This dissertation by KNUST student Gloria Baaba Aboagye investigates the potential of using charcoal briquettes produced from dried coconut husk as an alternative source of biomass fuel. The briquettes were evaluated along several physical and combustion properties, including calorific value, thermal efficiency, and emissions compared to traditional charcoal.
This dissertation by KNUST student Daniel Owusu evaluates the performance of a steel cocoa pod splitter originaly developed in a Creative Capacity Building training at Fomena in Ghana. It was evaluated on the parameters of splitting rate, percentage of beans damaged, and the force required to break one pod compared to the traditional method of using cutlass.
This dissertation by KNUST student Priscilla Mensah evaluates the performance of a cassava peeler developed in a Creative Capacity Building training in Adansi, Ghana. The peeler was evaluated on throughput capacity, efficiency, and safety compared to the traditional method.
In Ghana, about 73% of households rely on solid fuels for cooking. Over 13,000 annual deaths are attributed to exposure to indoor air pollution from inefficient combustion. In this study, assessment of thermal efficiency, emissions, and total global warming impact of three cookstoves commonly used in Ghana was completed using the International Workshop Agreement (IWA) Water Boiling Test (WBT) protocol. Statistical averages of three replicate tests for each cookstove were computed. Thermal efficiency results were: wood-burning cookstove: 12.2 ± 5.00% (Tier 0); coalpot charcoal stove: 23.3 ± 0.73% (Tier 1–2); and Gyapa charcoal cookstove: 30.00 ± 4.63% (Tier 2–3). The wood-burning cookstove emitted more CO, CO2, and PM2.5 than the coalpot charcoal stove and Gyapa charcoal cookstove. The emission factor (EF) for PM2.5 and the emission rate for the wood-burning cookstove were over four times higher than the coalpot charcoal stove and Gyapa charcoal cookstove. To complete the WBT, the study results showed that, by using the Gyapa charcoal cookstove instead of the wood-burning cookstove, the global warming impact could be potentially reduced by approximately 75% and using the Gyapa charcoal cookstove instead of the coalpot charcoal cookstove by 50%. We conclude that there is the need for awareness, policy, and incentives to enable end-users to switch to, and adopt, Gyapa charcoal cookstoves for increased efficiency and reduced emissions/global warming impact.
In this paper, KNUST and MIT D-Lab researchers detail their research on the development and design of a solar dryer with biomass backup heater for drying fruits.
This paper reviews various studies on the impact of rice cultivation on greenhouse gas emissions. Based on the review, researchers from IDIN Academic Partner KNUST developed a conceptual framework that evaluates the impact of rice cultivation on greenhouse gas emissions in Ghana.
IDIN's program impact report demonstrates what the program and its partners have achieved together from 2012-2016.
IDIN's program impact report demonstrates what the program and its partners have achieved together from 2012-2016.
IDIN's program impact report demonstrates what the program and its partners have achieved together from 2012-2016.
This report and case study presents the research of IDIN 2016 Summer Research Fellow Jessica Gordon, who researched an innovative poverty alleviation and climate adaptation pilot project in a village in rural western China. The case study finds that the project was effective in influencing the local development plan for the area to take into consideration climate change adaptation and mitigation and to link these issues to poverty reduction, making this the first county in China to develop a climate resilient local development plan.
