Charcoal oven

1. Manually and Automatically Controlled Charcoal Fired Oven for
Converting Biowastes to Clinically Viable Biomaterials
 What are biomaterials – Natural or synthetic materials used to replace
damaged tissues.
 The natural biomaterials are easy to synthesize from animal wastes e.g Bovine
(cow bone), fish bones etc.
 Proteinous matter that comes with animal wastes can cause impurities in
biomaterials for tissue repair and reduce their efficiency.
 Deproteinizing animal wastes like cow bones from biogenic sources using the
open-air burning protocol constitutes less thermal efficiency and poses health
risks to the users.
 Improving the energy efficiency during deproteinization has become important
in laboratories involved in utilizing animal bones for producing biogenic apatite
for biomedical use.

2. Solution
The multifunctional Materials Laboratory, ABU, Zaria fabricated two charcoal-fired
ovens (manual and automated) with the following differences:
1. The manual is lagged with sand while the automated is lagged with carbon fibre
reducing the weight
2. The manual doesn’t have electronic displays and inbuilt thermocouples
3. The automated consumes less charcoal usage than the manual
4. The automated oven also has benefits such as reduced body weight and enhanced
monitoring

3. Also, the open-air deproteinization technique utilized an average of 3.9 kg of
charcoal for near complete protein removal in 180 min, while the fabricated
charcoal-fired oven utilized an average of 2.3 kg in 110 min.
Results for automated………

4. Results for automated…
1. 1kg of charcoal in 45minutes

5. Chimney
Fan/Air supply
unit
Communication and
Control component
compartment
Charcoal chamber
Oven Tray
Ceramic glass
PID electronic
Display screen
Thermocouple
sensor

6. Charcoal chamber
Chimney
Chamber door
Oven tray

7. Entrepreneurial Opportunities
• Diversification: "Manufacturing expertise applied to lab drying ovens
using local materials."
• Applications: "Drying, disinfection, wax melting, and sterilization for
various needs."
• Examples: "Moisture removal, dry heat sterilization, ageing, and
drying of components."
• Potential Impact: "Cost-effective solutions for research and
healthcare."

8. TEAM
Name Role Top Skills
Principal Investigator and Outreach
Coordinator of ACENPEE
Mechanical Behaviour of Biomaterials,
Computational Materials Science,
Engineering Education
Technical and Entrepreneurial
Consultant
Instrumentation and Business
Management
Technologist Instrumentation