A study on sustainable energy for cement industries in Rwanda

Rwanda is a landlocked country in the East Africa. It is surrounded by Uganda, Tanzania, Congo and Burundi. Rwanda is a fast developing country and it spends most of its revenues to import fossil fuels from either through Mombasa Port in Kenya or Dar es Salaam port in Tanzania because the energy production in Rwanda is not sufficient for its development. Transporting the fuels from these ports, add on to the cost of all materials, cement industry being no exception. There are three cement companies in Rwanda. The cement industries could not run in full production due to the shortage of fuel. Moreover, Rwanda is importing all the construction materials such as steel, roofing materials, etc from its neighboring countries. This increases the cost of construction and the common man find difficult to own a house. In order to sustain the energy needs of Rwanda, different sources of energies should be focused. They are Peat, Geothermal, Methane gas, solar, wind, waste materials and Municipal wastes. Without affecting the environment, there is an urgent need to find a solution on sustainable energy in Rwanda. This paper discusses about the possible sources of energy in Rwanda which will improve the energy sustainability and turn the economy of Rwanda

Distribution, incidence and farmers knowledge of banana Xanthomonas wilt in Burundi

Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) is a devastating bacterial disease caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum. The disease was simultaneously reported in Cankuzo and Bubanza provinces, Burundi, in November 2010. However, the extent to which the disease has spread to other banana growing regions in the country is unknown. Therefore, to ascertain the distribution and incidence of the disease and farmers’ knowledge on measures to control the disease, a survey was conducted in all 16 banana growing provinces of Burundi in August 2011. A total of 208 farms were sampled, selecting six farms per surveyed commune, three affected and three non-affected. The survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire. The disease was present in 10 out of 16 provinces constituting all agricultural lands in Burundi. The highest incidence was recorded in Ruyigi province (34%), where the Kayinja system is dominant and the lowest in Muyinga (3%), where the East African Highland bananas (EAHB) dominate. Awareness of BXW symptoms, modes of spread and control measures was generally low, ranging from 8 to 30% of households surveyed. The limited knowledge of the disease among farmers was thought to be largely responsible for driving the epidemic in Burundi

Robustness improvement of fresh concrete and mortar performance for challenging casting environments with focus on sub-Saharan Africa

For various concrete applications, the early properties are a major specification, determining the functioning, the mechanical properties, and the durability of structures. The rheological properties of cementitious systems are depending on the water-cement interaction as well as on interactions of chemical admixtures with the cement hydration. The cement hydration, however, is strongly affected by the environmental boundary conditions, such as the climate or the available equipment for the proportioning and dispersion of concrete. This paper presents strategies for the robustness improvement of fresh properties of cementitious systems for challenging and particularly warm climate conditions. After explaining the basic mechanisms affecting the workability, practical conclusions are drawn with special attention on the circumstances of sub-Saharan Africa, where the climatic conditions are difficult and the casting technology is often limited. Solutions are suggested, how despite the disadvantageous circumstances, highly elaborate engineered concrete and mortar can be applied safely and with consistent quality.</p

Robustness improvement of fresh concrete and mortar performance for challenging casting environments with focus on sub-Saharan Africa

For various concrete applications, the early properties are a major specification, determining the functioning, the mechanical properties, and the durability of structures. The rheological properties of cementitious systems are depending on the water-cement interaction as well as on interactions of chemical admixtures with the cement hydration. The cement hydration, however, is strongly affected by the environmental boundary conditions, such as the climate or the available equipment for the proportioning and dispersion of concrete. This paper presents strategies for the robustness improvement of fresh properties of cementitious systems for challenging and particularly warm climate conditions. After explaining the basic mechanisms affecting the workability, practical conclusions are drawn with special attention on the circumstances of sub-Saharan Africa, where the climatic conditions are difficult and the casting technology is often limited. Solutions are suggested, how despite the disadvantageous circumstances, highly elaborate engineered concrete and mortar can be applied safely and with consistent quality.</p

Robustness improvement of fresh concrete and mortar performance for challenging casting environments with focus on sub-Saharan Africa

For various concrete applications, the early properties are a major specification, determining the functioning, the mechanical properties, and the durability of structures. The rheological properties of cementitious systems are depending on the water-cement interaction as well as on interactions of chemical admixtures with the cement hydration. The cement hydration, however, is strongly affected by the environmental boundary conditions, such as the climate or the available equipment for the proportioning and dispersion of concrete. This paper presents strategies for the robustness improvement of fresh properties of cementitious systems for challenging and particularly warm climate conditions. After explaining the basic mechanisms affecting the workability, practical conclusions are drawn with special attention on the circumstances of sub-Saharan Africa, where the climatic conditions are difficult and the casting technology is often limited. Solutions are suggested, how despite the disadvantageous circumstances, highly elaborate engineered concrete and mortar can be applied safely and with consistent quality