At the center of this project is a professor at the University of Agriculture Makurdi, in Makurdi, Benue Nigeria, named Dr. John Ikuba Ona. Dr. Ona does extensive research on enzymes and thus has a high demand for them. When purchasing these enzymes Dr. Ona does so in large quantities in order to reduce the cost of individual samples of enzymes. The enzymes he isn’t currently working with get stored in cool temps that must remain between 2oC and 10oC. Unfortunately, the power grid in which Dr. Ona’s lab is on is unreliable and often loses power for up to a week. This causes the temperature of the stored enzymes to rise and spoil. This in turn is a waste of money for Dr. Ona. Dr. Ona has tried to purchase the enzymes with a higher frequency and smaller quantity, but since he has to purchase from the United Kingdom the time isn’t always right and the frequency of purchasing leads to higher costs for the same amount of enzymes. The proposed solution for Dr. Ona is an off-the-grid enzyme cooler. This cooler would be completely sustainable from solar energy with no dependence on an electrical power grid. The main components are the solar panels, a battery and the cooler. During the day the solar panels would power the cooler and possible keep a battery charged. If there is a day of no light and at night the cooler would be powered by a battery.

 

Team Members:

Ryan McBurney, Senior, Aerospace Engineering

Martin Nungari, Senior, Electrical Engineering

 

Community Partner: Dr. John Ikuba Ona