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This study assessed suitable smart grid areas for power generation and distribution from solar and small hydro energy resources in Western Uganda by employing the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based on geographic information system (GIS) data. This was performed based on the selected economic, environmental, and technical criteria by the authors guided by the experts' judgements in the weighing process. The main criteria also included various sub-criteria. The sub-criteria of the economic criterion included distance from transmission lines, topography, and distance to roads. The environmental sub-criteria covered land use, sensitive areas, and protected areas. The technical sub-criteria were on distance from demand centers, available potential energy resources (solar and hydro), and climate (rainfall and sunshine). The weights of the main criteria and the sub-criteria were calculated by using the fuzzy AHP. These weights were then used in the GIS environment to determine both the potential for power generation from the solar energy resource and the smart grid suitable areas. According to the weight results, the economic criteria has the highest weight, followed by environmental and technical criteria. The validation of the experts' judgements for each criterion by comparing the results from fuzzy AHP with AHP confirmed insignificant differences in weights for all criteria. The obtained suitable smart grid areas in Western Uganda have been classified into three parts, that is, the South, North, and Central. Therefore, this is a one-of-a-kind study that, in the authors' view, will provide the initial insights to the government, policymakers, renewable energy practitioners, and researchers to investigate, map, and embrace decarbonization strategies for the electricity sector of Uganda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the quantitative and qualitative attributes of liquid product and biochar obtained from pyrolysis of woody biomass (rubberwood sawdust (RWS)) and non-woody biomasses (oil palm trunk (OPT) and oil palm fronds (OPF)). The prepared biomass was pyrolyzed at temperatures of 500 °C, 550 °C, and 600 °C by using an agitated bed pyrolysis reactor, and then the yields and characteristics of liquid product and biochar were determined. The results showed that liquid product and biochar yields were in the respective ranges of 35.94–54.40% and 23.46–25.98% (wt.). Pyrolysis of RWS at 550 °C provided the highest liquid yield. The energy content of the water free liquid product was in the range 12.19–22.32 MJ/kg. The liquid product had a low pH and it mainly contained phenol groups as indicated by GC-MS. The biochars had high carbon contents (75.07–82.02%), while their oxygen contents were low (14.22–22%). The higher heating value (HHV) of biochar was in the range 26.42–29.33 MJ/kg. XRF analysis revealed that inorganic elements had higher contents in biochar than in the original biomass. The slagging and fouling indexes of biochar were also different from those of the biomass. High carbon content of the biochar confirms potential for its use in carbon sequestration. The specific surface of biochar was lower than that of biomass, while the average pore diameter of biochar was larger than for raw biomass as revealed by BET and SEM. These results on liquid product and biochar obtained from RWS, OPT, and OPF demonstrate that they are promising feedstocks for biofuels and other value-added products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]