Dr Ato Fanyin-Martin

Ghana | Agricultural activities across Africa generate significant amounts of agro-waste. Often, this waste is underutilised or improperly disposed of, leading to environmental challenges such as open burning and waste accumulation. These by-products, including rice husks, corn stalks, and palm kernel shells, possess high energy potential that remains largely untapped. Microwave catalytic pyrolysis (MCP) is an innovative and efficient process for converting agro-waste into valuable bioenergy products, including bio-oil, biochar, and syngas. Unlike conventional pyrolysis, MCP uses microwave energy to heat biomass internally, ensuring uniform energy transfer, faster reaction rates, and higher product yields. When integrated with suitable catalysts, this process enhances the quality of bio-oil and syngas while ensuring sustainability and reducing carbon emissions.

Dr Fanyin-Martin's research project, based in Ghana, Generation of Sustainable Energy from Microwave Catalytic Pyrolysis of Agro-Products, focuses on developing an optimised MCP system for energy generation, aiming to meet the dual objectives of waste management and sustainable energy production. This project contributes to the circular economy by harnessing agro-waste. It supports energy access in rural and under-resourced communities, aligning with global efforts to achieve sustainability and carbon neutrality. In line with the circular economy model, the project will engage the farming community of Samanhu-Hunisu, near Tarkwa, where locally sourced biomass will be converted into biochar, bio-oil, and syngas. The biochar will be returned to farms to improve soil fertility and crop yields through carbon sequestration and enhanced nutrient retention. Simultaneously, innovative community-level applications will be explored for bio-oil, which could potentially serve as a substitute for heating or lighting fuels. This approach fosters a closed-loop system that converts waste into valuable resources, thereby directly benefiting local communities and their livelihoods.

The project focuses on sustainable development by addressing key challenges in renewable energy, the circular economy, and climate action. Through the use of microwave catalytic pyrolysis (MCP) to convert agro-waste into high-value bioenergy products, the project promotes resource efficiency, reduces environmental degradation, and provides clean alternatives to fossil fuels. The project supports access to renewable energy in rural and agro-based communities, particularly in regions with high biomass availability, thereby fostering local economic development, energy security, and climate resilience. Additionally, by leveraging innovative technologies and engaging local stakeholders, the project builds capacity, encourages knowledge transfer, and strengthens the linkages between science, policy, and practice essential for achieving Africa's sustainability agenda.

By reducing indiscriminate disposal and open burning of agro-waste, the project minimises the risk of water pollution and contamination from leachates, improving the quality of water bodies near agricultural communities. Through the production of bio-oil and syngas from agricultural residues, the project offers decentralised, low-cost energy options that are clean and renewable, particularly beneficial for off-grid rural communities. The MCP process reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional biomass use. The biochar produced sequesters carbon in soil, contributing to long-term climate mitigation, while syngas and bio-oil displace fossil fuel consumption.

The project adopts a circular economy model by ensuring that all outputs from the pyrolysis process are reintegrated into productive use within the community. Specifically, in the farming community of Samanhu, biochar will be utilised as a soil amendment to enhance soil health, retain moisture, and increase crop yields. Bio-oil will be explored as a potential energy source for cooking, heating, and powering small agricultural processors. Syngas will be evaluated for local applications in electricity generation or thermal energy use in farming or cottage industries. This approach reduces waste, increases local value addition, and promotes sustainable rural development through a closed-loop system.

Dr Fanyin-Martin's project employs a transdisciplinary research framework that bridges agriculture, energy, engineering, environmental science, and the social sciences to address complex sustainability challenges holistically. At the same time, it actively involves local farmers, community members, and policymakers in the co-design and co-implementation project activities. This ensures that the solutions developed are grounded in local knowledge and community needs, technically sound and culturally appropriate, and scalable and sustainable beyond the pilot phase. By integrating technical innovation with community engagement and policy alignment, the project will deliver practical solutions and socially embedded innovations with a high potential for adoption, replication, and long-term impact. It exemplifies how transdisciplinary research can translate scientific advancement into meaningful, context-driven change.

Dr Ato Fanyin-Martin is a lecturer in the Department of Chemical and Petrochemical Engineering at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, and serves as the Head of Training and Coordination for the University. He doubles as the university's sports coordinator. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from KNUST and a certificate in Lab Safety, Chemical Hygiene, and Hazardous Waste Management from Columbia University, New York, where he spent a year as a Research Scholar. Ato is a Fellow of the Technology Consultancy Centre (TCC-CIMET), a UNESCO Category II Centre of Excellence, and a member of the  Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Ghana. His research focuses on resource recovery, waste-to-energy technologies, enzyme technology, and water and wastewater treatment. Key projects include developing demonstration biochar reactors across Ghana, step-feed anaerobic fermentation of food waste, enzyme isolation from fruit waste, and the production of bioethanol and biodiesel. As a Gates Scholar, Dr Fanyin-Martin contributed to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded project on converting faecal sludge to biodiesel (FS2BD).