Proj. Manag.

Project Management 

Weekly Progress Reports (list most resent reports first)

• Week10

• Week 9

• Week 7

• Week 5

• Week 4

• Week 3

• Week 2

• Week 1

Gantt Chart

Project Objectives

Overview of Project Context

Ecolife Foundation, a non-profit organization in environment sustainability, is currently focusing on deforestation in Uganda, East Africa due to tribal charcoal production. The Bwindi tribe uses charcoal as a means of monetary income and to provide for their families.  Current charcoal production is extremely inefficient and a main cause of deforestation in the Impenetrable Forest, as large sections of the forestry are cut down to meet the demands of charcoal production.

Ecolife's goal is to prevent this deforestation by making use of biogas reactors to convert branches and shrubs that fall to the ground from the tree tops to charcoal.  The fuel to ignite this feedstock will be natural gas created by digesters that convert animal waste into methane with the addition of specific bacteria.  This closed system is eco-friendly as it uses natural gas to power the system and does not require forest lands to be cut down to provide the feedstock.  As this system has a much higher efficiency, branches and leaves that fall to the ground will be sufficient in maintaining large-scale production, with the possible addition of a few trees instead of hundreds of trees.

Hopefully, in the near future Ecolife will be able to replace current charcoal methods with this highly efficient, eco-friendly system and in doing so, protect the forest's that thousands of species call their home.

Current Charcoal Production Process; Vast amounts of precious heat are lost to environment resulting in low efficiencies

High Priority Objectives

• • Bio-Charcoal Reactor Prototype

    • Withstand Temperatures 300-700 Degrees Celsius, Robust, Primitive Resources available for Manufacturing ( Must be made of oil drum or clay bricks), easily reproduced in field, long product life

    • Make use of natural gas as initial combustion source

    • Highly efficient heat transfer of fuel energy directly to carbonization of feedstock

Second Priority Objectives

• • Charcoal Briquette Mechanical System

    • Mechanism for pressing charcoal ground powder with binding cassava root mixture into briquettes 

    • Ease of manufacturability/use

    • Keep briquettes uniformly pressed together

    • Handle high volume production

Other Constraints and Issues

• • Flavor of Charcoal

    • Must meet taste standards of local consumers

  • Impurities in biogas methane may cause undesired combustion results

    • Corrosive residue produced

  • Safety

    • Flammable gases involved

    • Proper ventilation needed to displace exhaust produced during pyrolysis

  • Low level of readily available resources

WOW Design Solution

Successfully incorporate biogas digester with reactor as one unit that can replace current charcoal production methods in Uganda.

Risk Reduction Strategy

•  Thermal Insulation

  • Does design allow high efficiency of heat transfer from fuel source to feedstock

• Clay reactor vs. Steel reactor

  • Which product would have longer life

• Resources

  • Limited resources

  • Do not have detailed summation of what resources are available and what is not

Intermediate Milestones

Identifying meaningful intermediate milestones is a critical for effective project management. Together with your sponsor identify such milestones, and specify specific performance requirements you aim to meet at each milestone. 

• • Fabrication of Rocket Stove Prototype

    • 5 Gallon Prototype

    • 15 Gallon Prototype

    • 35 Gallon Prototype

    • 55 Gallon Prototype 

  • Charcoal Quality Control

  • Optimize Efficiency