BUSE’s Innovations to Grow Zimbabwe’s Economy

According to Professor Courtie Mahamadi, Bindura University of Science Education  Director of Research and Innovation, the university has several innovations that will have a lasting impact on Zimbabwe.

There are at least four innovative projects the university is working on right now.

These are the Masawu Plant, the Sodium Silicate project, the e-tolling solution and finally the eye treatment project.

“Bindura University of Science Education is building its Zambezi Valley Masawu Value Addition Plant in Muzarabani which can produce 2 million litres of Masawu juice and Masawu cider annually.

“ It has the capacity to benefit 2,500 people directly and indirectly.,” he said.

 The plant will be serviced by various collection points scattered around the Zambezi Valley basin.

Locals will be paid to bring the Masawu fruit to the collection point.

Zimbabweans have been eating the Masawu fruit for decades without thinking it can be turned into very nutritious juices and yoghurts to enhance their Vitamin C intake.

The biggest innovation programme at the university is however its Sodium Silicate project.

The university is developing a low-cost, environmentally friendly, and low-energy chemical process for producing sodium silicate using sugarcane bagasse ash as the raw material.

Municipal authorities are estimated to be using US$5 million for the importation of sodium silicate.

BUSE’s innovative development will significantly reduce the cost of water treatment in Zimbabwe.

According to Prof Mahamadi, the breakthrough to this project came as a result of years of research and innovation involving the screening of a wide range of biomaterials with the aim of producing sodium silicate.

In Asian countries, rice husk ash is used to produce sodium silicate.

Since Zimbabwe does not grow rice in any appreciable quantities, BUSE had to look for a suitable substitute and it opted for sugarcane bagasse ash.

More than 28 tonnes of sugarcane bagasse ash is released at Green Fuel every day in Manicaland.

BUSE’s research found out that 700kg of sodium silicate can be produced from a tonne of sugarcane bagasse ash.

Sodium silicate is also used in the manufacturing of detergents, fireproofing materials and resins as well as mineral ore processing.

Bindura University’s sodium silicate has since been tested and recommended by the City of Harare.

Another of BUSE’s grand innovations is the “tollgate system” that uses tap card technology to ease queues at tollgates.

Targeting ZINARA, the tollgate system has been piloted and found to meet ZINARA  requirements.

“The advantage is that you can do the process (tollgate process) under 8 seconds. That’s the maximum. You can actually do it under 6 seconds, but the maximum is 8 seconds. So the time that motorists pass through the tollgate has been reduced. “Though not yet rolled out, we have been optimizing processes, we are piloting it within the University system itself and optimizing all transactions, and now the system is good to be rolled out. ZINARA officials have been here and they have also checked the system and demonstrated that it works, Prof Mahamadi said.

The university has another accomplishment in the form of its Optometry clinic.

The clinic has since been commissioned by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and helped many, among them the elderly and vulnerable who have been offered free services. It was established with support from the University of Cape Coast (UCC) of Ghana through which the UCC sends lecturers to teach.