A machine capable of turning agricultural and wood waste into energy was launched in Abuja. A Nigerian engineer, Audu Guga, presented his creation to a monthly seminar organized by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC).
Guga said that the creation of the waste-to-energy machine was aimed at reducing waste across the country. “The machine will meet the energy needs of targeted population, mitigating the hazards of de-forestation, enhanced efficient utilization of raw materials and improve on environmental cleanliness,” he said.
Guga said the machine was built on a four piston cylinder platform and driven by a two-gear reducer electric motor. A loaded test of the machine had shown that 12.75 kg of mixed waste materials produced 12 kg of briquettes in 15 minutes.
“This gave a production rate of 48 kg per hour and production efficiency of 94%,” he said. Guga added that the briquettes produced by the machine performed better than those of the manually operated machine in terms of shatter index and heating characteristics.
Speaking at the presentation, RMRDC Director General, Prof. Peter Onuwalu, said the invention was a major boost to the country’s effort in tackling wastes. Onuwalu said the conversion of the wastes being generated in the country into useful products to power the economy was long over due.