A case for the internal combustion engine powered vehicle

The damaging effect of climate change has made mankind to continuously pursue means of reversing global warming caused by greenhouse gases. CO2 gas according to available data for the year 2010 represents a whopping 76% of the emitted global greenhouse gases hence, making it a focal point in the reduction of greenhouse gases. Many nations are looking at the halt of the internal combustion engine powered vehicles and are making favourable policies for the adoption of electric vehicles to reduce the emission of greenhouse gas. This study reviews the contribution of the internal combustion engine powered vehicle to the global CO2 gas emission, comparison of its CO2 emission rate to that of the electric vehicle based on their life cycle assessment, and the health challenges that the disposal of the electric vehicle batteries can pose to human. The CO2 emission rate of electric vehicles based on life cycle assessment is comparable to that of internal combustion engine vehicles power on gasoline and diesel, and based on emission per KWh of electricity generation in the UK, Germany, India, and China, the diesel powered internal combustion engine was observed to be better than that of the average electric vehicle based on a kilometer of road travel, asides the potential health risk which the subsequent disposal of batteries can cause. A great boost in the reduction of CO2 emission can be made with the development of the commercial production and adoption of synthetic fuel for use with the conventional internal combustion engine vehicles

The Technological Implications of Using MEMS‐Based Generators as a Replacement to Batteries in Electronic Devices—A Short Review

Batteries had been widely used as the power source for remote electronic devices, but the method of generating energy from the environment had been with a lot of prospects. To ensure constant power supply and avoid complexity of changing batteries for wireless electronics and sensors, especially in the case of usages in remote areas, self‐energy generating devices have become a necessity. The authors briefly review alternative to batteries; options such as electrostatic generation, dielectric elastomers and piezoelectric materials which are considered very promising for their capacity to change stains in the material into electrical vitality and be incorporated into electronic gadgets. The paradigm shift in the technological world towards producing electronic devices with focus on reduction in size, cost and energy consumption have constantly considered the generator based on Micro‐electro‐mechanical systems (MEMS). This article highlights the impacts and challenges of using MEMs based generators for providing power sources in small wireless sensor nodes, in place of batteries

Thermal Modelling for A Pilot Scale Pyrolytic Furnace for Production of Carbon Black

Carbon black (CB) is a very important material useful for various modern applications. There are a lot of attention currently on the extraction of a form of CB obtainable from waste tyres which is usually referred to as pyrolytic Carbon black (CBp). The authors investigated the pyrolysis process of a pyrolytic furnace built for the production of CBp using the thermal numerical principles to standardise the application. SolidWorks@ Flow Simulation software was used to replicate the process by supplying the initial conditions, the boundary conditions and the operating conditions guided by the numerical analysis. The simulated behaviour of the furnace was validated by the real-life experiments performed to produce CBp from the waste tyre

A Risk Analysis Model for Fire Disasters in Commercial Complexes in Nigeria

The frequent occurrence of fire accidents in commercial complexes has become a serious problem in Nigeria. The development of a quantitative tool for evaluating the proneness of a commercial complex to so called „market fires‟ is the focus of this study. A rigorous review of the literature was carried to identify and characterize some existing risk analysis models applicable to the problem. Some past fire disasters were analyzed. Using the insight gained from the above, a mathematical model incorporating the modularization features of the Optimum Risk Analysis (ORA) model was developed. Graphical User Interface (GUI) based computer software of the model was developed and used to analyze some existing complexes in Lagos and Ibadan cities of Nigeria and results compared with past record of fire accidents. The application of the model and the associated software indicates its suitability in predicting fire accidents. Insurance companies and other stakeholders will find it useful

Production of Biodiesel From Palm Olein With The Aid Of Methanol And Potassium Hydroxide Catalyst

The rapid growth of industrialisation has resulted in an ever-increasing demand for energy, with fossil fuels being an essential source of fuel for vehicles in the transport sector of countries. The world fossil fuel reserve is fast depleting, and also, it dissipates unhealthy emissions, this, has led to researches to seek sustainable alternatives in biofuels production. The authors experimented with the production of biodiesel from refined, bleached and deodorized palm olein (RBD) extracted from unrefined palm oil (UPO). Despite being considered as a feasible biodiesel feedstock, scanty reports had been found on the processing of biodiesel from palm olein compared to other oils from the palm tree. The transesterification of RBD palm olein with methanol and potassium hydroxide (KOH) as catalyst yielded biodiesel with an average yield greater than 50% in this experimental work. The derived biodiesel has a density of 0.884 g/ml and a flashpoint of 208°C, which is equivalent to ASTM D975 for biodiesel fuels. This result has proven this technique viable and will serve as a reference for continuous research on the biofuel production proces

Numerical Modelling of Retrofitted Reinforced Concrete Building Frames

This study presents an overview and investigates the adequacy of the retrofit concept used in the reinforced concrete building frame of a distressed office building complex. The retrofit assessed consists of steel members welded together to form a steel frame with a reinforced concrete beam as base, acting as support for two floor slabs and roof truss of the building. Reinforced concrete building frame with and without retrofit steel frames were analysed using STAAD Pro structural analysis software and the results were compared with recommended standards from relevant codes of practice. Criteria considered include moments, shear forces and displacements/deflections. Results obtained revealed that the retrofit concept meets up with all the recommended standards. The efficiency of the retrofit used was determined in order to evaluate the extent by which the retrofit affects deflection of the beams. For all critical sections, the efficiency of the adopted retrofit concept varied significantly between 49.1-63.2%, 48.3-85.34% and 45.3-90.9%, respectively when deflection serviceability limit state, bending moment and shear force was considered respectively

Multilayer perceptron artificial neural network for the prediction of heating value of municipal solid waste

Abstract: Energy from municipal solid waste is steadily being integrated into the global energy feedstock, given the huge amount of waste being generated from various sources. This study develops a Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network for the prediction of High Heating Value of municipal solid waste as a function of moisture content, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, and ash. A total of 123 experimental data were extracted from reliable database for training, testing, and validation of the model. This model was trained, validated and tested with 70%, 20%, and 10% of the municipal solid waste biomass datasets respectively. The predicted High Heating Value was compared with the experimental data for two different training functions: Levenberg Marquardt backpropagation and Resilience backpropagation, and with some correlation from the literature. The accuracy of the model was reported based on some known performance criteria. The values of Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), and Coefficient of Correlation (CC) were 3.587, 2.409, 21.680, 0.970 respectively for RP and 3.095, 0.328, 22.483, 0.986 for LM respectively. Regression analysis was also carried out to determine the level of correlation between the experimental and predicted High Heating Values (HHV). The authors concluded that these models can be a useful tool in the prediction of heating value of MSW in order to facilitate clean energy production from waste

Parameters for Design and Construction of a Pilot Scale Pyrolysis Gas-Furnace

The objective of this study is to analyse the design parameters for a pyrolysis furnace designed and built for experimental purposes using the principle of heat transfer. The furnace was made of a casing of low carbon steel sheets inside which the refractory bricks were moulded, forming the furnace cavity to prevent heat loss. The pyrolysis capsule was made of high carbon steel tube with flanges which can be opened for batch loading of the precursors and evacuation of products. The furnace was designed to be gas-fired due to high efficiency and cleaner nature of gas energy. The pyrolysis capsule is installed along the centre of the furnace cavity where combustion takes place. The heat energy accumulated around the capsule is being absorbed into the pyrolysis chamber where precursors are being loaded, the regulation of the temperature of the combustion chamber via the installed feedback mechanism to monitor and control the system. The capsule has a Nitrogen gas inlet for the inert environment needed for effective pyrolysis process and an outlet duct for pyrolysis oil collection and gas recovery. The experimental initial conditions were inputted in Solidworks Flow Simulation to determine the heat distribution at different regions of the furnace and thus made it easy to determine the furnace combustion chamber temperature at which the pyrolysis temperature will be attained inside the pyrolysis chambe

DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF A MODEL PICO SIZE PELTON WHEEL TURBINE

A hydropower generation is an ancient but evergreen energy source that utilises mechanical energy of water strolling down from an elevated head to drive an electric generator thus producing electricity. Small Hydropower (SMH) turbines are rotated by a relatively low-pressure head and usually generates low energy output usually referred to as mini, micro or Pico energy range. Pelton Turbines are generally found to be amongst the most suitable for a low flow power generation. This study focuses on the design of a model Pico size Pelton Wheel modified to use the velocity of water harvested from rooftops during rainfall for the purpose of supplementing energy supply. By the design, the rainwater from the building rooflines are collected and passed through the downspouts into an elevated tank and then the height of the bottom of the tank gives the required head (pressure) to spin the microturbine and then generates a Pico level energy. The Pico size hydropower system directly connected to a small, variable speed, an electric generator which is capable of supplying the power needed for some minimal but very essential functions like charging handsets, mini gadgets and low energy lighting purposes. Specific design calculations, as well as analysis of the model Pico size energy system, was performed to ascertain the feasibility of the design meeting some specified energy needs, thus reducing energy poverty