SUCCESSFUL: BIOMASS WASTE TO ALCOHOL

Alcohol has many applications in the industry – as fuel, in producing diethyl ether, for sterilization etc. Two major methods of producing alcohol are hydrolysis of ethene and fermentation of glucose. Glucose is an expensive feedstock hence other carbohydrates are used. The good news is we can now produce alcohol from biomass wastes such as sugarcane bagasse and sawdust. In a research that I provided Technical Assistance at my Center, we were able to breakdown the lignin that hindered access to cellulose in these wastes, did chemical hydrolysis and then fermented the reducing sugar to alcohol. Physico-chemical analysis as well as GC-MS/FTIR result confirmed the claim. At Odfid Technical Center we conduct trial experiments at our lab, develop research proposal before a study is advanced to specialized laboratories for analysis, then we analyze results using Excel and MATLAB. Ongoing environmental researches we are assisting include converting biomass waste to biogas and biopolymer, development of adsorbent, design of batch reactor, combustor, and adsorber. “Odfid … Ensuring competence.” 07037263653

MY HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY KIDS MADE THIS SALT

 

The attached picture made my day.

A group of SS2 students in one of the schools I visit to teach Chemistry came excitedly, "Sir, we have produced our own salt. We would not buy salt again in the market."

 

I taught them in SS1 SEPARATION TECHNIQUES that you can obtain salt (NaCl) by evaporating sea water to dryness.

 

The students now secretly arranged for one of them to visit Ibeno water and get sample of the seawater which they evaporated to dryness and here comes our locally made salt.

Qualitative Analysis: The salt produced on exposure to air was found to be deliquescent - attracts water from the atmosphere to dissolve itself. It dissolves completely in water. The solution of the salt gave white precipitate when tested with solution of silver nitrate, the precipitate was insoluble in nitric acid (confirmatory test for chlorides)

This indeed is very rewarding as it has been my expectation to help this young minds to begin now to figure out ways of harnessing our natural resources.

While I will continue with the work of purifying the product at my private technical center, I have advised them that the salt need to be purified to remove carbonates and other non-sodium halides etc.

We would in the present state use the salt as preservative for our emulsion paint, we would use it for laboratory test for chlorides and to demonstrate removal of hardness of water (water softening by ion exchange).

My philosophy of high school chemistry is to let them understand the theory, carry out the laboratory practicals, and apply the knowledge to do mini projects.