Energy Losses through Unharnessed Biomass in South-Eastern Region of Nigeria

The problem of over-dependence on the non-renewable and fastdepleting fossil fuels is one the world of science needs not wink at any longer. In Nigeria, the level of dependence on these fossil fuels has created a great disparity in the sourcing, harnessing, exploration and exploitation of these natural endowments vis-à-vis other energy sources. The truth of the matter is that virtually all other sources of energy are neglected, untapped and unutilized/underutilized. This research work was necessitated by the burden to create awareness on the quantity of energy lost as occasioned by this insensitive attitude of the society to these other forms of energy and the possible implications to the environment and economy. It is the view of these writers that diversification of our energy consumption is a potent panacea to the usual power shortages and high cost of energy in Nigeria. The research findings show that about 20.52% of domestic energy requirements of South-eastern region of Nigeria could be met through proper harnessing of biomass (biodegradable materials) for the production of biogas.African Research Review Vol. 2 (3) 2008: pp. 21-3

Design of Breadfruit Shelling Machine

Breadfruit (Treculia Africana) or simply breadnut is very important both as food and as a potential source of oil. The economic importance of this tropical seed on domestic and commercial basis has necessitated the design of a mechanized shelling method. This would reduce the tedium of the traditional manual shelling methods which though are quite efficient, are rather time-consuming. In the engineering design of this machine, the action zone consisted essentially of two rollers; one adjustable and the other rotating. A separating unit that cleans the seed while pneumatically separating it from the shell was incorporated. The design of this separating unit was such that practically 80% cleaning was achieved at an averageair flow rate of 740m3/hr. Overall, the efficiency of the machine was about 78%. African Research Review Vol. 2 (4) 2008: pp. 1-1