Research

The goal of Dr. Fasina's biomaterials process engineering research laboratory is to add value, improve logistics of supplying, increase shelf life and stabilize food and biological materials before entering the throat of conversion and /or processing plant. Several of the unit operations that are utilized to achieve this goal include compaction, size reduction, fractionation, drying/dehydration, extrusion. Secondly, characterization of biological materials is crucial to the design and selection of processing, storage and handling equipment. The laboratory is therefore equipped with several pieces of laboratory equipment to measure the physical chemical and functional properties of food and biological materials. Some of the equipment in the laboratory are listed here.

In summary my research interests are in the following areas:

Renewable Energy
Compaction (pelleting, cubing) and Extrusion of Biological Materials
Biological Materials Handling, Processing and Storage
Food Engineering
Engineering (physical, rheological, thermal and mechanical) Properties of Food, Agricultural and Biological materials

Some of my current research projects are:

Biomass Feedstocks Dust Generation
Densification (Agglomeration) of Bioenergy Feedstocks
Value-Added Utilization of Bioenergy Feedstocks
Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass Feedstocks
Post-harvest Handling, Transportation and Storage of Bioenergy Crops
Flow Properties of Particulate Materials
Rheological Properties of Food and Biological Materials