses...New Generation Culture in Agriculture