Dr Oroka Frank 's research grant

Lead Researcher

Title Dr
Firstname Frank
Middlename
Surname Oroka
Phone 08036680996
Email orkfra@yahoo.com

Research Grant Details

Research Topic Production of Fuel Briquettes and Bio-Gas from Water Hyacinth-Cow Dung mixtures for Domestic and Agro-industrial Application in Nigeria
Benefit to Oil and Gas High potential for marine waste Management and Wealth creation. Job creation and investment in Agro-Allied industries.
Research Duration 2
University Delta State University Nigeria
Abstract The study investigates the potential of water hyacinth: cow dung mixture in production of fuel briquettes and biogas for use as energy in domestic cooking and agro-allied industries. Physical properties of briquettes were investigated at varied mixing ratios of water hyacinth and cow dung and vice versa. The treatments were also subjected to same conditions in carbonized water hyacinth. These ratios were 100:0, 90:10, 80:20 and 70:30. In addition four water hyacinth: cow dung proportions aimed at investigating the efficiency of the mixture in biogas production were also studied. These proportions of water hyacinth on a dry weight basis were as follows: A=75:25, B= 50:50, C=25:75 and D=100:0. Four pre-treatment methods for water hyacinth were also studied. Results from the study on briquettes production showed increased bulk density of briquettes over the original bulk material. Physical characteristics of briquettes such as density, moisture content, stability, water resistance and durability were found to be good indicators of quality. Calorific value of briquettes increased with cow dung in the mixture. The increase in quantity of binder (cassava starch) tends to reduce the calorific value of the briquettes. In biogas production, the 100:0 containing only water hyacinth recorded the lowest biogas yield of 7.279m3. Increasing quantity of cow dung in the water hyacinth: cow dung co-digestion resulted in increased cumulative biogas volume. The 25:75 water hyacinth mixtures consistently maintained a higher cumulative biogas volume till the 60th day retention time, with a total cumulative biogas yield of 10.724cm3. With pre-treatment methods, water hyacinth treated with alkali in mixture with cow dung recorded highest cumulative gas production of 15.892 and 16.120 cm3 in the rainy and dry seasons respectively. The study concludes that mixtures of water hyacinth and cow dung are potential raw materials for alternative renewable energy production.

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