Final Year Student Converts Pure Water Sachet To Hybrid Fuel

Zainab Bilyamin, a final year student of the  Department of Chemistry Federal University Dutse has converted sachet (pure) water leather waste to hybrid fuel (kerosene and diesel) as her final year project.

Her research project is titled 'Conversion of Low-Density Polyethylene and Mixed Low-Density Polyethylene with Polyethylene Terephthalate into Fuel'.

The University's Newsletter sent to AllNews Nigeria disclosed that that the final result shows the hybrid fuel produced from the pure water leather waste products has similar properties as normal kerosene and diesel as it was used to light a kerosene lamp and  power a pumping machine successfully.

The fuel can also be used to power a generator to produce electricity.

Zainab in the process of converting the sachets into hybrid fuel

Zainab said she was motivated to carry out the research after reading about the possibility of converting polymeric (leather) waste into fuel because in Nigeria, polytmeric waste keeps pilling up the street without recycling, posing an environmental hazard whereas it can be converted to wealth.

Her Research Supervisor, Aminu Dauda said he quickly keyed into the project when Zainab brought the idea.

"W all know that combating the menace  of  this polymeric waste pollution has become a global challenge despite the fact that recycling rates are comparatively low, and this has lead polymeric waste pollution more than ever", Dauda stated.

The Supervisor said the research method used in the research is a normal process of "Thermal cracking method  where the waste was subjected to high temperature of about 450-500 °C which causes the breakage of the molecular bonds and breaking down long chained, higher boiling hydrocarbons into shorter chained, lower boiling hydrocarbons in the absence of oxygen."

Zainab working in the lab

In the course of the research, Dauda said they had to design and fabricate a machine (reactor) at the Kano Technology Incubation Centre which was used for the pyrolysis, the method used to convert the polymeric waste into fuel.

Zainab who is a native of Jigawa said she is interested in academics as she wants to carry the research further in her Masters and PhD program by the grace of God.

She added that the research gulped more than N100,000.

Zainab and her Supervisor called on the government to invest in this area of research as it will ease the blockage cause by  polymeric waste and at the same time serve as a source of revenue to the government and also means of reducing youth restiveness.