The Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies hosted its annual national symposium to provide masters and doctoral students across South African institutions with the opportunity to present their research.
The 5th symposium took place from 13 to 14 July 2015 in the Knowledge Centre building of the Faculty of Engineering.
This symposium incorporated the Solar Thermal Energy Research Group (STERG) symposium on the 14th July, which focused on solar thermal energy topics. The wind, ocean, bio-energy and solar photovoltaic (PV) technology platforms were the focus of the second day of the symposium.
The 2014 papers presented by the students in the renewable energy stream are listed below.
Papers presented at the EPC held 12 - 14 August 2013
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Monday 12 August 2013 TRACK 1 Ms. Mande, Livhuwani: Evaluations of six Saccharomuyces cerevisiae promot-ers during growth on xylose. Mr. Nkadimeng, Lefa: Intensification of methane production at SABMiller New-lands Brewery (SABNB) anaerobic Wastewater Treatment Plant (WTP) Ms. Mulaudzi, Sophie: Evaluation of the solar irradiance in the selected lo-cation in the Vhembe District of the Limpopo Province of South Africa using different theoretical models. Mr. Landman, Willem: Influence of Cant- ing Mechanism and Facet Profile on Heliostat Field Performance Ms. Mathevula, Langutani: Thermo-chromic nano-coatings for solar radia-tions heat regulation in small satellites Mr. Apollo, Seth: Simultaneous biogas production and Ms. Piyo, Nontembiso: Liquefaction of sunflower husks for biochar production Mr. Bode, Sebastian-James: A novel approach to reduce ray tracing simula-tion times by reducing statistical noise Mr. ZONGO, Sidiki: Gratzel dye solar cells with bixa orellana natural dye extract |
Tuesday 13 August 2013 TRACK 1 Ms. Crozier, Jacqui: Photovoltaic mod-ule chariacterisation using Electrolumi-nescence Mr. Allen, Kenneth: Thermal storage in packed beds: pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics Mr. Kotzé, Johannes: High temperature thermal energy stor- age and heat transfer using eutectic metals in con-centrating solar power Ms. Thabezhe, Nokwethemba: Ther-modynamic stability of VO2 in contact with thin metal films Ms. Thoresen, Mariska: An investiga-tion into the synergistic action of exo-type and endo- type cellulases on the hydrolysis of complex substrates Mr. Deetlefs, Ivan: Building of a free piston Stirling demon- strator engine Mrs. Nuru, Zebib Yenus: Pt-Al2O3 ce-ramic nano-compos-ites for high tem-perature solar absorbers applications Mr. Mhlongo, Sizwe: Impact of inhibi-tors associated with ligno-cellulose hydrolysateson the expression level and activity of recom-binant cellulolytic enzymes Mr. Thema, Force Tefo: Chemical syn-thesis of graphene for dye solar cells electrodes Mr. Owen, Michael: A hybrid dephlegma- tor for incorporation into an air-cooled steam condenser. Mr. Meyer, Rohan: Design, optimisa-tion and construction of a solar re-flecter dish. Mr. Prinsloo, Gerro: Design & construc- tion of a self-tracking solar concentra-tor for power generation in rural Africa |
Wednesday 14 Augustus 2013 TRACK 1 Mr.Sekoai, Patrick Thabang: Potential of using Organic Fraction of Solid Mu-nicipal Waste (OFSMW) for biohydro-gen production in South Africa. Mr. Ozemoya, Augustine: Factors in-fluenc- ing the conversion efficiency of a PV module. Mr. Adams, Abdulghaaliq: Low tem-perature deposition of silicon nitride thin films by hot-wire CVD. Mr. Silinga, Cebo: Scenarios for a South African peaking CSP system in the short term. Ms. Sibanda, Ntsako: Evaluating yeast hybridization to improve hydrolytic enzyme secretion for second genera-tion bio-fuel production. Ms. Nefdt, Taryn: The evaluation of macro-algae as a feedstock for bio-energy produc- tion within the South African context. Mr. Muller, Christopher: The bio-energy po- tential of the South African sugarcane industry and its ex- pected influence on sustainable development. Mr. Smith, Michael Trevor: Exploring a systems approach for the economic assessment of small-scale anaerobic biodigesters for rural areas. Ms. Kayofa, Lelo: Feasibility and busi-ness plan for manufacturing a 3 kw electrical solar Stirling engine and dish, for a stand-alone power supply unit. Mr. Schultz, Ross: Concentrator photo- voltaic module Design Mr. Malan, Daniel: Integral solar water heating using heat pipes and phase change material (pcm) thermal storage Ms. Brandt, Bianca: Yeast hardening for cellulosic ethanol production. Dr. Kotsedi, Lebogang: Metal to metal-oxide transformation using ultra-fast laser on thin films for electro- magnetic spetrum selection |
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TRACK 2 Mr. Tshehla, Maloba: A literature analysis of barriers and policy opportu-nities for the growth of renewable energy technologies at the Mr. Swiegers, Cobus: Inlet and outlet shape-optimization of natural circulation building ventilation system Mr. Thomas, Nathan: Development of a range of heat pipe heat recovery heat exchangers for the drying industry Mr. Kopano, Mokhalodi: Development of a universal bidirection- al galvanic isolated switch module for power converter applications Mrs. Simo, Aline: VO2 nanostructures based chemiresis-tors for low power energy consumption hydro- gen sensing Mr. Jeggels, Dawood: Theoretical and experimental Mr. Solomon, Ramzi: Scaling Machines for Renewable Energy IPP Applications Mr. Loubser, Karl: Geothermal heat recovery and utilisa- tion using heat pipes Ms. Van Der Bank, Marjone: A Legal analysis on the regulation of renewable resources to promote ener-gy efficiency in sustainable building |
TRACK 2 Mr. Du Preez, Jacques: Theoretical modelling and experimental verifica-tion of a passive downdraught eve-porative cooling tower. Ms. Philander, Ghouwaa: Thermo-chromic doped vanadium dioxide coat-ings for smart windows Mr. Tadadjeu Sokeng, Ifriky: Nano-satellites as energy efficiency facilita-tors in Africa Ms. Fourie, Marna: Design of a subcrit-ical and transcritical car- bon dioxide refrigera- tion system Mr. Manabile, Segaula Isaac: Produc-tion of na- nofibers for techno- logical application by electrospinning of poly-mer-graphene solution. Mr. Barnard, Francois: Hybrid position sensorless control of a RSM in the en-tire speed range. Mr. Stander, Johan: Split permanent magnet wind turbine generator topol-ogy comparison using optimisation Mr. Craig, Rob: Thermodynamically driven gravity assisted water pump based on novelty dipping bird Mr. Ndlangaman- Dla, Cebo: Synthesis of hematite nanorods for the study of its optical properties for the possible use in hydrogen production. Ms. Meyer, Imke: Resource Assess-ment of the Agulhas Current to deter-mine Feasibility for Marine Energy Ex-traction. Mr. Lilla, Daleel: Comparison of Differ-ential Evolution and Genetic Algo- rithm in the design of permanent mag-net Generators. Ms. Herbst, Lynette: The effect of cli-mate change on wind resources in South Africa. |
TRACK 2 Mr. Van Der Walt, James: Micro-utilities using battery based distribu-tion for rural electrification in South Africa Mr. Poole, Sean: The development of a segmented variable pitch small-scale horizontal axis wind turbine with active pitch control. Ms. DOBSON, Rose- Mary: The devel-opment of recombinant fungal enzyme cocktails for the hydrolysis of cellulosic waste products. Mr. Stander, Johan: Pressure rigidised wind turbine blades - a novelty. Mr. Kusakana, Kanzumba: Techno-economic analysis of an off-grid micro-hydrokinetic river system for remote rural electrification. Mrs. Mayedwa, Noluthando: Devel-opment of platino-iridium/ ruthenium telluride nanoalloy electrode systems for high per- formance ammonia fuel cell. Mr. Hobbs, Kyle: Thermally driven natural circulation water pump Mr. Kusakana, Kanzumba: Design and performance analysis of renewable energy powered electric TUK-TUK bat-tery charging stations inSouth Africa Mr. Stander, Johan: Mechanical design of a dual permanent magnet rotor gen-erator Mr. Gerber, Stiaan: Evaluation and design aspects of magneti- cally geared electrical machines. Mrs. Thwaits, Tiffany: Bats (Chirop-tera) and wind energy - can bat activity patterns make them vulner- able to wind turbine impacts? Mr. Kuyula, Christian: Design of a high efficiency converter for fuel cell appli-cations. Mr. Fraser, Justin: Surface Tension Driven Water pumping Mr. Kusakana, Kanzumba: Perfor-mance mode- ling of a hybrid diesel generator-Battery hybrid system |
Papers presented at the Third Annual CRSES Student Conference held 22 and 23 November 2012
Papers presented at the Second Annual CRSES Student Conference held 17 and 18 November 2011:
Papers presented at the First Annual CRSES Student Conference held 11 and 12 November 2010:
