Zainab Bilyamin, 24, a final year student of the Federal University Dutse (FUD), has successfully produced kerosene and diesel out of sachet water waste.
Bilyamin, a student in the Department of Chemistry, worked on the conversion as her undergraduate final year project.
With the topic: “Conversion of Low-Density Polyethylene and Mixed Low-Density Polyethylene with Polyethylene Terephthalate into Fuel”, speaking with the Peoples Gazette on Sunday, the young scientist appreciated the support from her parents and the project supervisor, Aminu Dauda, for their help in the course of carrying out the project work.
On the challenges encountered, she said, “I carried out the experiment in the lab, although it was okay. But during the experiment, an obnoxious odour, which is not very pleasant to the nose, was emitted. Had it been that there was a facility a little bit away from residential areas, it would have been so much better.”
She mentioned further how she had to take her product to Bayero University Kano (BUK) in Kano State for analysis as there was no equipment for such in her school.
“Had it been available in my school, then I would have carried out the physicochemical analysis myself in my school,” she said.
Bilyamin said she feels “very much happy because I think I’m the first in my department to have participated in such a task,” adding that “it would have been better and helpful to Nigeria to reduce wastes, turn them into useful products, and generate income from such.”
Bilyamin hails from Mallam Madori Local Government Area of Jigawa State.