Research Articles in Mechanical Engineering
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Item Energy from biomass and plastics recycling: a review(Taylor and Francis, 2021-01-01) Samuel Oluwafikayo Adegoke; Adekunle Akanni Adeleke; Peter Pelumi Ikubanni; Chiebuka Timothy Nnodim; Ayokunle Olubusayo Balogun; Olugbenga Adebanjo Falode; Seun Olawumi AdetonaThe sustainability of fossil fuel is not guaranteed as it is gradually depleting. Alternative ways to this challenge are to generate biofuel from biomass and plastic solid wastes. Many studies have been done on the actualization of these alternatives. Hence, this study accumulates research from multidiscipline for the purpose of advancing biofuel production for sustainable energy. The necessary information needed by scientists having interest in biofuel production, including government policy, biomass selection, different conversion techniques and different ASTM standards for biodiesel properties are entrenched in this study. For vast biofuel production, there is a need for a collaborative work among fields from microbiologist, biochemist to engineering for the development of innovations, growth of cells, understanding of genetic engineering of algae strains and optimization of biofuel production. Also, a review on the recovery and recycling process of plastic solid waste was done. This is to ensure that the use of plastic solid waste to support energy sustenance will lead to no energy is wasted. Various ASTM standards for investigating the different properties of bio-oil were reviewed. The numerous plastic wastes that have not been utilized in the production of biofuel can be investigated to reduce the environmental pollution.Item Design and Fabrication of an Ablative Pyrolyzer for Production of Bio- lubricants and chemicals in Oil Well Drilling Application(IOP Publishing, 2021-03-24) Samuel Oluwafikayo Adegoke; Adekunle Akanni Adeleke; Peter Pelumi Ikubanni; A. O. Falode; A. J. Alawode; O.O. Agboola; Adeolu Adesoji AdediranIn this study, an ablative pyrolyser having 27.1 cm inner diameter, 41.2 cm outer diameter, the full chamber height of 74.7 cm and chamber volume of 40 litres was designed and fabricated. 150KW heater was wounded around the reactor chamber made of stainless steel to provide a higher temperature of up to 1400 The -40 to 105 capacity heat resistance wires were used to conduct the heater into the electrical panel which has several components such as the contactor, temperature controller, thermocouple wire and so on to give a particular desired working temperature. This pyrolyser applies technology of thermal energy in the heated walls of the pyrolyser being transferred to the biomass by conduction in the absence of oxygen for onward disintegration into gas, bio-oil, and biochar. After fabrication, 12 kg each of Tectona grandis and Rhopalosiphum maidis was fed into the reactor and pyrolyzed at 500, the bio-oil product for both samples were mixed together and distilled at 120 and the bio-oil distillate was characterized for density, kinematic viscosity, pH, acid value and free fatty acid content. The bio-oil distillate shows a density of 0.960 g/cc, pH of 7.2, kinematic viscosity of 84 cst and acid value of 42.20 compared to the bio oil crude which showed higher values. This pyrolyser has been found on average to melt 12 kg each of Tectona grandis and Rhopalosiphum maidis to 5353 and 3493 g crude bio-oil respectively for a period of at least 3 h. The mass of bio-char for tectona grandis and Rhopalosiphum maidis were 3325 and 2614 g respectively while the reactor requires 8 h to cool before discharging the bio-char from the reactor. This research work can provide a basic designing formula for effective and workable ablative pyrolyzer fabrication for Nigerian wastes having high energy content.Item Physico-chemical characterization, thermal decomposition and kinetic modeling of Digitaria sanguinalis under nitrogen and air environments(Elsevier, 2021-06-12) Ayokunle O. Balogun; Adekunle Akanni Adeleke ; Samuel Oluwafikayo Adegoke; Armando G. McDonald; Peter Pelumi Ikubanni; Abdulbaset M. AlayatThe study undertook the thermal degradation of a tropical grass species, Digitaria sanguinalis, in nitrogen (pyrolysis) and air (combustion) atmospheres through thermogravimetric analysis as well as comparative kinetic investigation. The differential (Friedman) and integral (Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Straink) isoconversional methods in conjunction with the Coats-Redfern method were utilized. This was to obtain the kinetic parameters and also predict the probable reaction mechanisms involved in the decomposition process. Before the thermal and kinetic investigations, the grass was analyzed for its physical, chemical, and structural properties utilizing diverse wet-chemistry and spectroscopic techniques. This research attempt is part of a larger project designed to investigate a couple of local grass species, which are invasive by nature, as potential energy crops for pyrolytic and combustion applications. The grass had a fixed carbon content of 17.85% and a calorific value of 13.7 MJ kg−1. The fatty acids detected were from C12 (lauric acid) to C24 (lignoceric acid), with the three most abundant being palmitic (94 mg/g extract), linoleic (27 mg/g extract), and oleic (19 mg/g extract) acids. The average residual weight in air (25.3%) was relatively less than in nitrogen (38.7%), affirming the higher rate of reaction in an oxidative process (combustion). The activation energy profiles in both atmospheres were markedly different, as shown by the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa technique for a conversion ratio of 0.1–0.2 (nitrogen, 149 kJ/mol; air, 177 kJ/mol) and 0.65–0.8 (nitrogen, 366 kJ/mol; air, 170 kJ/mol). Of all the models tested, the model-fitting technique indicates that the chemical reaction and diffusional models play predominant roles in the thermal decomposition of the grass under investigation. The thermal degradation of Digitaria sanguinalis proceeded mainly as complex multi-step reaction mechanisms. Aside from the potential suitability of the grass species for bioenergy applications and biofuels production, it also demonstrated huge capability for biochemical extraction. Future work will incorporate the kinetic data for the associated thermochemical processes development, and the design and optimization of reactors/combustors.