KNUST RESEARCHES INTO ALTERNATIVE FUELS

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The Chemical Engineering Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology is researching into alternative and environmentally sustainable and highly affordable fuel. 
Both Lecturers and students are at advanced stages of research into turning waste products from the slaughter house of the Kumasi Abattoir into biogas and also developing a better alternative fuel for fossil diesel so as to protect the environment. These came to light during a visit to the research laboratories by GBC24.

About KNUST and Its Mmandate
The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST, is Ghana’s premier tertiary institution with a core mandate for teaching and researching into science, engineering and technology towards solving complex problems of society. 
One such problems is what has engulfed the Kumasi Abattoir, the biggest public meat processing and marketing outlet in Ghana. 

About the Abattoir
The company slaughters cattle, small ruminants and pigs and either processed same for sale to the public or prepares the meat for private individuals or groups on demand due to the hygienic nature of their operations. 
As a result of the huge volumes of animals slaughtered at the facility, it generates average of seven tons of feacal matter in addition to three tons of blood drained from carcasses of slaughtered animals from the slaughter house every day.
 This, according to an Engineer with the Abattoir,  Joshua Amonokpe, is draining the finances of the company as the management has contracted waste management companies to help dispose of the waste products on daily basis.
   This is what has caused researchers of the Chemical Engineering Department of the
KNUST to find a way of turning these bi-products into very useful and income
generating substances such as biogas. 
Dr. Lawrence Darkwa is leading a four member research team which includes students,
to convert the feacal matter and waste blood into biogas at the Abattoir to generate
energy for the company to become energy self-reliant. "We have reached an advanced
stage. There is a very positive outlook", Dr. Darkwa assured.

Other lecturers and postgraduate students are also working on laboratory investigations
to develop better alternatives for fossil fuel which is  not friendly to the natural
environment.
 In one of the research works, a postgraduate student, Eric Oduro Konadu, is using
palm kennel oil to develop bio-diesel as the economically and environmentally
sustainable alternative to fossil diesel. According to Mr.  Konadu, "this work is to
 began in February this of last year, and we aim at  cutting down on environmental
pollution from vehicles."

There is another research being conducted by a lecturer using cassava to develop bio
ethanol for both industry and automobile use. This research work will ultimately feed
into the government’s One District-One Factory programme for the commercial
production of the bio-ethanol.


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