Browsing by Author "Rasheed A. Busari"

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    DEVELOPMENT AND PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF JATROPHA CURCAS FRUIT DECORTICATOR.
    (Nigerian Instituttion of Agricultural Engineers (NIAE), 2020) Tajudeen A. Ishola; Rasheed A. Busari; Murtala O. Iyanda; Adeoye I. Oyebanji
    The local ways of decorticating Jatropha Curcas fruits using mortar and pestle or by cracking with hand is time consuming, unhygienic, labour intensive and grossly inadequate to meet the present demand of Jatropha seeds processing and other value-added products in the country as the oil from the seeds can serve as alternative fuel for diesel engines. To overcome these challenges, variables that influence this very important decorticating process require proper attention. A Jatropha Curcas fruit decorticator was designed, and it consists of feed hopper, threshing unit, frame, bearings, and shell outlets. The design of the machine was based on the selected engineering properties of Jatropha fruits and all materials used for the construction were sourced locally. The machine was evaluated for its performance and data obtained from the test were analyzed statistically with software SPSS 18 using a 3×3 factorial experiment in a Completely Randomized Design. The results showed that the highest decorticating and cleaning efficiencies were 93.9 % and 98.4 % respectively while the highest percentage seed loss and mechanical damage index were 12.5 % and 6.3 % respectively. The study also revealed that the decorticating efficiency, cleaning efficiency, seed loss and mechanical damage index increased with increase in decorticating speed. This machine could make large scale production of biodiesel from Jatropha Curcas achievable.
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    Emission characteristics of a compression ignition engine running castor biodiesel as a blending agent.
    (Published by International Commission of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering., 2020) Rasheed A. Busari; Joshua O. Olaoye
    The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of castor biodiesel and its blends on the emission characteristics of a compression ignition engine. The research work was carried out on a single cylinder, four-stroke, water cooled, direct injection diesel engine by using biodiesel made from castor oil, compared with conventional diesel. The fuels used in the analyses are B5, B10, B15, B20, B25, B50, B100 and convectional diesel. The compression ignition engine was operated by varying the loading conditions (0 - 6 kW) in a step of 1 kW. Based on the parameters measured, detailed analyses were carried out on five regulated exhaust emissions i.e. NOX, CO, CO2, O2, and HC. The results clearly indicated that the engine running with biodiesel and their blends were reduced in CO, CO2 and HC emission by up to 20%. However, further reductions in emissions (CO, CO2, and HC) were observed as biodiesel concentration increases in the blends. Also, for biodiesel and its blends, the NOX (10.6% - 37.7%) emissions increased with increase in the load and, directly proportional to biodiesel concentration while O2 reduces as the load increases and increases as biodiesel concentration increased. The results from the experiments suggested castor biodiesel oil with the engine exhaust gases could be a good substitute fuel for existing diesel engine.
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    Rapid Composting Using a Novel Agricultural Waste Shredder.
    (Published by Faculty of Engineering, Federal University Oye-Ekiti. Ekiti State, Nigeia., 2024) Rasheed A. Busari; Kehinde P. Alabi; Raheef K. Adebayo; Juwon O. Dada
    Agricultural waste causes social and environmental pollution, affecting global health. Converting agricultural waste to organic manure reduces the problems of pollution. Existing machine used in conversion has low efficiency in terms of throughput capacity and size reduction, leading to slow composting. This study focuses on the evaluation of a specially developed waste shredder for fast composting (maize straw). The machine was designed to handle substantial volumes of agricultural waste, operated at different speeds (i.e. 300, 600, 900, 1200 and 1500 rpm) and time (i.e. 0.5, 10, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 hr). The components of the machine included shredding drum equipped with three sets of blades, a feeding tray, sieve, engine seat and an outlet. Performance evaluation carried on the machine includes shredding efficiency and throughput capacity. A standardized Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to maximize efficiency varying the operational speeds and shredding time. Results showed achieved maximum shredding efficiency of 91% and maximum throughput capacity of 585 kg/hr when the machine was operated at 1,500 rpm for 1.5 hr. In addition, the machine is portable, low energy and easy to operate for any agricultural waste.