Assessment of the environmental and economic potential of biomass in Cambodia

Nariputhisak Vong

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

These days, the global population has been speedily growing which led the world to a significant increase of energy consumption. The clamor for clean and sustainable energy worldwide has led to the development of sophisticated technologies which involve high cost and technical know-how in most cases. However, the same cannot often be the case in developing countries for obvious reasons. The usage of renewable energy such as biomass, is an efficient way for generating power as well has a small impact on the environment. Although Cambodia economy has increased significantly in recent decades, but the country is still lack with the necessary infrastructure in the energy sector in other to keep up with the pace of development. Most villages in Cambodia practice agriculture and are yet to fully maximize the use of the outputs therein, especially with energy usage. Charcoal, wood, and rice husk have been used in term of biomass as one of the main energy sources in different purposes such as household consumption, agriculture activities, and industrial activities. Despite the fact that the country has a lot of energy sources, hundreds of villages are still facing a shortage of electricity. This Bachelor’s thesis entitled “Assessment of the environmental and economic potential of biomass in Cambodia” in the format of literature review based on the study and information, which was published from most scientific articles, journals, databases, literature sources, national statistics, as well as many reports from various international organizations. The thesis was analyzed, summarized, reviewed the information and data related to renewable energy biomass in Cambodia. The content was divided into five main chapters and each chapter is focused on specific parts of biomass in general, introduction to Cambodia, energy situation and agricultural sector in Cambodia, and the last chapter is discussed on assessment of environmental and economic aspects of biomass use for energy.

Keywords

biomass, biogas, bioenergy, agricultural residues, rice straw, rural households, appropriate technologies

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 23. 4. 2023

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 31. 5. 2021
• Supervisor: doc. Bc. Ing. Tatiana Alexiou Ivanova, Ph.D.
• Reader: William Nkomoki, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Bachelor programme / field:
Tropical Agriculture / International Cooperation in Agriculture and Rural Development