http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/65 Wed, 12 Aug 2026 05:34:25 GMT 2026-08-12T05:34:25Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10444 Protection challenges of PV Integration in the Cameroon southern interconnected power network Nshizirungu, Albin; Talai, Stephen M; Letting, Lawrence K.; Belindah, Musavy Integrating photovoltaic energy into existing electricity grids has become a common practice in the recent decades. However, this interconnection must be carefully planned in order to avoid their adverse impacts on the network operations. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts photovoltaic (PV) integration may have on the protection of the Southern Interconnected Network (SIN) of Cameroon. In first time generalized fault study simulations were conducted for both three and single-phase faults. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) were added to each of three PV plants connected to the network, and then monitors were used to identify contribution of each component to the network fault currents. Impacts of PV on fuse, relay, and recloser operations were also assessed. Simulation results showed both decreases and increases in fault currents at different buses during generalized faults studies, but the differences were more severe with the single line to ground faults. The above findings are useful when calculating protective devices ratings in case of PV integration. Contributions of 683.694 A and 259.498 A from both the PV plant and the BESS at B15NGOUS1 bus respectively were recorded. There were also contributions of 42.274 A and 23.428 A to the fault currents from PV plants at B15BASS21 and B10ALU buses respectively while their corresponding BESSs rather take 10.289 A and 6.448 A in that order. The simulations result also showed that PV integration increases the fault critical clearing time by 0.444 seconds and 13.728 seconds for fuse and relay respectively, while there was no impact on fault clearing time in the case of recloser. From the findings it is obvious that PV integration into the SIN may affect the network protection arrangements by changing both fault currents and clearing time. Therefore, it is highly recommended to consider protection upgrades especially fuses and relays when planning PV integration into existing grids in general and into the SIN particularly. Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10444 2025-10-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10440 Advances in biogas desulfurization using organic and inorganicsorbents: A review Mecha, Cleophas Achisa; Mrosso, Register Access to clean and affordable energy is a key enabler of development. Biogas is anessential renewable and sustainable energy that has great potential in meetingenergy requirements, especially in areas with limited access to the grid. However, thepresence of impurities such as hydrogen sulfide limits its application by corrodingequipment parts and reducing the calorific value. Biogas desulfurization is thereforeimportant; however, there are limited studies available. The current study criticallyevaluated existing biogas sweetening technologies applied on an industrial scale inthree main categories: pre-digestion, during digestion, and post-digestion. Theremoval of H 2S using sorption processes employing a variety of organic and inorganicsorbents was comprehensively reviewed. The effectiveness of inorganic materialssuch as red rock, ash, and zero-valent iron as well as organic sorbents including sweetpotato leaves, organic solvents, and water hyacinth was assessed. The effect of pro-cess conditions such as pH and moisture content especially for organic sorbents wasevaluated. The study proposed new ways of increasing the performance of the sor-bent materials through functionalization, recovery, regeneration, and reuse as well asbiogas pre-treatment to remove moisture. While most studies previously reportedfocused on H 2S during removal post-digestion, the current study evaluated the entireprocess train from pre-digestion, during digestion, and post digestion thereby provid-ing a more concise approach to biogas desulfurization. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10440 2026-08-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10341 Energy utilization and saving opportunities in process industries: Case study of textile Manufacturing Industry in Kenya Kimutai, Isaiah K; Kimutai, Stephen K. The industrial sector is seriously threatened by high energy costs brought on by inefficient energy use. Energy, together with labor and raw materials, make up the majority of production costs in the textile industry. As a result, the only real way for the textile industry to turn a profit and maintain its competitiveness is to reduce its energy costs through energy conservation measures and energy management strategies. The main objective of the study was to investigate energy utilization in textile manufacturing plant and identify energy saving and conservation measures that help reduce energy costs. In the current work, energy investigation was carried out to determine performance of high energy consuming utility systems and equipment such as compressed air systems, boilers, motors, lighting systems and steam distribution systems. Boiler flue gas analysis test, air compressor air leak test, heat loss analysis for steam distribution system, motor load assessment and load variation trends in air compressor were done. Energy utilization analysis showed that high electricity consumption occurs in spinning (48%), followed by weaving (26%) and wet processing (22%). Statistical analysis of energy consumption in spinning, weaving and wet processing showed linear relationship between production and energy consumption with correlation coefficients (R2 ) of 0.782, 0.708 and 0.637 respectively which reveals that there continues to be a large potential of energy efficiency across all the major textile manufacturing processes in the plant. The study found potential savings in electric energy to be approximately 367,784 kWh/year, wood fuel savings 1,219 tones/year and furnace oil savings to be 22,275 L/year. The results displayed 31.6% overall energy cost saving potential with an average simple payback period of 0.5 years on the investigated high energy consuming utility systems and equipment. In conclusion, significant energy savings in the sector might be attained by implementing free or inexpensive investments including sealing air and steam leaks, insulating bare pipes, and properly drying wood fuel Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10341 2023-08-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10340 Performance evaluation of sand screening machine: Effect of sieve size and moisture content Kiprotich, Garison; Kimutai, Isaiah; Kimutai, Stephen In construction industry, sand is a major raw material besides water, cement, gravel and steel. The quality of sand is vital in development of firm structures in construction. Thus, for construction industry to remain competitive, it is critical to develop efficient sand screening technologies that produce high quality sand while reducing labour cost. Therefore, the main objective of this research paper was to assess sand sieving technologies used in construction industry in Kenya and to design and evaluate performance operation of the sand screening machine that would help improve the efficiency and quality of sand while lowering the overall construction cost. The specific objectives were to design sand screening machine and to investigate the effect of moisture and sieve sizes on screening time. Experiments were conducted on semi-automatic machine driven by motor to determine fine sand produced at different moisture levels and time consumed. The machine designed consist a motor, sieve, shaft, steel hollow tubes, flat steel bars, sheet metal plates, hinges, eccentric sheaves, and angle bars. The study found that screening raw sand of 10 kg using a designed semi-automatic machine with a sieve of 3mm x 3mm and densities 1442 kg/m3 , 1602 kg/m3 , 1682 kg/m3 , 1922 kg/m3 and 2082 kg/m3 were found to produce 8.1kg, 6.8kg, 6.1kg, 4.1kg and 2.8kg respectively with sieving time of 24s, 26s, 27s, 30s and 32s respectively. Designed semi-automatic sand sieving machine displayed a labour reduction cost of 66% leading to savings of Ksh. 39,600 per month. In addition, the output of the machine screening dry sand (1442 kg/m3 ) 8 hours per day was found to be 9,720 kg. In conclusion, low density sand and optimal sieve size results to high efficiency and significant labour cost savings. The study recommends the use of sand with low density (dry) and adoption of semi-automatic screening machine technologies in construction industry in order to attain Kenya’s affordable housing programme Sun, 01 Oct 2023 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/10340 2023-10-01T00:00:00Z