The National Centre for Energy and Environment charged with the responsibility of conducting cutting edge research in Bioenergy and Environment has to its credit a Bioenergy and Environmental Forensics laboratory equipped to support her research activities.The Laboratory is organised into various sections which serve research needs of units in the centre. These sections are Environmental Laboratory, General laboratory, Spectrophotometer Laboratory and Ecotoxicology Laboratory.
The laboratory primarily provides support for Research and Development activities in Biodiesel and Biogas production, Solar/Wind, Waste-to-Energy, Ecotoxicology, Environmental pollution/Remediation. It also renders services to students and academics of our immediate host Community – University of Benin as well as researchers in institutions within the region.
It is our aspiration that in no distant future, the Centre’s Laboratory will be a hub for astounding analysis in the South-South geopolitical region.
Equipments Available
Several equipment available in the Centre’s Laboratory include but are not limited to the following:
Muffle Furnace
Temperature range 1000oC for ashing of samples
Clean Bench
Clean Bench is used for microbial Isolation
Binocular Microscope
This is used to determine flash point of petroleum products and biodiesel.
Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy
FT-IR is one the high tech instrument in the centre Laboratory that is mainly for quality control , used for determination of quality of product. Its used to confirm the identity of a compound, it also detect the functional groups in a sample . FTIR is used for identification of fake products.
Multiflash Tester
This is used to determine flash point of petroleum products and biodiesel.
Bomb Calorimeter
Bomb calorimeter is used for quantification of energy profile or calorific value of feedstocks , ranging from animal waste , liquid fuel.
Thermofisher GC 600. With FID Detector and capillary column
Thermofisher GC 600 with FID Detector and capillary column is used for volatile organic compounds, essentially environmental pollutants.
HPLC and Accessories
This is used for analysis of non volatile organics compounds mostly to identify specific component based on their retention time, its also used in separation of samples into its individual components and quantification of samples.
Freeze Dryer
The aim of freeze drying is to obtain an easily water soluble product which will have the same characteristics as the original product after addition of water. As the drying process takes place in frozen state at very low temperatures it is possible to dry e. g. proteins which will not denature. Also most of the chemical compounds of the sample will be qualitatively and quantitatively unchanged. The products are mainly of biological origin – such as tissues, tissue extracts, bacteria, Plant extracts are transformed into a dry product. During this process enzymatic, bacterial and chemical changes are largely avoided. Due to its ability to dry it becomes very essential in a Research Laboratory.
UV Visible Spectroscopy
UV absorption spectroscopy can characterize those types of compounds which absorbs UV radiation. Identification is done by comparing the absorption spectrum with the spectra of known compounds. It is also used for the quantitative determination of compounds that absorb UV radiation. This determination is based on Beer’s law.
The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Laboratory is a research facility funded, maintained, and supported by the Centre to promote and facilitate the applications of Geographic Information Systems, Remote sensing, Cartography, Spatial analysis to research in alternative energy technologies and the environment. The GIS Laboratory provides support to the Centre’s research staff and members of the University of Benin Academia. The Unit is staffed with senior GIS staff of the Centre.
In accordance with the mandate on which the Centre was established, the biodiesel workshop was built in 2013. It was designed and constructed for the sole aim of producing biodiesel from non-edible seed such as jatropha seed, rubber seeds etc.
Equipment and Materials Available
Biodiesel washing vessels with control
Used in holding the biodiesel during production.
100 litres-day Biodiesel reactor with glycerol recovery and control
The glycerol recovery unit is used if glycerol was introduced while extracting oil from crushed nuts. The temperature of the extraction varies amongst the different types of methods used in oil extraction. The oil is then centrifuged, placed in a container and kept in water bath with controlled temperature.
Degumming machine and Methanol Recovery unit
Degumming is necessary in bio diesel production because the machine is used to remove high gum content in the extracted oil which is bad for Biodiesel production. It increases refining loss because gums can initiate emulsification with some of the neutral oil. This process enhances the suitability of the jatropha oil. Degumming also helps to reduce phosphor. Degumming makes the jatropha oil less viscous and neutral resulting in better combustion in the cylinder.
Oil extractor unit-30kg per hour
Different methods can be employed in oil extraction via mechanical extraction and solvent extraction. The Oil extractor is an example of mechanical extraction. In this method pressure is exacted on the seeds in order to remove the oil while in solvent extraction solvents are added to the already grinded nuts which further dissolves into oil. For a very efficient yield of oil extraction both methods are combined because the oil recovery from the mechanical extraction is limited to 90 – 95% of the oil present while from solvent extraction up to 99% of the oil in the seed can be extracted.
Dehulling Machine
The dehulling machine is used in separating jatropha seeds from the fruit pods. The dehulling machine uses a principle based on provoking a slight pressure and friction on the fruits within the machine. It is an example of a mechanized dehuller which has the capacity of dehulling 1000kg of fresh fruit per hour.
Grinding Machine, Decortication machine and Biogas generator unit
The grinding machine and the decertification machine work in the same way; they are used in grinding the jatropha seeds to make oil extraction easier and faster. This could also be done manually. Seeds that are going to be stored are dried after grinding. The biogas generator unit is used in producing biogas after the production of Biodiesel.
Winnowing Machine
The fruit shells comes out of the dehuller mixed with the nuts and the winnowing machine is now used in separating the shells from the nuts after dehulling. Seeds can be stored up to one year at room temperature.