Design and construction of a hybrid gas and biogas dryer for fruits, vegetables, meat and fish

The problem of food loss due to lack of proper conservation and preservation scheme is pertinent. In an attempt to reduce such losses, the agronomic sector is constantly innovating with technological accessories to solve the related problem. The problem with such accessories lies in the fact that most of them do not consider present global developmental objectives coupled to the fact that they are expensive and have a high cost of maintenance regarding the amount and type of energy needed to run them. As such, local tools were used to design and construct a hybrid biogas/liquefied gas dryer for food products with a wide range of application spanning from fruits and vegetables to meat and fish. The advantage with this dryer lies in its energy sources which are readily more available and the ability of alternative fuel which is biogas can readily be produced even in remote / rural zones for domestic and industrial use. The use of a renewable alternative makes it not only cost effective but also tied to the millennium development goals. The addition of a solar powered fan and an Arduino control unit solves a major problem of temperature and humidity control. The prototype constructed has the following characteristics: A functional hybrid dryer of external dimensions 125 cm × 75 cm × 65 cm; useful volume: 420,000 cm3; number of trays : 10 trays of dimensions : 60 cm × 70 cm; drying surface : 46,200 cm2 ;Volume / surface ratio : 10. The products dried successfully include: White cabbage, Lemon Grass, Bitter leaf and Green Aramanth

Design and implementation of solar powered mini refrigerator using thermoelectric cooler module

Remote areas are known for lack of conventional electrical power supply. But it is a common phenomenon to find health centres in remote areas, where vaccination campaigns are done regularly. Due to small populations, vaccines opened cannot be completely used and some usually get bad. The objective of this project is to design and implement a portable and energy efficient refrigerator for preservation of vaccines in medical centres found in remote areas where electric power supply is absent. The novelty of this work is on the use of planks, which are local materials and cheap for the construction of the frame of the refrigerator. The experimental method is used, that helps to determine the functional operation of the system and the limit to which the system functions. The main component of the refrigerator is the thermoelectric cooler module tec1-12706.The system is tested under various conditions such as simultaneous use of PV module and storage battery as source of electrical energy. The absence of cooling fan on the hot side of tec1-12706.The results show that the temperature of the system reduces from 280 C to 50c within one hour of operation. And the temperature of the hot side of the tec1-12706 module increases drastically within 15 minutes of operation if there is an absence of fan on the hot side. With this the module is easily damaged. From the literature review, the COP is maximum0.6 but the present work raises the COP to 0.7.this is done by reducing the input energy. It is then recommended that the system should not be operated without a fan attached to the hot side of the tec1 module

Design and realization of an efficient pay as you go solar module equipped with online maintenance for the energy supply of a dwelling

According to 2020 World Bank report, just 64.7% of Cameroon’s population have access to electricity with only 80% of the supply concentrated in urban areas having persistent power outages throughout the country especially in the dry season. From these statistics, individuals are now hocking up to alternative renewable energy sources. In this work we propose a Pay As You Go (PAYG) solar module as solution. The objectives of this work are; improve energy access in off grid areas, design an electronic system that can monitor and control the system, ensure sustainability and affordability by an average Cameroonian. A 13 watts energy system is designed around an Arduino board associated with other modules. A XoJo desktop platform is used to monitor and control the solar module. The user can recharge the module by sending the SMS “RECHARGE PAYG” and the platform will respond by sending a guide to follow. If this is done, the platform automatically initiates the activation. If successful the owner will receive a Short Message Service (SMS) confirming the activation, otherwise an activation code is sent to manually activate the system using the keypad. Payments are done through mobile money operations. In case there is a fault on the system, based on the received information, the owner will be instructed on what to do for maintenance. Thereafter, they will be a feedback indicating the fault has been eliminated

Actes de la 6e conférence ANSOLE au Cameroun (ANSOLECAM 2019) : « Energies Renouvelables pour la Sécurité Energétique en Afrique »

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