Leadership (Abuja)
27 May 2008
Abuja — An engineer, Mr. Audu Guga, yesterday in Abuja launched a motorised briquette machine capable of turning agricultural and wood wastes into energy.
Guga made the presentation at the monthly seminar organised by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).
Guga, a principal scientific officer with the RMRDC, said the machine was targeted at addressing the problem of heaps of waste in the country.
"The machine will meet the energy needs of targeted population, mitigating the hazards of de-forestation, enhanced efficient utilisation of raw materials and improve on environmental cleanliness," he said.
Guga said the machine, which would cost about N350,000, was designed to convert wood and agricultural wastes into useful materials for the production of energy.
The principal scientific officer said the machine was built on a four piston cylinder platform and driven by two gear reducer electric motor.
Guga said a loaded test of the machine had shown that 12.75kg of mixed waste materials produced a 12.00kg of briquettes in 15 minutes.
"This gave a production rate of 48kg per hour and production efficiency of 94 per cent," he said. He said the briquettes produced by the machine performed better than those of the manually operated machine in terms of shatter index and heating characteristics.
Speaking at the presentation, RMRDC director general, Prof. Peter Onuwalu, said the invention was a major boost to the country's effort in tackling wastes.
Onuwalu said the conversion of the wastes being generated in the country into useful products to power the economy was long over due.
The director general restated the council's determination to support any research and development project aimed at adding value to the country's numerous raw materials resources.
The seminar was organised by RMRDC to provide the council engineers and scientists the opportunity to undertake research and development in areas that address national needs. (NAN)
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