TCC-CIMET, MIT, D-Lab to develop a technology that transforms aquatic weeds into briquettes

The TCC International Centre for Innovation, Manufacturing, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology are set to develop technology for transforming aquatic weeds into briquettes under the VISTA project.

The project initiated in 2023 aims to investigate how invasive aquatic plants in the Volta River impact aquatic life and livelihoods of surrounding communities and the potential for producing biomass briquette from aquatic plants such as the water hyacinth to serve as substitute for charcoal.

In a conversation with Dan Sweeny, Lecturer and researcher at MIT, he explains that KNUST’s TCC-CIMET and MIT are collaborating to come up with a technology that transforms aquatic weeds into briquettes that can be used in place of firewood.

“This meeting is between myself, MIT and a few people from KNUST we are developing a new technology for making energy for factories and industries so that we can take aquatic leaves, transform those into briquettes and then those briquettes can be supplied to factories to use in their boilers. So, they don’t need to use firewood, he said”

The project is a collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Akosombo Industrial Company Limited. TCC-CIMET serves as a representative for the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.