UENR and other partners have commissioned a hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) and biomass gasification demonstration plant as part of an ongoing €7 million REFFECT Africa Project at Tuna in the Savanna Region. The main biomass feedstock for the gasification plant will be farm waste generated from local farms within the Tuna area, namely; groundnut shells, maize cobs and husks, and sorghum husks.
The project with funding from the European Commission afforded UENR to play a pivotal role as a technical partner in building the biomass gasification plant, which has been installed at the Tuna Senior High Secondary/Technical School (TUSEC).
Engineers onsite to ensure the plant is operational
In addition, a state of the art water laboratory is being established at TUSEC as part of the project to provide onsite water testing services to ensure good water quality for drinking and irrigation.
Overall, the project will tackle the development of renewable energy sources, providing solutions for on-grid and off-grid communities, and their integration into the existing energy system and the production of biochar from the gasification process which will be improved to provide valuable fertilizer to the local farmers and also be used as a clean cooking fuel.
The Ag. Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. John K. M. Kuwornu graced the commissioning ceremony and delivered the keynote address. The technical team members on the project from UENR are Dr. Edward Awafo, Project Coordinator; Dr. Emmanuel Amankwah, Dr. Gilbert Akolgo and Dr. Thomas Atta Darkwah, all with the Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering.
The Ag. Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. John K. M. Kuwornu (in suit) in group picture with the team
Three (3) PhD students are expected to be trained on the project, and they will be jointly supervised by UENR and the University of Jaen (UJA) in Spain.
Other key partners present at the commissioning included the REFFECT Africa Coordinator, Dr. David Vera Candeas from UJA; the CEO of NASCO Feeding Minds, Umar Osman and Co-Founder of NASCO Feeding Minds, Mr. Banasco Seidu Nuhu.
