Browsing by Author "Agyei‑Tufour, B."

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    Biomethane Production From Residual Algae Biomass (Ecklonia maxima): Efects of Inoculum Acclimatization on Yield
    (Springer, 2021) Darko, C.N.S.; Agyei‑Tufour, B.; Faloye, D.F.; Goosen, N.J.; Nyankson, E.; Dodoo‑Arhin, D.
    This paper presents the effects of inoculum acclimatization on biomethane production from extraction residues of the seaweed (Ecklonia maxima) via anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion of Ecklonia maxima has been studied with and without acclimatized inoculum under mesophilic conditions (~37 °C) for a digestion period of twenty (20) days. The acclimatized inoculum-seaweed sample recorded the highest methane yield of~ 862 ml CH4/gVS (~ 55% of the total biogas produced) compared to the~580 ml CH4/gVS recorded for the non-acclimatized inoculum- seaweed sample, both within the first ten (10) days. Kinetic studies on acclimatized and non-acclimatized samples were carried out using the modifed Gompertz model. The model showed coefcients of determination (R2 ) of 0.99 and 0.98 with an estimated yield rate (µ) of~296 ml/ gVS/day (0.4 days phase lag, λ) and~60 ml/gVS/day (3.4 λ) for the acclimatized and non-acclimatized samples respectively. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses revealed the presence of carboxylic, hydroxyl, ketone and ether groups which further corroborated the suitability of E. maxima for biogas production. The implications of the results are discussed to elucidate the potential of seaweed as a renewable energy source for macroalgae biorefnery.
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    Exploratory study of the electrochemical properties of local cassava starch as a potential green and sustainable polymer binder for energy storage application
    (MRS Advances, 2023) Mohammed, L.; Doodo‑Arhin, D.; Agyei‑Tufour, B.; et al.
    The need to develop an aqueous-based binder has dominated research publications for some time now. The application of this man-made aqueous-based binder in LIBs has the potential to reduce the environmental impact of LIB. In this preliminary study, local cassava starch is treated and prepared as a polymer binder for LIBs application. The binder is applied in lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide electrodes as a cathode in LIBs. The electrodes displayed a discharge capacity of 142 mAh/g and 73 mAh/g for LiNMCO-442/Cassava starch and 139 and 28 mAh/g for LiNMCO-442/PVDF at 0.1 C-rate and 10 C-rate respectively. After 100 cycles, the LiNMCO-442 cells retained about 80.2 and 65.5% of the cells with cassava starch binder and PVDF binder, respectively, at room temperature. The fairly electrochemical performance of the local cassava starch makes it a potential alternative to the petroleum-based binder, PVDF.