Design, Construction And Performance Evaluation Of A Furnace Using Groundnut Shell Briquettes As A Means Of Firing Process For Melting Aluminum
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Heat treating is the controlled heating and cooling of a material to achieve certain mechanical properties, such as hardness, strength, flexibility, and the reduction of residual stresses. Many heat treating processes require the precise control of temperature over the heating cycle. Heat treating is used extensively in metals production, and in the tempering and annealing of glass and ceramics products. Typically, the energy used for process heating accounts for 2% to 15% of the total production cost. Thermal efficiencies can range from over 90% for condensing boilers to under 10% for small, batch operated; high temperature furnaces like heat treat furnaces. In order to improve the energy efficiency and optimize the load throughput, it’s vital to have numerical modeling capability to accurately simulate the heat treatment processes. Currently there are plenty of commercial solutions for modeling the heat transfer and material properties for a single workpiece but none of them have a furnace model for simulating the thermal profile of the entire load. A comprehensive furnace model for different kinds of furnaces is crucial to accurately simulate the temperature of the load (Onuegbu et al., 2016).
Different sources of fuel for firing process of a furnace have existed in the past with numerous limitations/disadvantages such as; there is decreasing availability of fuel wood, ever-rising prices of kerosene and gas used in furnace in Nigeria. Theuseoffuelwoodforfurnace firing processhashealthimplications especially on the operator who aredisproportionatelyexposedtothesmokeapartfromenvironmental effects. Also, Globalwarming has become an international concern. Globalwarming is caused by greenhouse gasses which carbondioxide is among the major contributors (Onuegbu et al., 2010).
Biomass, particularly agricultural residues seem to beoneofthemostpromisingenergyresourcesfordeveloping countries (Patomsok, 2018). Agro waste is the most promising energy resource fordevelopingcountrieslikeours.Thedecreasingavailability of fuel woods has necessitated that efforts bemade towards efficient utilization of agricultural wastes.These wastes have acquired considerably importance asfuelsforfurnace operationpurposes.
Biomass briquettes have been shown tohavethehighestpotentialforuseassuitablealternative to coal/ fuel wood in industrial furnace operation. It was shownthat increased emissions of CO2 have been drasticallyreduced owing to the fact that the rate of deforestation ishigher thantheafforestationeffortinthecountry(Onuegbu et al., 2016).
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The decreasing availability of fuel wood, coupled withthe ever-rising prices of kerosene and gas inNigeria,drawattentiontotheneedtoconsideralternative sources of energy used in furnace for firing process. Such energy sourcesshould be renewable and should be accessible to poor. Atransitiontoasustainableenergysystemisurgentlyneeded in the developing countries such as Nigeria. Thisshould,ofnecessity,becharacterizedbyadeparturefrom the present subsistence level energy usage levelsbased on decreasing firewood resources, to a situationwhere human and farming activities would be based onsustainableanddiversifiedenergyforms (Akinyosoye, 2013). In this case a biomass, particularly agricultural residues seem to beoneofthemostpromisingenergyresourcesfordeveloping countries (Patomsok, 2018). Groundnut shell is used as the source of energy or that meets those requirements. The groundnut shell briquettes is used as a means of firing process for melting aluminium which overcomes the problems of using fuel wood and ever-rising prices of kerosene and gas inNigeria faced by early designed furnace.
1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The main aim of this study is to design and carry out a performance evaluation of a furnace using groundnut shell briquettes as a means of firing process for melting aluminum. The objectives of the study are:
- To carry out a performance evaluation of a furnace when groundnut shell briquettes is used as source of fuel for firing process.
- To study how groundnut shell briquettes is been carried out.
- To study the advantages of using groundnut shell briquettes over other sources of furnace fuel.
- To investigate the effect of the use of groundnutshell ontheproperties of coalbriquettes.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
This furnace is apply to the heat treatment which requires high temperature accuracy and high-grade atmosphere such as oxidization, reduction, degreasing, carbonization and baking for functional materials of the electrode material, the magnetic material and the fluorescent substance. Using groundnut shell briquettesas the source of heat will serve as means of reducing emissions of CO2. This study will also serve as a means of reducing the cost of operating furnace.
1.5 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
The scope of this work covers building and carrying out a performance evaluation of a furnace that uses groundnut shell briquettes as a means of firing process for melting aluminum. In this research work, briquettes of groundnut shell were produced. The different briquette of groundnutshell was produced by bending.
1.6 PROJECT WORK ORGANISATION
The various stages involved in the development of this project have been properly put into five chapters to enhance comprehensive and concise reading. In this project thesis, the project is organized sequentially as follows:
Chapter one of this work is on the introduction to this work. In this chapter, the background, significance, objective limitation and problem of this work were discussed.
Chapter two is on literature review of this work. In this chapter, all the literature pertaining to this work was reviewed.
Chapter three is on design methodology. In this chapter all the method involved during the design and construction were discussed.
Chapter four is on testing analysis. All testing that result accurate functionality was analyzed.
Chapter five is on conclusion, recommendation and references.
The Title Page should be the first section of your project “Design, Construction And Performance Evaluation Of A Furnace Using Groundnut Shell Briquettes As A Means Of Firing Process For Melting Aluminum”, providing essential details like the project title, your name, your supervisor’s name, the institution, and the submission date. After that, the Abstract offers a brief summary of your project, touching on its purpose, methods, results, and conclusions in 150-300 words. The Acknowledgments section is where you can thank those who supported your research, such as your supervisor, peers, or organizations that provided resources.
Next, the Table of Contents organizes the Design, Construction And Performance Evaluation Of A Furnace Using Groundnut Shell Briquettes As A Means Of Firing Process For Melting Aluminum by listing its chapters and sections, along with page numbers for easy reference. The List of Figures and List of Tables help guide readers to specific visual elements like graphs, charts, or tables included in the document. There should also be an Abbreviations and Glossary section to explain any specialized terms or acronyms, making the content clearer to readers unfamiliar with the technical language.
The main body of the Design, Construction And Performance Evaluation Of A Furnace Using Groundnut Shell Briquettes As A Means Of Firing Process For Melting Aluminum should start with the Introduction, which provides background information, outlines the research problem, states your objectives, and gives a brief overview of your research methods. Following that, the Literature Review offers an in-depth look at previous research relevant to your project, identifying gaps your study aims to address. The Methodology section then explains the research design, tools, and data collection methods you used to conduct the project and analyze the data.
In the Results and Discussion section, you present your findings and discuss them in relation to the Design, Construction And Performance Evaluation Of A Furnace Using Groundnut Shell Briquettes As A Means Of Firing Process For Melting Aluminum research questions or objectives, often using tables or charts to help explain the data. The Conclusion summarizes the key results, discusses their implications, and suggests possible directions for future research. You may also include recommendations based on your findings, offering practical advice for improvements or applications. Finally, the Design, Construction And Performance Evaluation Of A Furnace Using Groundnut Shell Briquettes As A Means Of Firing Process For Melting Aluminum project should include a References or Bibliography section to list all the sources you cited, as well as Appendices for any additional material. A Statement of Originality is often included to confirm the authenticity of your work