Abstract: This paper presents the design and simulation of an Automatic Room Heater Control system. This system allows the user to set a desired temperature which is then compared to the room temperature measured by a temperature sensor.With the help of a micro controller, the system responds by turning ON any of the two (2) loads (Fan or a heater) automatically depending on the temperature difference. The Fan is triggered ON when the room temperature is higher than the set temperature and t...
Abstract: This study investigates the potentially of biologically treating opaque beer wastewater using the bio augmentation technology at the same time harnessing biogas and bio solids as value added products. Wastewater sample were collected in 5L containers and the sludge was separated from the liquid. The liquid and sludge were bio augmented with Acti-zyme with loadings of 5 g/L, 10 g/L and 15 g/L and were left to settle over a period of 30 days under anaerobic conditions. The wastewater...
Abstract: In this study, the potential to fully exploit sewage sludge as a raw material for bio ethanol a source of bio fuel is investigated. Sewage sludge hydrolysate was first made by introducing Bacillus flexus in order for saccharification to take place before fermenting to bio ethanol using yeast. The hydrolysate was then prepared for fermentation by introducing 10 g/L of peptone, 2 g/L of KH2PO4 and 1 g/L of MgSO4. Afterwards, fermentation was allowed to take place at varying pH (4.0e7...
Abstract: In this article, we investigate the use of an environmental waste (coal fly ash) in the manufacture of an ammonium nitrate corrosion resistant brick. Ammonium nitrate (AN) fertilizer spillages and vapors continuously corrode the civil structures in a fertilizer manufacturing plant situated in Zimbabwe. This situation is a safety hazard to more than a hundred plant personnel and hence a priority area for research. Our experimental results show that addition of sodium silicate improv...
Abstract: In this work, the property of physically deposited thin WC films with respect to deposition parameters and conditions reported by previous researchers is being reviewed. The study provides deeper insight to the effect of deposition parameters as well as preliminary selection of parameters for optimization of the WC film preparation for improved tribological properties for industrial applications. Not much studies of WC thin films deposited though PVD methods have been reviewed henc...
Abstract: In this paper, previous studies in powered exoskeleton and their contributions in the field of robotics technology are presented, together with their corresponding control system. Specific problems and issues that were encountered and the solutions made to resolve the problems will be discussed. Gait cycle analysis and human body dynamic model will also be covered in the study to understand the biomechanics and the dynamics behind human walking.
Abstract: A green prospective based on the reuse of waste materials such as beef tallow and waste cooking vegetable oils to manufacture soap is presented. Beef tallow and waste cooking oils that is discarded as waste from households and restaurants after frying is reviewed for the production of toilet (bath) soap. The discarded oil is purified with a brine solution and bleached with Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2.) Purified waste cooking oils and beef tallow is mixed with coconut oil commonly used ...
Abstract: The need to reduce carbon emissions has encouraged more research into use of biomass energy in place of coal. Biomass is carbon neutral; its use can therefore lower net emissions. Biomass can be upgraded to a fuel similar to coal by torrefaction. Different biomass have been torrefied but there is limited research in possible use of lignocellulose biomass from animal waste. This study aims to compare extent of energy densification of torrefied cow dung, corn cob and pine wood. They ...
Abstract: Pyrolysis is one of the prospective processes that can be utilized to obtain high value chemicals and energy from coal and biomass. Coal-biomass co-pyrolysis presents a green, low-risk, cheap, sustainable, renewable energy source with low carbon emissions. Co-pyrolysis offers the highest yield of liquid fuels and gas compared to the individual feedstocks. It has been illustrated that the production yields experimentally usually exceed the calculated and this can be explained by the...
Abstract: The batch grinding equation and the Attainable region technique tools were used in evaluating data obtained from the breakage of quartz ore in a laboratory batch ball mill. Using the same milling conditions and grinding equipment, test results were evaluated through the breakage distributions of different size fractions. Results prove that mixing different grinding media increases volume of grinding zones and that translates to an improvement in grinding kinetics and amount of requ...
Abstract: This study investigated the application of the attainable region optimization technique to establish the optimum hybrid hydrometallurgical and pyro-metallurgical process conditions required to treat the electric arc furnace dust. The analysis of the results obtained showed that a combination of an agitation speed of 800 rpm, sodium hydroxide concentration of 8.0 mol/L and a leaching temperature of 80 °C were the optimum conditions for the hydrometallurgical process, while a ...
Abstract: In waste containment, it has become imperative that regimes of soil, surface and groundwater reserves are duly protected from contamination from leachate generation and migration in landfills. However, in developing countries such as South Africa, the construction of engineered facilities may be costly and the prevention of contaminants may become significantly reliant on the geology of the waste disposal site. More so, membranes forming part of geocomposite systems for waste conta...
Abstract: There are a number of factors that affect the output of the Fischer Tropsch process, change in the process parameters like catalyst used, residence time, temperature, pressure, particle size, bed height, flowrate and even the type of reactor used. A small manipulation of the parameters is enough to change completely the conversion, selectivity; therefore, these parameters have to be monitored. This paper presents the effect of the operation parameters on the Fischer Tropsch synthes...
Abstract: The interstitial filling, grinding media and feed particle size are vital parameters to be considered during ball mill operation. Experiments were conducted to ascertain whether there are possible interactions between the three variables and the fineness of the required product. The data obtained was analysed using the Attainable Region (AR) optimization method which is a model-free and equipment-independent tool. Experimental results indicate that there is a need to adjust or corr...
Abstract: Currently the majority of the world’s steel is produced through either one of the two main routes; the integrated Blast Furnace – Basic Oxygen Furnace (BF – BOF) route or the Direct Reduced Iron - Electric Arc Furnace (DRI - EAF) route. In the former, the blast furnace uses iron ore, scrap metal, coke and pulverized coal as raw materials to produce hot metal for conversion in the BOF. Although it is still the prevalent process, blast furnace hot metal production has declined ...