Transcript bradley

Involving Students in Appropriate
Technology Projects in the University
Walter L. Bradley, Ph.D.
Engineering Department
Baylor University
Waco, Texas
Two Kinds of Projects
 Research




and Development
Converting coconuts into diesel fuel, food,
and cheap housing materials
Peanuts into peanut butter – Mali, Africa
Substitution of cast iron for cast steel – Africa
Composite housing materials using local
fibers
 Deployment


Micro hydroelectric installations in Papua New
Guinea
Solar cells and battery in Papua New Guinea
Different Service-Learning Options
 Research



and Development
Master of Engineering thesis projects
Junior or Senior Design projects
Senior research theses
 Deployment


Two week trips in late May (e.g., to Africa)
Ten week trips during summer (e.g., to PNG)
Key -- Have a Partner
INTRODUCTION
•Coconuts Palms:
•Are the most widespread and naturally
sustainable tropical agricultural crops
grown abundantly in the South Pacific
Islands and parts of Asia.
Can tolerate poor sandy soils with
saline water and survives frequent
cyclones.
Can bear a bunch of fruit each month
for about 65 of their 70 to 80 year life
span.
Require minimum maintenance.
Are and have been way of life for the
indigenous island people. They call the
coconut palm the “Tree of Life”.
MAIN USES OF
COCONUTS
•Copra:
This
is the dried
flesh (the white
endosperm) of the
nut which is the
commercial product
that enters the world
trade.
Has an oil content
of between 65% and
72%.
Is typically the
highest priced
vegetable oil on the
world markets.
Important Diesel Fuel and Vegetable Oil Properties
Specific
Energy
(MJ/kg)
Cetane
Number
Kinematic
Viscosity
(cS)
Solidifica
tion Point
(C)
Iodine
Value
Saponificat
ion Value
Petroleum
Diesel
45.3 Gross
45 - 55
4 @ 40°C
-9
-
-
Coconut
Oil
42.0 Gross
60
20 @ 40°C
24
10
268
Palm Oil
39.6 Gross
-
37 @ 40
35
54
199
Rapeseed
Oil
39.7 Gross
38
37 @ 40°C
-10
125
175
Soybean
Oil
39.6
37.9
33 @ 40°C
-16
130
191
Linseed
Oil
39.7
-
29 @ 40°C
-24
179
190
Fuel
IMPORTANT PHYSICAL AND
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF
VEGETABLE OIL



Specific Energy – indication of the
fuel’s energy released when it is
burned. Coconut oil’s energy (42
MJ/kg) is more or less equivalent
to Petroleum Diesel.
Cetane Number (CN) – indication
of the fuel’s willingness to ignite
when it gets compressed. Coconut
oil’s CN (60) is the highest.
Viscosity – indication of the fuel’s
ability to atomize in the injector
system. Coconut oil’s viscosity is
comparable with other oils but
much more than petroleum diesel.
Higher viscosity will cause poor
volatilization of the fuel.



Solidification Point – indication of
the temperature at which the fuel
will turn solid. Coconut oil’s
solidification point (25°C) is at
room temperature.
Iodine Value (IV) – indication of
the ability of the fuel to polymerize
due to the fuels’ degree of bonds
available. Coconut oil’s IV (10) is
the lowest among all the fuel so it
can be used directly in the engines
without modification.
Saponification Value (SV) –
indication of the fuel’s ability to
vaporize and atomize due to the
fuels carbon chains. Coconut oil
has the highest SV (268) which will
ignite more quickly than others.
Bio-diesel is Environmentally Friendly
Processing Coconut Oil into Bio-Diesel
Transesterification Process

Transesterification is the process of reacting
vegetable oil (triglycerides or coconut oil) with an
alcohol (methanol) in the presence of a catalyst
to produce biodiesel (fatty acid esters) and
glycerol.
 Production Procedures:



200-ml of methanol per liter of coconut oil
3.5-g of Catalyst (Sodium hydroxide – NaOH)
Cost of consumable and energy use in biodiesel production = $.65/gallon
Laboratory Biodiesel Production System

FuelMeister Biodiesel
Production System:


Complete System to
producing Biodiesel in a
laboratory or home
environment.
System includes:
• Polyethylene tanks:


Reactor or Processor
Premix system or tank
• Pumps:



System pump (Electric)
Alcohol pump
Biodiesel
• Barrels or Drums;



Coconut oil
Methanol
Final Product - Biodiesel
Availability of Alcohol in PNG
 Currently
PNG Government is negotiating
with a company to build a methanol plant
in PNG.
 Ethanol could also be used instead of
methanol as ethanol is being produced in
the sugar refineries which are not being
utilized.
 Catalyst (Lye) is the only product that
could brought in from overseas.
Chemical Analysis of Coconut
Biodiesel
 ASTM
tests that need to be done and what
they will tell us, for example, we need to
be sure that we don’t have unreacted lye
that could corrode diesel engines , which
would mean post-processing to meet
ASTM specs, increasing costs (or deciding
ASTM specs are unnecessarily high on
some points)
Engine Testing of Coconut Bio-diesel
To be done at TAMU
 Testing
the bio-diesel in an engine with a
dynamometer to determine its
performance:


To verify that it doesn’t gum up engine
Compare its performance with petroleum
Diesel
 Emissions
measurements to verify how
much cleaner it runs than petroleum based
diesel fuel
Implementation Issues


19 coconuts / liter of coconut oil ?????
What to do with huge waste products


Coconut core might be useful as food
Coconut shell might be useful for:
• Building material
• Fuel for domestic cooking and heat for drying copra
(currently being used).
• High quality charcoal as a feedstock for making the activated
carbon required for industrial chemistry (e.g. activated carbon
is used in the separation of gold fragments from waste
material in pulverised gold ore).
• Lubricating paste for rock drills and as the fuel component in
mosquito cols after the shell has been ground to a fine
powder.
Food Value of Coconut Meal
Meal or Cake – It is the left over
after the oil has been extracted:
 Coconut

Contains about 18-25% protein:
• Coconut protein contains a high percentage of
lysine, cystine, histidine, arginine, methionine and
other essential amino acids.

Mostly being used for:
• Animal feed (piggery, poultry & cattle)
• Fertilizers

Could be used to make cookies
Economic Analysis of
Commercialization
 Cost



of equipment per village
Reactor
Diesel generator
Other simple equipment for processing into
food and housing materials
 Economic
value and return on investment
 Identify sources of capital investment
using a micro-investment approach
Ideal Outcome
 Coconut
oil provides a cheap, renewable
source of bio-diesel fuel to be used in
diesel generators to provide electricity in
remote villages
 Core is processed into food for ????
 Shell is processed into cheap, durable
housing material
Coconut Tree – Tree of Life
 The
coastal and the small 600 island
people in PNG can not live without
coconut. Every part of coconut palm plays
a part in any activities in the village.
 It is weaved into the culture of PNG and
so it is called “the tree of life”.
 This project could truly make this an even
greater reality.
Summary
 Service


learning can be
Deployment of existing technology at a
particular location
Developing new technology and deploying it
in a country or region by partnering with
business/entrepreneurship students