Browsing by Author "Tamakloe, Reuben Y."

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    An automated solar biomass hybrid dryer in rural communities in Ghana
    (ISES, 2017-10) Obeng-Akrofi, George; Akowuah, Joseph Oppong; Opoku-Agyeman, Gifty; Nkrumah, saac; Donkor, Michael K. E.; Tamakloe, Reuben Y.; Ampong, Francis K.; Waldhoff, Maike; Klaus, Tobias; Olenberg, Alexander; Kenig, Eugeny; Krauter, Stefan; 0000-0002-5563-5930
    Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to simulate the drying process of a Solar-Biomass Hybrid Dryer (SBHD). CFD simulations were set up with the software StarCCM+ for investigating the temperature distribution inside a 5-tonne prototype in a rural community in Ghana. The predicted temperature distributions were compared to the experimental data of temperature distribution in the dryer. The simulated results of Levels 1 and 2 within the dryer were 5–15 K higher than the experimental data. This was due to the introduction of cold air at the bottom of the dryer and also, the absence of the effect of the fans in the dryer during the simulation process. The simulated results fit nearly perfect for Layers 3 and 4 in the dryer with a deviation of not more than 5 K. All in all, the predicted simulation agrees with the experimental data. In order to improve drying conditions in the SBHD, it is suggested that the integration of an automated system which will aid in the controlled introduction of hot air at high air flow at the lower levels of the shelves in the dryer would be required.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Comparative study of double-chamber microbial fuel cells (DC-MFCs) using Mfensi clay as ionexchange- partition: Effect of electrodes
    (Routledge, 2015-07) Tamakloe, Reuben Y.; Opoku-Donkor T.; Donkor, M.K.E.; Agamasu, H.; 0000-0002-5563-5930
    An alternative answer to the vital issues of electricity production and wastewater treatment leads to the application of microbial fuel cells. This study has developed a low-cost double-chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC) for electricity generation, which can also be used for simultaneous wastewater treatment. These fuel cells were constructed using cheap Mfensi clay as an ion-exchange-partition and compared two types of electrode combination that work at temperatures between 25 oC and 27 oC. The performance of the cell assemblage was affected by the type of electrodes used. Experimental results showed maximum power densities of 118 mW/m2 and 79 mW/m2 respectively for the pot-zinc/ copper pair of electrodes and pot-graphite/graphite pair of electrodes.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Effect of COD and H2O2 concentration on DC-MFC
    (Elsevier, 2015-05) Tamakloe, Reuben Y.; 0000-0002-5563-5930
    The main challenges in constructing microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are the identification of materials and architectures that maximize power generation and efficiency, also minimizing the cost of fabrication. In some cases aqueous cathodes have been used to provide dissolved oxygen to the electrode. An attempt. has been made to use hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in different concentrations as substitute for ferricyanide and permanganate as catholyte in DC-MFCs. It has been found that the power generation was not significantly affected by the 20%e60% and 100% concentrations while 80% concentration exhibited higher power generation. Power densities were virtually dependent on the chemical oxygen demands (CODs) as observed to be 24.56 W/m2 for Balance substrate (7562 mg/L) against 80% H2O2. This confirms that H2O2 is a very powerful oxidizing agent between the concentrations of 70%e90%.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    EXPLORING THE USE OF RAW HONEY AS A FUEL SOURCE FOR MICROBIAL FUEL CELLS
    (Momento, 2022-11) Tamakloe, Reuben Y.; Kpeli, Matilda; Donkor, Michael K. E.; 0000-0002-5563-5930
    Microbial fuel cell (MFC) technologies are making headway in developing and expanding renewable energy through the conversion of organic matter to electricity. Various substrates can be used in the MFCs technology to enable energy generation, either pure substances or complex mixtures of organic materials. This study aims to consider the feasibility of raw honey as a fuel for mediator-less double-chamber MFC. The cell voltage was monitored in mediator-less double-chamber H2O2 cathode microbial fuel cell. The Mfensi clay partition and the raw honey were analyzed using FTIR-ATR. The results show the highest open-circuit voltage of 1414 mV with a maximum current density of 0.6540 A/m2 and a maximum power density of 247.0 W/m2. These results demonstrate that raw honey can be used for power generation in MFCs and for practical applications.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Numerical Simulation and Design of Stand-alone Solar Hydrogen System
    (2001-12-14) Tamakloe, Reuben Y.
    A photovoltaic system consists of an array, a storage medium and elements for power conditioning. Many photovoltaic systems operate in a stand-alone mode and the total energy demand is met by the output of the photovoltaic array. The output of the photovoltaic system fluctuates and is unpredictable for many applications making some forms of energy storage or backup system necessary. The role of storage medium is to store the excess energy produced by the photovoltaic array, to absorb momentary power peaks and to supply energy during sunless periods or during night. One of the storage modes is the use of electrochemical techniques, with batteries and water electrolysis as the most important examples. An attempt has been made to study the concept of storing solar energy in the form of hydrogen using stand-alone solar hydrogen system. Hydrogen in this study was produced from the standpoints of: optimum electrolysis cell concentration; concentration dependent of current; hydrogen production efficiency depending on the cell concentration. The system characteristics: quantity of hydrogen produced based on cell concentration, current/voltage output with concentration, production efficiency, and simulated current/voltage output were measured and analysed. A 50W photovoltaic panel rated as 17.4V, 2.87A yielded a maximum volume of about 8.6rnl per minute for 1 .OM cell concentration. Numerical simulation was used to compare the experimental results and also the possibility of increasing the cost-effective yield of hydrogen.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Operating Characteristics of Proton-Exchange-Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells
    (European Journal of Scientific Research, 2008-04) Tamakloe, Reuben Y.; Singh, K.; Linkous, Clovis A.; 0000-0002-5563-5930
    The H2-O2 fuel cells in which solar hydrogen and oxygen supplied to the anode side and cathode side of the cell respectively were fabricated and the two sides of the cells were separated by a proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) which allowed the passage of hydrogen ions H+ but not the oxygen O2. The operating characteristics of two fuel cells, Al-C/Pt- PEM-C/Pt-Al and Al-C/Pt-PEM-C/Pt-Cu were plotted and internal resistance as well as the efficiency of these cells were computed and compared. It was found that Al-C/Pt-PEMC/ Pt-Cu cell did not clearly exhibit mass transport over-potential, while it was clearly observable for Al-C/Pt-PEM-C/Pt-Al cell.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    PEM-Less Microbial Fuel Cells
    (IntechOpen, 2018-05) Tamakloe, Reuben Y.; 0000-0002-5563-5930
    Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are comparatively new technique of simultaneously generating electricity from bio-waste while degrading the organic waste. The use of microbes to generate electricity is an uninterrupted process in MFCs since the bacteria replicate and continue to produce power indefinitely as long as there is enough food source to nurture the bacteria. Besides, MFCs have the potential to produce hydrogen for fuel cells, desalinate sea water, and provide sustainable energy sources for remote areas. Factors like type of electrodes used in the cells, partitioning of cells, oxygen complement and configurations are important factors that affect the performance of MFCs. The fabrication of microbial fuel cells of different configurations and the relationship between the factors affecting the efficiency of single chambered (SC-MFCs) and double chambered (DC-MFCs) will be presented. The experimental data on observations made on the effects of these materials on the MFCs characteristics, electricity generation and wastewater treatment have also been included. The main aim of this study is to find out whether a nonconventional inexpensive clay could be used as an ion-exchange medium alternative to the conventional expensive PEM in the fabrication of MFCs. The results obtained on power generation, current density, open circuit voltage, etc., clearly show that PEM-less MFCs can be used as practical devices for sustainable energy generation.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Photovoltaic-Stand-Alone Hydrogen System
    (European Journal of Scientific Research, 2008-04) Tamakloe, Reuben Y.; Singh, K.; 0000-0002-5563-5930
    A photovoltaic system consists of an array, a storage medium and elements for power conditioning. Many photovoltaic systems operate in a stand-alone mode and the total energy demand is met by the output of the photovoltaic array. The output of the photovoltaic system fluctuates and is unpredictable for many applications making some forms of energy storage or backup system necessary. The role of storage medium is to store the excess energy produced by the photovoltaic array, to absorb momentary power peaks and to supply energy during sunless periods or during night. One of the storage modes is the use of electrochemical techniques, with batteries and water electrolysis as the most important examples. In this paper, we report the optimal design for a stand-alone hydrogen system with the volume of hydrogen produced against current as regards the concentration of electrolysis cell. Operating characteristics of a small capacity solar hydrogen system have been determined and also demonstrated that the I-V characteristics of the batteryphotovoltaic module and electrolysis cell are influenced by variations in the concentration of the electrolysis cell, which in turn determines the amount of current that flows through it. A 50W photovoltaic panel rated as 17.4V, 2.87A yielded a maximum volume of about 8.6ml per minute for 1.0M cell concentration. Numerical simulation was used to compare the experimental results and also the possibility of increasing the cost-effective yield of hydrogen.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    POWER OUTPUT OF A1/SnO2/n-Si SOLAR CELL
    (Pergamon, 1996) Tamakloe, Reuben Y.; Singh, K.; 0000-0002-5563-5930
    An Al/SnO2/n-Si solar cell from n-type silicon (6.5 f~-cm, (100)) wafers using chemical vapour deposition (CVD) has been fabricated. The fabrication details, I-V characteristics determining conversionefficiency (r/max), open circuit voltage (Voc) and short circuit current (lsc) have been presented. A maximum conversion efficiency of 6.3% for an unencapsulated cell of area 85.20 mrn 2 has been obtained
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    SYNTHESIS OF PURE AND MANGANESE DOPED ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES BY A SOLUTION GROWTH TECHNIQUE: STRUCTURAL AND OPTICAL INVESTIGATION†
    (Periodicals.karazin.ua, 2023-09) Antwi, Raymond A.; Nkrumah, Isaac; Ampong, Francis K.; Paal, Mark; Tamakloe, Reuben Y.; Nkum, Robert K.; Boakye, Francis; 0000-0002-5563-5930
    Pure and manganese doped zinc oxide nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized over the composition range, Zn1-xMnxO (0
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Synthesis of pure and manganese doped zinc oxide nanoparticles by a solution growth technique: Structural and optical investigation
    (East European Journal of Physics, 2023) Antwi, Raymond A.; Nkrumah Isaac; Ampong, Francis K.; Paal, Mark; Tamakloe, Reuben Y.; Nkum, Robert K.; Boakye, Francis; 0000-0003-4030-7931
    Pure and manganese doped zinc oxide nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized over the composition range, Zn1-xMnxO (0