It is postulated that waste, if managed effectively, can transform from a liability to a resource. Among various waste management techniques, such as incineration, composting, recycling, and re-use, depolymerization of municipal plastic waste demonstrated superior environmental performance by circumventing the release of harmful gases and facilitating wealth creation. A batch reactor, designed to operate at an internal pressure of 51.34 bar, a maximum temperature of 500 degrees C, and with a reactor thickness of 6 mm, was fabricated using locally available materials. Safeguards were incorporated by ring reinforcing the reactor to prevent burst incidents due to thermal expansion. Further, a sensor was integrated to stabilize the temperature, thereby enabling optimal function at a preset temperature. A shell-in-tube heat exchanger and a sub-cooler, with Log Mean Temperature Differences (LMTDs) of 280.15 degrees C and 174.53 degrees C respectively, were designed and constructed. The system's performance was evaluated by introducing approximately 2 kg of raw, washed, sun-dried, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) samples, and combusted in the energy conversion system for three and a half hours under a nitrogen atmosphere. For each run, 10 g of either calcium oxide (CaO) or activated carbon (AC) catalysts were added to the feedstock. Measurements of the temperature, pressure, and flow rate of the pyrolyzed product from the reactor were taken and recorded. The retention times for the depolymerization of catalyzed PET with activated carbon and calcium oxide were observed to be 38 and 45 minutes, respectively. The maximum flow rates of the vaporized product from the reactor were measured at 0.1985L/min and 0.1768L/min, at temperatures of 171 degrees C and 182 degrees C, and pressures of 37.6 kPa and 36.8kPa, respectively. Fuel conversion efficiencies of 49.2%, 66.6%, and 80.0% were recorded for uncatalyzed PET, CaO catalyzed PET, and activated carbon catalyzed PET, respectively, corroborating previous research but at temperatures below 400 degrees C.

The widespread adoption of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can be traced to its flexibility and wide adaptability to various operating conditions and applications, comparably low cost of construction and maintenance and environmental friendliness as they can be easily configured for electric power. The use of electric power also favours its low noise applications such as surveillance. A major issue associated with surveillance, as addressed in this study is the compromise between Range and Endurance operation modes. The Range mode relates to being able to cover longer distances while the Endurance mode relates to spending longer times in the atmosphere for a fixed charge. Trying to balance the interplay of these parameters gave rise to a multi-objective optimization where the objectives are somewhat conflicting. This resulted in a set of Pareto solutions which are a set of design parameters (primarily angle of attack) that satisfy the joint requirements of the performance parameters of Range and Endurance. This study first considered a baseline aerodynamic design using traditional design methods. Design of Experiment techniques were then used to select the most favourable design points. This model was then used to build an input framework for Genetic Optimization algorithm deployed in the Global Optimization Toolbox of MATLAB. The result of this research shows that most of the region associated with medium angle of attack (AOA) setting (7 degrees) jointly satisfies good Range and Endurance performances with an average lift-to-drag ratio of 20 in the flight configuration considered. The implication of this result is that low velocity drag encountered in surveillance that requires a high AOA is largely reduced with the medium setting, albeit stabilized with other structural and aerodynamic settings, namely an aspect ratio of 13 and a taper ratio of 0.6.

Wood biomass is a potential alternatives source of energy for electricity generation if well Harnessed. This is due to its prospect in the production of fuel having high calorific value that can be used to drive a steam turbine in the production of electricity. This study shows the Performance and evaluation of the heating values of wood biomass for use in steam thermal power plant. Biomass (wood wastes) from six tropical species, Iroko (Melicia Exclsa),Omo(Cordial Platythyrsa), Obeche (Tripochiton Scleroxylon), Afara (Terminal Superb), Ayin (Anogeissuseleio Carpus), Abura (Mirangya Cilita) collected from twelve(12) sawmills in Akure metropolis Ondo state in south west Nigeria, were used as a feedstock. The proximate and ultimate analyses were performed to access the energy characteristics of the collected wood samples according to the procedure of American Society Standard Test Material (ASTM) for ultimate and proximate analysis ASTM E870-82. A computer program (MATLAB) was developed to determine the calorific value, volume of air, consumption of water and steam require in powering a 1.0 MW-h steam thermal power plant (Model). The results from laboratory experiments and energy calculations from the model revealed that the six wood species used in this study contain relatively low moisture content and ash content, high proportion of volatile matter and high calorific value, low level of sulphur as well as a sufficient high value of thermal energy potential. The boiler efficiency, mass of air, volume of air, steam consumption of the six samples of wood at different air fuel ratio were determined. Furthermore the model required 7.985 kg/h of wood waste, 13.206 kg/h mass of water, 1.86 factor of evaporation and 7.1 kg/h of steam consumption. The volume and mass of air require is 58.297 m3/h and 318.813 kg/h respectively.

The paper characterized and transesterified castor seed oil. The resulting product was tested as feedstock for biodiesel production. It was carried out at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria, over a period of eight months. The oil was extracted in a soxhlet extractor with n-hexane as the solvent. The oil obtained was filtered and then characterized. Transesterification was carried out using a laboratory scale biodiesel processor. The fuel and physico-chemical properties of the oil and its biodiesel were determined following ASTM, EN and AOCS methods. The results revealed that all the properties of the biodiesel are within the ASTM limits for biodiesel except the kinematic viscosity. The oil contains 89% ricinoleic acid and has high solubility in methanol due to the hydroxyl group and requires minimum amount of catalyst to give maximum biodiesel yield. The heating value obtained for the oil and its biodiesel were 32 MJ/kg and 38 MJ/kg. The castor seed oil investigated has oil content of 34%, and the properties characterized are all within the limits for biodiesel. Castor oil has excellent solubility in methanol and hence theoretically an ideal feedstock for biodiesel production.

The correlation and prediction of optimum process parameters in biodiesel production is useful in obtaining high rate of conversion of vegetable oil to biodiesel as well as in process control. In this study, the correlation of the operating parameters such as reaction time, reaction temperature, stir speed, catalyst concentration and methanol-oil ratio at a pressure of 400 kPa for the production and prediction of the optimum biodiesel yield during biodiesel production was carried out using the Central Composite Design (CCD) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). By adjusting networks and initializing weights, the neural network was iteratively trained with the aid of the Levenberg Marquardt algorithm in MATLAB R2018b environment using experimental results from the central composite design. From the analysis of results obtained, the correlation coefficients, adjusted and predicted R as well as R squared were close to1. In addition, predicted values from the central composite design and neural network show good correlation results when compared to the experimental data. The validation of the neural network was done with arbitrary values and random selection of process parameters. The observed output in terms of percentage yield of biodiesel from the trained network fell within the range of experimental results, thus, indicating that the network is an efficient tool for correlating and predicting process parameters for biodiesel production.

The need for quality control of biodiesel is important to ensure the development of a clean, trouble free and safe alternative fuel technology to fossil diesel. In this work, the gas chromatography analysis of the biodiesel produced from used frying oil was carried out using PerkinElmer Clarus 500 Gas Chromatograph (GC), fitted with a capillary split injector and Fourier Infrared Detector (FID). Also, the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy was used to determine and monitor the concentration of biodiesel produced from used and unused palm olein oil. The Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis was carried out using the FTIR Spectroscopy (FTIR 1-S Shimadzu, Japan, Model 4100) and Microlab software as well as Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) sample interface system. 0.5 ml of samples of the unused palm olein oil and biodiesel were taken in at the interface at a resolution of 4 cm -1 within the region of 4000 cm -1 to 400 cm -1 . The GC-MS analysis did not indicate any soap-like material, indicating that the catalyst was able to handle transesterification reaction without transition to saponification reaction. The results of the interaction between the components of the fuel samples and the radiation as a function of wavelength indicates the functional groups and the type of vibration in the fuel samples. The results obtained indicate the presence of an intense band of C=O stretching of methyl ester and O-CH 3 group. It also show concentration of the five main fatty acids that are present in most biodiesel; palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids indicating the successful transesterification of palm olein oil to biodiesel.

Due to increased global warming and pollution, the use of biodiesel as alternative to biodiesel has become a widespread. The use of Mustard (Brassica juncea L.) oil as a possible feedstock for biodiesel production was evaluated. The biodiesel was produced through transesterification with sodium hydroxide and gave a biodiesel yield of 94 wt.%. The fatty acid profile obtained by chromatography analyzer was mainly erucic acid 45.7 wt.%, linoleic acid 14.2 wt.% and linolenic acid 13.0 wt.% acids. The distillation characteristics show higher distillation temperature than diesel and the mineral elements in the oil and biodiesel are within the ASTM limits for biodiesel. The oil and biodiesel were characterized and they gave properties that are similar to those of fossil diesel and within the ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 limits for biodiesel, which led to the conclusion that mustard seeds can be a viable source of feedstock for biodiesel production. The glycerin analysis shows the completeness of the transesterification process.

In this study the engine performance evaluation of synthesized and characterized rubber seed oil biodiesel was carried out at varying engine speeds and different biodiesel blend levels using a four-cylinder, four-stroke Gardner diesel engine rated at 55.93 KW and 435Nm. The engine was operated on pure rubber seed oil biodiesel, biodiesel blends B10, B20, B30 and B40 with baseline diesel fuel as control. Experimental results showed that the brake torque decreased with increasing engine speed and biodiesel blend percentage while the power produced from the biodiesel blends was less than that produced from the diesel fuel. The power produced decreased as the biodiesel blend concentration increases. The maximum power for the biodiesel blended fuels are 55.14kW, 54 31kW, 54.48kW, 53.15kW, 51.17kW and 48.52kW corresponding to B0, B10, B20, B30, B40 and B100 respectively. The break mean effective pressure increased slightly with increasing engine speed and then sharply decreases with increasing engine speed and biodiesel blend concentration. The brake specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency increased with increasing engine speed and increasing biodiesel blend concentration. The results of this investigation can be used for partial replacement of diesel fuel using low concentration of biodiesel (maximum 30%) produced from rubber seed oil thereby reducing the dependence on petroleum- based diesel fuel.

Aims: To examine the viability of Soybean Oil as a feedstock for Biodiesel production by carrying out its characterization and examining its thermodynamic properties to see if they are within ASTM limits. Study Design: Place and Duration of Study-The production was conducted in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University while the characterization of the Biodiesel was conducted at the Postgraduate Research Laboratory. Samples of Glycine ma (L.) merril were obtained from a local market in the Akure town of Ondo State, Nigeria in October of 2014. Methodology: Oil Extraction-The oil was extracted using soxhlet extractor, but before extraction the soybeans were crushed in a blender to increase the area exposed to the petroleum ether solvent. The extraction flask was dried in an oven at 105°C and the weight was measured after cooling. 2.5 g of soybean was poured into the flask and leached for 5 hours after which extraction flask was removed from the mantle heater after all the petroleum ether was removed with rotary evaporator and the oil was oven dried at 105°C for one hour to remove any water present. The flask was finally cooled to room temperature in a desiccators and the weight of the flask and dried oil was again measured. Transesterification and Glycerine Analysis Process: 50 mg of the extracted oil was esterified 5 times at 95°C with 3.5 ml of the 0.5 M KOH of dried methanol. The mixture was neutralized using 0.7M HCL. 3 ml of 14% boron triflouride in methanol was added and the mixture was heated for 5 minutes at 90°C to achieve completed methylation process. The fatty acid methyl esters were thrice extracted from the mixture with redistilled methanol. The content was concentrated to 1mL for gas chromatography analysis and 1 µL was injected into the port of the Gas Chromatograph analyzer. Results: most of the pertinent parameters for the determination of validity were found to be within ASTM limits, namely: Flash Point (135°c / 130°c min); Kinematic Viscosity (4.80 / between 1.9 - 6); Cetane number (55 / 47 min); Copper Strip Corrosion (1 / 3 max); %Carbon Residue (0.12 / 0.050); %Sulphated Ash (0.044 / 0.020). Conclusion: Given the obviously good numbers associated with the study relative to ASTM standards, Soybean is a viable source of Biodiesel. However, further study could explore the use of Soybean chaff and other waste matter obtainable from it rather than the entire crop.

The effect of five process parameters namely: reaction time, reaction temperature, stir speed, catalyst concentration and methanol-oil ratio on the transesterification process of waste frying oil to biodiesel were investigated. Optimization of the five process parameters and their quadratic cross effect was carried out using a four level-five factor central composite experimental design model and response surface methodology with each factor varied over four levels. Taking the biodiesel yield as the response of the designed experiment, the data obtained were statistically analysed to get a suitable model for optimization of biodiesel yield as a function of the five independent process parameters. The optimization produced 30 feasible solutions whose desirability equals to 1 and the selected (most desirable) condition was found to be: reaction time (3 hrs), reaction temperature (58°C), stir speed (305.5 rpm), catalyst concentration (1.4 wt%) and methanol to oil ratio (6:1), while the optimum yield of biodiesel for this condition was found to be 91.6%. The developed model was tested and validated for adequacy by substituting random experimental values as input parameters and the output parameters from the developed model were close to the experimental values. The biodiesel properties were characterized and the results obtained were found to satisfy the standard for both the ASTM D 6751 and EN 14214.

Literature search shows that research on feed stocks for the production of biodiesel in Africa have not been well documented. To close this gap, a research project was initiated to measure the fuel and physicochemical properties of common vegetable oils in Nigeria. The works on cashew nut oil has been reported and that of rubber seed oil is being reported in this paper. Rubber tree seed oil has several industrial applications but not all the fuel and physicochemical properties are available in literature, hence the aim of this study is to provide the properties of not only the oil but also the biodiesel, 20% and 10% blends with diesel. For the purpose of characterization, the oil was extracted by soxhlet extraction and the free fatty acids was measured and found to be 23.68 % which can react with the sodium hydroxide catalyst to form soaps that can inhibit the separation of the esters and glycerin. To prevent this, acid catalyst was first used to neutralize and reduce the high level of free fatty acids in the oil to less than 2% before using sodium hydroxide for the transesterification process. The resulting biodiesel was washed, dried and blended 20% and 10% with diesel. The fatty acid profiles were determined by chromatography analyzer and the oil was found to be unsaturated. The characterization of the oil, its biodiesel, and the blends were done according to ASTM and EU methods and the results obtained show that the properties of the biodiesel and blends are similar to those of diesel which shows conclusively that it can be used as alternative fuel for diesel engines. Original Research Article Bello and Otu; BJAST, 6(3):261-275, 2015; Article no.BJAST.2015.085 262

Received: 14 March, 2015 Accepted: 19 May, 2015 Published: 20 July, 2015

Beninseed oil was extracted using soxhlet extraction method and transesterified to biodiesel using sodium methylate. The oil and its biodiesel were characterized according to American Society for Test and Materials (ASTM) protocols; the fatty acid profile was determined by gas chromatography analysis method, the glycerine content was measured to estimate the completeness of the reaction while the mineral contents were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results obtained shows that the properties are within the ASTM limits and similar to those of diesel fuel which led to the conclusion that is can be used as alternative fuel for diesel engines. Of particular interest is the cetane index of 50, which is higher than that of diesel which will allow it to be used neat in diesel engine except that the viscosity of 32 mm2/s is too high for direct use in diesel engine. The oil is 83.948% unsaturated and consists mainly of 35.075% oleic acid and 45.78% linoleic acids.

This work considers the use of coconut oil for the production of alternative renewable and environmental friendly biodiesel fuel as an alternative to conventional diesel fuel. Test quantities of coconut oil biodiesel were produced through transesterification reaction. To overcome the high kinematic viscosity of the neat oil, a high molar ratio of 4:1 was used to produce the methyl ester (biodiesel). The biodiesel was characterized using the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D6751-02 limits for biodiesel. The results of the characterization obtained were within the ASTM D6751-02 limits for biodiesel and similar to those of diesel fuel, thus confirming that it can be used as alternative fuel for diesel engines. Chromatography analysis of the coconut oil methyl ester shows that it has a total saturation and unsaturation of 94.8% and 5.2% respectively. The 94.8% level of saturation indicates oxidation stability of the coconut methyl ester while 5.2% of unsaturation indicates the level of reactivity to oxidation which makes it less prone to bacterial growth.

Shea butter  was pretreated with sulphuric  acid to convert the free fatty acids to esters and then transesterified to biodiesel using methanol and sodium hydroxide as catalyst. The oil, biodiesel, 10% and 20% blends with diesel were characterized according to ASTM and EN protocols for biodiesel. The fatty acid profile of the oil and biodiesel were analyzed using HP 6890 Gas Chromatography analyzer fitted with a flame ionization detector. From the results obtained, the properties of the biodiesel are by and large within the ASTM limits for biodiesel and the saturation to unsaturation ratio is 0.87 which gives a good balance of properties. The mineral contents are also within the ASTM limits for biodiesel. From the results obtained, it was concluded that the biodiesel can be used as alternative fuel for diesel engines. Â