Michael Commeh

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi Ghana, Technology Consultancy Center, Department Member

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In-kitchen particulate matter emissions in high schools in the Kumasi metropolis, Ghana: Levels and the health risk assessment

Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances

Promotion of Carbon Footprint Development Mechanism: A Case Study of Osu Night Market

international journal of chemical sciences, 2021

Energy, one of the fundamentals for economic growth is also one of the fundamental sources of pol... more Energy, one of the fundamentals for economic growth is also one of the fundamental sources of pollutions, through its byproducts, as gases emissions; namely particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10). OSU night market on Lokko street, is an old popular market at Klottey Korle constitution of Accra. OSU is a suburb of Accra in which the market is situated. In this market activities normally starts at 3 pm and climax around 9 pm and ends completely around 2 am. During this period mainly, foods are sold to people from all corner of Ghana. Most travellers, mostly drivers and official from government establishment troop there to buy food for the evening. The delicacy or tasty nature of the food attracts people to the market. Food cooked and sold in the market are mainly, kenkey, rice, kelewele, fried yam, fufu, and porridge. Fish and meat like pork are also smoked and sold in the market to go with some of the food sold. It is the cooking and smoking with inefficient cookstove and smoking ovens in the market that causes the air pollution during trading activities. Firstly, a survey cookstoves, smoking oven and positions for taking air pollution measurement were marked. Air pollution levels were measured before and after interventions, and levels of carbon footprint recorded. New clean cookstoves and fish smoking oven with efficiency of 60% and fuel reduction of 66.66% were installed together with huge chimneys to direct the smoke away into the atmosphere. From our findings there was a rise in particulate matter from 820 ug/m 3 to 8024 ug/m 3 before the installation of the clean cookstoves and then decline from 8024 ug/m 3 to 35 ug/m 3 after the installation of the clean cookstoves. After the intervention the average PM2.5 reduced from 1821.625 ug/m3 to 494.75 ug/m 3 and that of Carbon monoxide reduced from 12.96 ppm to 2.575 ppm.

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Strategy for institutional cook stoves promotion in the context of a behavioral change-A case study of Opoku Ware School and ST. Paul's Seminary, Accra, as the control in the research in Ghana

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), May 9, 2022

76% of households mainly cook using polluting fuels and inefficient cooking technologies or devic... more 76% of households mainly cook using polluting fuels and inefficient cooking technologies or devices (Ghana Statistical Service [GSS] , 2017) [1]. As a result 13,000-16,000 people die from the aforementioned factors. Clean cook stoves borders on SDG 7 on clean energy and SDG 3 on health (Kumar et al., 2021) [2], SDG 2 on food security and sustainable agriculture, SDG 5 on gender, SDG 11 on cities, and SDG 13 on climate change, (Fenny et al., 2017) [3]. However, improved efficient cooking devices that eliminate the death associated with inefficient cooking stoves are not easily accepted, even when subsidized, (Ackah et al., 2021)[4] .What might be the underlying narratives to this resistance? This article tends to find out using OWASS as the first case study and using St. Paul's Seminary as a control. The research looked at the design of the institutional stove for both firewood and gas. The pot size is 210 litres stainless steel for 6 gas stoves and 6 firewood stoves. Conclusively, acceptability was generally successful with OWASS while St. Paul was with difficulty despite the similarity in problems and solutions.

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The Effects of roof angle, inlet gap size and drying time on dryer mass flow rate and moisture content in a chimney-dependent solar crop dryer using design of experiments (DOE)

Al-Qadisiyah Journal for Engineering Sciences

A chimney dependent solar crop dryer (CDSCD) was designed and developed. Design of Experiments (D... more A chimney dependent solar crop dryer (CDSCD) was designed and developed. Design of Experiments (DOE) was used to carry out experiments using a statistical three level non randomized factorial experimental design in Minitab statistical software version 19.0. The effect of three drying parameters, roof angle (º), Inlet gap size (mm), and time (h) on dryer inlet mass flow rate (kg/s) and moisture content (%) were studied. The regression results showed that there was a satisfactory fit of the model variability for both dryer inlet mass flow rate and crop moisture content. The p-value for each parameter was less than 0.005, which is statistically significant. The R-squared (R2) value was 94.67% for inlet air mass flow rate study and 99.72% for moisture content. It was observed that the optimal values for achieving a low moisture content response (≤ 24%) were roof angle of 81º, inlet to outlet cross-sectional area ratio of 1.08768:1 and a minimum drying time of 24 hours while the optimal ...

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TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER ON EQUIPPING LOCAL ARTISANS ON FABRICATING [Autosaved]

THC2019PosterTemplateZA.1

CFD analysis of a flat bottom institutional cookstove

Scientific African, 2022

Z.SA.Conference.3

Numerical Modeling of a Hot Plate Stove for Peanut Roasting

Journal of Engineering, 2022

Heat treatment, especially roasting, is known to reduce harmful fungal species and mycotoxin form... more Heat treatment, especially roasting, is known to reduce harmful fungal species and mycotoxin formation to a great extent. Experiments were conducted for heat treatment and the effects of introducing different fin configurations. ANSYS Fluent 14.5 was used to simulate the three-dimensional (3D) roaster geometry. The effect of the addition of different fins at the bottom of the hot plate was then studied. It was observed that maximum surface temperatures of 133°C, 153.25°C, 310.63°C, and 265.07°C were obtained after 180 minutes (three hours) for the experimental (without fins), predicted (without fins), predicted (with rod fins), and predicted (with honeycomb fins), respectively. The addition of honeycomb and rod fins to the roster’s plate increased temperatures by 115.34% and 143.03% of the original roaster hot plate. Thus, a design with rod fins added to the hot plate could improve its thermal performance and hence reduce the harmful effects of possible fungal species and mycotoxin ...

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DRI.Idea to reality- a case of Nnuspa Non [Autosaved] [Autosaved]

Flat Bottom Pot Institutional Cookstove: Assessing the Efficiency and Power with and without a Blower

international journal of chemical sciences, 2020

Cooking is a vital part of life, and it is usually done on a cook stove. Cook stoves have seen va... more Cooking is a vital part of life, and it is usually done on a cook stove. Cook stoves have seen various modifications and improvements along the lines of various reasons. For instance, there have been modifications based on fire control, usage, and size among others. In recent times, stove modifications are geared towards increased fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. Improved cook stoves that run on solid biomass have the potential to increase the nutritional value of meals prepared with it. These stoves also have reduced emissions due to complete combustion and this can help curb indoor air pollution and its attendant problems. The Applied Industrial Ceramics and Rural Enterprise Development Unit (AIC-RED) of Technology Consultancy Centre (TCC), KNUST, Kumasi, has developed and constructed an Institutional Cookstove. The stove was tested to assess its power and fuel efficiency with and without a blower forced draft. The stove had a power of 11.5 kW without a blower and 11.6 kW wi...

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Improved Institutional Cookstoves: An Assessment of the Efficiency in its Application in the agro and food processing industry in Ghana

For nearly a century research institutions and development organisations across the world have be... more For nearly a century research institutions and development organisations across the world have been engaged in the development, testing and publishing of improved cookstoves for cooking. Three institutional cookstoves developed by the Technology Consultancy Centre of the College of Engineering, at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, and SNV Ghana, a Netherlands Development Organization, were constructed and studied to determine their power and efficiency using the water boiling test. The round bottom pot cookstove had the highest efficiency of 59.70% (tier 4) and a power of 8.8 kW, followed by the flat bottom pot cookstove with an efficiency of 47.40% (tier 4) and a power of 11.5 kW, and then the mobile cookstove that had an efficiency of 33.40% (tier 2.7) and a power of 11.3 kW. These institutional cookstoves which have been introduced into the agro and food processing industry in Ghana shows an improvement of about two to four times the efficiencies ...

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The enhancement of potential eco-tourism small scale business using geographic information systems in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

Clean Cookstove Technology Use for Energy Efficiency in the School System

Journal of Natural Resources and Development, 2019

Globally, clean cookstoves represent the best substitute for open fire biomass stoves in order to... more Globally, clean cookstoves represent the best substitute for open fire biomass stoves in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fuelwood. Prospects to transfer this technology to Botswana are being explored. Our research objectives were to transfer the clean Institutional Cookstove (IC) technology to Okavango Research Institute (ORI), quantify the amount of mopane (Colophospermum mopane) fuelwood it consumes in comparison to the traditional biomass energy system, and analyze its potential to be used as a substitute for the open fire cooking method. The clean IC technology transfer to ORI was successfully completed before testing its energy efficiency and financial viability. It consumed approximately two-thirds less fuelwood than the traditional three stone stove. This presents an opportunity for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from fuelwood consumption in Botswana. This is a critical consideration in an environment where there is limited readily available fuelwood. T...

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Co-hydrothermal carbonization of pineapple and watermelon peels: Effects of process parameters on hydrochar yield and energy content

Bioresource Technology Reports, 2021

Abstract This research determines the effects of temperature, residence time and mixing ratio on ... more Abstract This research determines the effects of temperature, residence time and mixing ratio on hydrochar yield and energy content from the co- hydrothermal carbonization (co-HTC) of pineapple and watermelon peels. The research assessed optimum conditions for higher hydrochar yields and energy content as well as the synergistic effects of pineapple and watermelon peels on the co-HTC process. Results show that hydrochar yield decreased with increasing temperature and residence time. In contrast, energy and carbon content increased with increasing temperature and residence time. Pineapple peels showed greater hydrochar yields and energy contents than watermelon peels. The optimum conditions for co-processing are 180 °C, 120 min and a mixing ratio of 70:30 for pineapple and watermelon peels respectively. Synergistic effects occurred during the co-HTC of pineapple and watermelon peels with a decrease in hydrochar yield and an increase in energy and carbon content.

Design, Fabrication and Evaluation of Non-Continuous Inverted Downdraft Gasifier Stove Utilizing Rice husk as feedstock

Scientific African, 2020

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

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Plastic Fuel Conversion and Characterisation: A Waste Valorization Potential for Ghana

MRS Advances, 2020

Plastics generally play a very important role in a plethora of industries, fields and our everyda... more Plastics generally play a very important role in a plethora of industries, fields and our everyday lives. In spite of their cheapness, availability and important contributions to lives, they however, pose a serious threat to the environment due to their mostly non-biodegradable nature. Recycling into useful products can reduce the amount of plastic waste. Thermal degradation (Pyrolysis) of plastics is becoming an increasingly important recycling method for the conversion of plastic materials into valuable chemicals and oil products. In this work, waste Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) water bottles were thermally converted into useful gaseous and liquid products. A simple pyrolysis reactor system has been used for the conversions with the liquid product yield of 65 % at a temperature range of 400°C to 550°C. The chemical analysis of the pyrolytic oil showed the presence of functional groups such as alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, ethers, carboxylic acids, esters, and phenyl ring substit...

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Evaluation of Briquettes Produced from Charred Sawdust, Corncob and Ricehusk

The International Journal of Science & Technoledge, 2019

The use of firewood, twigs and charcoal as fuel sources has resulted increase in the rate of defo... more The use of firewood, twigs and charcoal as fuel sources has resulted increase in the rate of deforestation. This study evaluated the physical and chemical properties of briquettes produced from charred farm wastes to supplement the use of charcoal and firewood. Charred farm wastes namely; corncob, rice husk and sawdust were used to produce the briquette with starch as the binding material. A ratio of 100 %, 50-50 % and 33.33 % mixture of the raw material were used in preparation of the briquettes. Laboratory tests including shatter index, boiling test, proximate and ultimate analysis were carried out to determine the physical and chemical qualities of the developed briquettes. From results obtained, sawdust briquette with the least density (325.6kg/m 3) recorded the least boiling time of 30mins compared to the other samples. The proximate analysis showed that, the mixture of corncob and sawdust briquette had the highest values of volatile matter (71.48%) and fixed carbon content (19.99%), least amounts of ash content (2.29%) and moisture content (6.24). Mixture of corncob and sawdust also had the highest heating value of 30804.72kJ/kg. The production of briquettes from these waste materials as shown in this study provides alternate fuel to charcoal or firewood as well as helps manage waste disposal.

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Brenu Beach Resort: Innovation for financial independence

In August 2001, the New Pat1'iotic Party (NPP) had assumed power in Ghana. One of the reasons... more In August 2001, the New Pat1'iotic Party (NPP) had assumed power in Ghana. One of the reasons for the NPP's success was the promise to invest in and develop the local economy under the slogan 'Golden Age of Business', especially among the private sector community. The change towards a new democratic government resulted in wide-ranging goodwill from the local population, who were expecting a new level of personal and professional freedom in Ghana. The business sector was longing for positive change, as for almost 30 years private businesses had not received significant support from the preceding govenunents. People in the tourism industry were finally encouraged to invest into their innovative business ideas and motivated to start up small enterprises to increase their quality of life. 01'iginality, creativity and appropriateness are generally described as key elements for innovation. While innovation is associated with the introduction of new ideas or concepts, geographers use the expression' coping strategies' when describing innovation under difficult social circumstances (Yaro 2004). In Ghana, for most entrepreneurs in the tourism sector the term hmovation is part of daily life's 'coping', or a constant survival process. People practice innovation to survive in their business envirolunent, and they alter and adapt according to the resources available - a process which, in Ghanaian, is represented by the Akan _ Adinkra twisting symbol JlrkyinkyiIfimearung dynamism and versatility. nil Ghanaians believe that these characteristics underlie the resourcefulness of mankind, and that one changes and adapts as life evolves (Bodomo et al. 2010)

Sustainable circular value chains: From rural waste to feasible urban construction materials solutions

Developments in the Built Environment, 2021

Urban regions in sub-Saharan Africa are growing significantly more rapid than their also growing ... more Urban regions in sub-Saharan Africa are growing significantly more rapid than their also growing rural counterparts. However, the employment perspectives in rural areas are decreasing, and thus the urban growth can become a driver for enhanced livelihoods in the rural areas. Since urbanisation in Africa requires high amount of concrete, the conversion of agricultural waste materials to sustainable concrete constituents does not only create new rural and urban income possibilities, it can also help Africa's construction industry to spearhead green concrete technologies, and thus to reduce carbon emission worldwide. From vegetable wastes chemical admixtures can be derived as well as reactive mineral cement substitutes, which help to use concrete more efficiently and reduce the ordinary Portland cement clinker in concrete, respectively. The authors of this paper discuss the potentials and shortcomings of using agricultural waste materials for construction materials and propose a synergistic three-step process chain to obtain polysaccharides, biochar, and a reactive ash. The process requires boiling, hydrolysis and vertical shaft kiln technology, respectively, to obtain maximum useable products with minimum generation of climate gases. Eventually, the process chain is discussed in conjunction with possible rural to urban circular economic potentials in the concrete construction business.

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