Applications and Performance Evaluation of Renewable Energy Technology Development in Nigeria using PESTEL Evaluation

Global warming and the depletion of fossil fuels have led advanced countries to develop renewable energy technologies. Very far from this trend are developing countries like Nigeria. The research examined the impact of Renewable Energy Technology (RET) development, taking to account the major barriers that influence the promotion of RET in the developing countries and the major issues with the usage. In achieving this, a two way analysis was done, firstly, using Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) frame work analysis, taking into account the macro factors considered in RET development in the developing country. Secondly, through data obtained directly from target audience divided in themes using statistical inference.  The results indicates that there are strong barrier linking energy and development that obstructs implementation of RET and some of the major factors involved at the local level.  Imperative and substantial suggestions that can be utilized, even by other local regions in the developing world that wish to make a shift towards greater use of RET was made. Keywords: Application, Performance, Renewable Energy, Technology, Development, “PESTEL” Nigeria

Design of a city infrastructure quality index

Nigeria recently became the largest economy in Africa. The country’s economic output is outpacing population growth. GDP increased from $31 billion in 1990 to$522 billion in 2013 (averaging an annual growth rate of 5.9 percent), whilst the population increased from 96 million to 170 million during the same period (averaging an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent). Urban areas in particular appear to have generated disproportionately higher rates of economic growth than rural areas. The Nigerian urban business environment, however, discourages investment and frustrates competitiveness, acting as a constraint on economic growth. Inadequate infrastructure is identified as the major constraint to growth and competitiveness. This research project designed a City Infrastructure Quality Index (CIQI) aimed at providing a relative measure of performance in urban infrastructure in Nigeria, focusing specifically on factors of production and resources for inclusive economic growth and development

Eco-Thermal analysis and response surface optimization of the drying rate of potato slices in a mix-mode solar dryer

© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. This is the accepted manuscript version of an article which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1007/s40997-023-00595-4This research aims to establish the interconnectivity between mix-mode solar dryer designs with carbon and energy cost mitigation using different energy scenarios and study the drying kinetics to obtain the optimal drying rates for drying blanched potato slices. This will help the policy makers in the establishment of design standard for solar dryer fabricators and also assist them in making the right choice for carbon emission management for environmental sustainability and determining the end point of drying potato slices for energy conservation. Hence, a mix–mode solar dryer was deployed with sun-drying using blanched potato as a case study. The potato slices were spread on the drying tray to form a thin layer. Mass loss data and temperature and relative humidity data were recorded at 1 h intervals until the desired moisture content was achieved. The dryer utilized 4.562 M J to dry the potato slices from 64% w.b initial moisture content to 7.56% w.b final moisture content. The percentage of the energy utilization ratio (EUR) ranged from 4.19 to 82.68% with an average value of 39.46%, while the thermal efficiency of the solar dry varied from 0.6 to 34% with an average value of 17%. The dryer can save from $74.22 to$741.22 per year at a 10 to 100% rate of usage with an indicative payback period of 0.17–1.64 years at the same rate of usage. The decarbonization potential of the solar dryer was high when compared to coal, diesel or grid electricity-powered dryers as an energy case scenario with the values ranging from 2.9 to 237.71 tonnes of CO 2 per year with earned carbon credit ranging from $41.98 to$ 3446.85 per year. Blanching time affected the drying rate and effective moisture diffusivity of the potato slices with effective moisture diffusivity varying from 6.35 × 10 −11 to 7.07 × 10 −10m 2/s for sun-dried potato slices and 9.86 × 10 −11 to 1.24 × 10 −9m 2/s for solar drying potato slices. Using the solar dryer reduced the drying time by 25.81 to 34.48% compared to open sun drying. The optimum drying rate for the solar-dried untreated potato slices was 0.0239665 kg/h at a collector temperature of 40.93 °C and thermal efficiency of 17.30%, while blanching for 3, 6 and 9 min gave optimum drying rate of 0.0177959 kg/h, collector temperature (T) of 40.9 °C and thermal efficiency(η) of 17.30% for the three pre-treatments.Peer reviewe

Analysis of the Heat Transfer Coefficient, Thermal Effusivity and Mathematical Modelling of Drying Kinetics of a Partitioned Single Pass Low-Cost Solar Drying of Cocoyam Chips with Economic Assessments

This study examines the heat and mass transfer coefficient, thermal effusivity, and other thermal properties of solar-dried cocoyam chips, as well as the drying kinetics. The research also assessed the economics of the solar dryer. For these reasons, a solar dryer with a partitioned collector was developed that creates a double airflow travel distance to delay the airflow inside the collector. The partitioning of the collector delays the airflow and helps to create more turbulence for the airflow with increased energy. The solar dryer was locally developed at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture and tested during the humid crop harvesting period of September for the worst-case scenario. The obtained drying curves and kinetics for cocoyam drying are subjected to the vagaries of weather conditions. The drying rate showed declining sinusoidal characteristics and took about 25 h to attain equilibrium. Analysis of the airflow velocity showed gravitation between laminar and turbulent flow, ranging from 171.69 to 5152.77. Specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and effusivity declined with moisture content while the thermal diffusivity increased. However, the values of thermal effusivity ranged from 12.2 to 47.94 W·s1/2·m−2·K−1, which is within the range of values for insulators. The heat and mass transfer coefficient varied as a function of the airflow velocity. Fitting the drying curve into semi-empirical models showed that the two-term model was the best-fitted model for the experimental data from drying cocoyam. Using the solar dryer in Nigeria can save $188.63–$1886.13 in running costs with a payback period of 0.059–0.59 years (21.54–215.35 days) at a rate of 10–100% of usage

Analysis of the Heat Transfer Coefficient, Thermal Effusivity and Mathematical Modelling of Drying Kinetics of a Partitioned Single Pass Low-Cost Solar Drying of Cocoyam Chips with Economic Assessments

This study examines the heat and mass transfer coefficient, thermal effusivity, and other thermal properties of solar-dried cocoyam chips, as well as the drying kinetics. The research also assessed the economics of the solar dryer. For these reasons, a solar dryer with a partitioned collector was developed that creates a double airflow travel distance to delay the airflow inside the collector. The partitioning of the collector delays the airflow and helps to create more turbulence for the airflow with increased energy. The solar dryer was locally developed at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture and tested during the humid crop harvesting period of September for the worst-case scenario. The obtained drying curves and kinetics for cocoyam drying are subjected to the vagaries of weather conditions. The drying rate showed declining sinusoidal characteristics and took about 25 h to attain equilibrium. Analysis of the airflow velocity showed gravitation between laminar and turbulent flow, ranging from 171.69 to 5152.77. Specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and effusivity declined with moisture content while the thermal diffusivity increased. However, the values of thermal effusivity ranged from 12.2 to 47.94 W·s1/2·m−2·K−1, which is within the range of values for insulators. The heat and mass transfer coefficient varied as a function of the airflow velocity. Fitting the drying curve into semi-empirical models showed that the two-term model was the best-fitted model for the experimental data from drying cocoyam. Using the solar dryer in Nigeria can save $188.63–$1886.13 in running costs with a payback period of 0.059–0.59 years (21.54–215.35 days) at a rate of 10–100% of usage

Heat transfer correlations and pressure drop dynamics of palm fibre wetting media for evaporative cooling at different air flow rates

© 2023 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved. This is the accepted manuscript version of an article which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2023.07.008The thermal and flow resistance properties of wetting pads play a key role in how effective direct evaporative cooling (DEC) systems Perform. To make an informed decision, it's crucial to study the heat transfer properties and airflow resistance manifested in pressure drop for various types of wetting media. An experimental study was conducted to determine pressure drop and heat transfer correlation constants at three airflow rates for palm fruit mesocarp fibres (PFMF) wetting media. Heat transfer and pressure drop equations were fitted with generated data to obtain correlation constants. The wetting media were effective to lower the ambient temperature at an average depression of 6.6 to 8.2 °C and increase the relative humidity of the inlet air at an average value of 25.54 to 39.32%. PFMF had a low-pressure drop per unit length, ranging from 5.29 to 7.62 Pa/m, which makes it an appealing alternative to other wetting media. New correlation constants generated for pressure drop and heat transfer data fit well with high coefficient of determination (R2) values. The average cooling efficiency ranged from 56.43 to 65.27%, while the average Merkel number was 0.16 to 0.19. The Nusselt number increased with the Reynolds number and showed a laminar flow. Amaranths stored in DEC produced respiratory heat ranging from 290.86 to 336.53 mg/kg/h for all air velocities. Considering the respiratory rate within the range of cooler temperatures, it is recommended to use the DEC only for short periods or for pre-cooling of vegetable storage.Peer reviewe

Analysis of the influence of outdoor surface heat flux on the inlet water and the exhaust air temperature of the wetting pad of a direct evaporative cooling system

© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. This is the accepted manuscript version of an article which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.120292The study investigates the interconnectivity between the inlet water temperature, wind flow rate, and storage water heat flux with the performance of biomass wetting pads in direct evaporative cooling under the external ambient condition of Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, a standalone direct, evaporative cooling system with an upper water storage tank exposed to wind flow was locally developed and evaluated with jute, palm fruit mesocarp and wood charcoal as biomass cooling pad at three air velocities and constant pad thickness and three different air flow rates. The results indicated that increasing the heat flux around the water tank and decreasing the relative humidity of the inlet air through the wetting pad will lower both the inlet water and pad exhaust temperatures. The water demand was higher in palm fruit mesocarp fibre at airflow rates of 3 m/s, while at 4 and 4.5 m/s, it was higher in wood charcoal, and the value ranged from 9.64 × 10 −4 to 1.46 × 10 −3 kg/s. Except for jute fibre at 4 m/s, higher humidity difference or low cold room temperature did not translate to higher evaporative cooling effectiveness or efficiency. However, the lower inlet water temperature significantly affected the evaporative effectiveness. This shows the possibility of free moisture transfer into the cold room from the pad materials at increased air flow rates that helped boost the exhaust air's humidity. The average evaporative efficiency for the three pads ranged from 56.4 % to 80.96 %. The values for the enlargement coefficient ranged from 5 to 6.82, while the temperature thermal stress ranged from 24.37 to 28.66 °C.Peer reviewe