In the biomass-energy lab of the Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) department, Pennsylvania State University, there are two main groups: Those who work with Lignocellulosic hydrolysis/biofuels/microbial fuel cells and those who are into Greenhouse gas emissions/biogas/compost. I am in the first group; my particular interest is in conversion of lignocellulosic materials to alcohol fuels - particularly bio-butanol production.
My interest in bioenergy started towards the end of my first degree and was reinforced during my second degree. As I prepared for my second degree, I had to review all the options I had and decide on what area I wanted to specialize in; this was in the light of growing consciousness of responsible action and sustainable development as a solution to both local and global ills – global warming being one of these concerns. There was also the perception that engineering designs/innovations are a great contributor to environmental burdens, since it could be said that the world systems are sustained mainly by engineering science through energy generations and applications. These knowledge seem to define a clear research path for me.
It was in line with these that I decided on ‘Engineering for Sustainable Development’ for my Master’s degree and in a prestigious university as Cambridge, I knew I could guarantee some skills for a Sustainable Solution-oriented Career.
I had an awakening through the realisation of the abundance of un-utilized resources and yet the vastness of want [especially in Africa]; I read and could see the great potentials that exist for the utilization of biomass and in particular, agricultural waste and how this could fit into the bigger plan of sustainable engineering development or rather engineering sustainable development.
So for my Master’s dissertation, I did an experimental packed research on ‘EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF OIL PALM FIBRE AS A CLEAN SOLID FUEL TO MEET LOCAL ENERGY NEEDS IN GHANA.’ I examined the effect of different preparations of palm fiber briquettes, with various pressures and hold times, on the storability and cleanliness of the fuel in terms of its major emissions being Smoke, CO and CO2. A paper was presented on the above research during the 2ND International Conference of West Africa Society of Agricultural Engineering - WASAE 2004, held in Ghana; 20-24 September.
Some considerations that influenced the methods and material design of the project were the intention to achieve significant result with minimum burdens on the environment or the employment of very high embodied energy devices, systems or methods which could tend to defy the overall objective of sustainability. Appropriateness of the solution to the target group was another consideration that took into account their background, culture, available infrastructures and economic power.
This is a relatively new area although one that is quickly gaining attention in Penn State University. There are other accomplished/ongoing related research in Agricultural and biological engineering, Chemical engineering, Energy and mineral engineering, Biochemical & Molecular biology and Environmental engineering departments. Here is a list of completed research and here is another list of on-going research in Pennsylvania State University.