Three new types of fuel are now being produced from plastic trash at the University of Ghana’s Institute of Applied Science and Technology, which is part of the college of basic and applied sciences.
It is using plastic trash to create gasoline, fuel, and natural gas.
Reprocessing them into high-value fuels and chemicals for homes or little engines achieves this.
The Institute’s Director, Professor David Dodoo-Arhin, spoke to the Ghana News Agency on Monday outside of a five-day workshop.
Depending on the circumstances in which the waste was processed, the reactor produces three liters of fuel when supplied with three kilogrammes of waste plastic.
“The fuel is up to standard and is usable. We have been cooking with gas and our cars are running the petrol and diesel,” he said
The concept, he claimed, took into account everyone along the value chain, particularly the collectors, and it might be a smart way to generate employment opportunities for lots of people.
The study, according to Prof. Doodo, was a part of the plastics-to-fuel initiative, which was launched in 2018 with financing assistance from the University of Ghana’s BANGA Africa seed grant programme.
He claimed that it was followed by two years of funding in 2021 through the “multidisciplinary category” of the University of Ghana Research Fund and another two years of co-funding in 2022 from the “FSPI NYANSAPO programme” of the French Embassy.
In order to facilitate the transformation of the public and private sectors to a circular economy based on plastic, Prof. Doodo said the effort was in line with the Ghana National Plastic Action Partnership. This would ensure sustainable plastic management.
In a statement made on her behalf, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, stated that the plastic trash problem continues to cause difficulties for the nation’s socioeconomic and environmental well-being.
She asserted that the nation’s crippling effects of plastic trash necessitated the development of sustainable waste management solutions.
The workshop was planned in conjunction with the 75th Anniversary of the University of Ghana and the 20th Anniversary team of the School of Engineering Sciences.
On the subject of “Strengthening research and innovation capacities in sustainable energy production,” the French Embassy provided funding for it.
The French ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Jules Armand Aniambossou, reaffirmed his nation’s support to the project and stated that his nation places a high priority on ensuring access to higher education and research.
He claimed that the French government wanted to expand cooperation between the two nations’ educational institutions.
through new collaborations, exchanges, dual degrees, collaborative research programmes, and cooperative research infrastructure.
“All these activities and programmes should focus on the priorities of our partner countries and aim at contributing to their development through the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.
