Professor Muyiwa Oyinlola

Job: Director of IESD and Professor of Innovation for Sustainable Development

Faculty: Computing, Engineering and Media

School/department: School of Engineering and Sustainable Development

Research group(s): Institute of Energy & Sustainable Development (IESD)

Address: De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH

T: +44 (0) 116 257 7162

E: muyiwa.oyinlola@dmu.ac.uk

W: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/mao

 

Personal profile

Muyiwa is  a Professor of Innovation for Sustainable Development, a Chartered Engineer and Director of the Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development. Prof Oyinlola is  passionate about and committed to bringing positive change to the African continent. He has a strong track record of  facilitating collaboration among appropriate stakeholders, co-creating sustainable interventions, and providing support in the development of home-grown solutions to African challenges.

 

Muyiwa has  led multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary, international consortia in drafting, winning, and successfully executing research projects cumulatively worth over £5 million. Previous projects have  been in  areas such as Sustainable Waste Management, Sustainable Built Environment,  Digital Transformation, Building Capacity of youths, and  improving energy access.   Prof Oyinlola consistently collaborates with transdisciplinary teams to ensure that project outcomes are interdisciplinary and encompass both technical and social factors. He  places particular emphasis on identifying and integrating socio-cultural considerations required for the long-term success of projects in low- and middle-income countries.

 

Muyiwa has over 50 peer reviewed  academic publications covering a wide remit. Prof Oyinlola  holds  a B.Eng in Mechanical Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University, an MSc in Renewable Energy Engineering from Kingston University,  an MA in Education Practice from De Montfort University and a PhD in Engineering from the University of Warwick. Prof Oyinlola is a member of several professional bodies

Research group affiliations

Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development

Publications and outputs

  • Statistical analysis of solar thermal collectors in the Solar Keymark Database
    dc.title: Statistical analysis of solar thermal collectors in the Solar Keymark Database dc.contributor.author: Summ, Thorsten; Oyinlola, M. A.; Khattak, Sanober; Trinkl, Christoph; Zorner, Wilfred dc.description.abstract: Experimental, analytical, or numerical investigations are ordinarily conducted to reveal optimisation potential for solar thermal collectors. At the same time, the ‘Solar Keymark Database’ contains more than 2,000 test reports from certified laboratories featuring properties including thermal efficiency, dimensions, or optical properties. This dataset offers untapped potential for statistical analyses as an alternative optimisation approach. Hence, this paper aims to provide a) the first statistical findings of solar thermal collector properties listed in the Solar Keymark Database and b) insights into statistical relations between these properties. The key correlations observed from the analysis of flat-plate collectors were between efficiency and both gross height (R=0.30) and gross area (R=0.27). We concluded that preferable collector designs may be featured with larger area to height ratios. The analyses of evacuated tube collectors revealed a strong correlation between efficiency and transversal incidence angle modifier (R=-0.65) as a result from different tube spacing. It was noticeable that the quasi-dynamic test method reported significantly higher efficiencies (7.14 percentage points) for evacuated tube collectors, which should be carefully considered for future test procedures. Overall, the statistical analysis was in accordance with conventional bottom-up analyses and revealed insightful dependencies for the present collector data. dc.description: open access article
  • Waste Management in Nepal: Characterization and Challenges to Promote a Circular Economy.
    dc.title: Waste Management in Nepal: Characterization and Challenges to Promote a Circular Economy. dc.contributor.author: Labra Cataldo, Nicolás; Oyinlola, M.A.; Sigdel, Samip; Nguyen, Dori; Gallego-Schmid, Alejandro dc.description.abstract: In Nepal, the informal sector is responsible for treating 15% of household waste. It is the only alternative to landfilling and open disposal; however, the current waste management system does not acknowledge informal recyclers aggravating various challenges and vulnerabilities that the sector already faces. This study identifies and validates for the first time the challenges of the informal waste sector while providing a granular understanding of the actors that shape waste management in the region. The study uses primary data collected over a period of 6 months in Kathmandu and Lalitpur, the first and third most populated areas in Nepal. The methods considered were semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and a co-creation workshop with formal and informal actors. A novel characterization of waste management actors was conducted to identify two profiles namely cyclists and scavengers and question the formality of the collection centres. Findings suggest that the price volatility of recycled materials and the lack of treatment and absence of regulatory capacity are among the main challenges in promoting a circular economy from the informal sector. The recommendations to overcome these challenges are a series of policy reforms, such as an extended responsibility producer scheme and the review of the tax on recycled material transport. The main policy implication from the finding reveals that circular economy is already being promoted by the informal sector — a responsibility that should fall under the remit of the regional and national governments. The study concludes that integration is not only necessary to improve the conditions of informal workers but essential to developing a circular economy in Nepal. dc.description: open access article
  • Optimizing Solar Parabolic Trough Receivers with External Fins: An Experimental Study on Enhancing Heat Transfer and Thermal Efficiency.
    dc.title: Optimizing Solar Parabolic Trough Receivers with External Fins: An Experimental Study on Enhancing Heat Transfer and Thermal Efficiency. dc.contributor.author: Limboonruang, Teerapath; Oyinlola, M.A.; Harmanto, Dani; Bunyawanichakul, Pracha; Phunapai, Nittalin dc.description.abstract: Several researchers have shown that the heat transfer performance of solar parabolic trough (SPT) receivers may be improved by increasing their surface area or by adding internal fins to the tubes. Unfortunately, the manufacture of internally finned tubes involves complex processes, resulting in significant cost increases. On the other hand, the addition of external fins to tubes is more technically and economically feasible in a low-resource setting. This study investigates the potential benefits of integrating external fins on the receiver tubes of a low-cost SPT collector system. Experiments were conducted using an SPT system with a focal length of 300 mm and a collector length of 5.1 m, and they were positioned by an automated Sun tracking system. Tests were undertaken using both smooth and externally finned receiver tubes operating at five different water flow rates. The solar receiver with a finned tube was able to provide a maximum water temperature of 59.34 °C compared with that of 56.52 °C for a smooth tube at a flow rate of 0.5 L per minute. The externally finned absorber tube was also found to have a maximum efficiency of 18.20% at an average daily solar intensity of 834.61 W/m2, which is approximately 48% more efficient than the smooth tube. The calculations indicate that the experimental SPT system using finned tubes potentially avoids 0.2726 metric tons of CO2e per year, with finned tubes outperforming smooth tubes by up to 44%. The results show that using externally finned receiver tubes can significantly enhance the thermal performance of SPT collector systems. dc.description: open access article
  • Thermal Comfort Perception of Occupants in an Upcycled Bottle House in Abuja, Nigeria.
    dc.title: Thermal Comfort Perception of Occupants in an Upcycled Bottle House in Abuja, Nigeria. dc.contributor.author: Oyinlola, M.A.; Beizaee, Arash; Onyenokporo, Nwakaego; Takyie, Emefa; Adekeye, Olutola dc.description.abstract: Several studies have shown that the use of upcycled materials for construction is a viable intervention for delivering affordable and adequate housing in low-income communities. However, information regarding in-situ performance of buildings made from upcycled materials is scarce in the literature. This paper compares the thermal performance of a building with walls made of sand-filled plastic bottles (Bottle House) with two other conventional buildings, one made of mud bricks (Mud House) and another made of sandcrete blocks (Cement House). In order to obtain the thermal sensation vote (TSV) of the occupants, thermal comfort questionnaires were developed based on ISO 7730 standard using the seven-point ASHRAE thermal sensation scale. Also, a Testo 480 multifunction meter which comprised of an anemometer, radiant globe thermometer, air thermometer, and Relative Humidity probe, was used to concurrently calculate the predicted mean vote (PMV). From the results of the thermal sensation votes (TSV) based on occupant’s survey, mean vote from participants of -2.0, 2.0 and 2.5 were observed for the bottle house, mud house and cement house respectively. In comparison, using the extended PMV thermal comfort model better suited for non-air-conditioned buildings in warm climates, adjusted PMV mean values of 1.9, 2.1 and 2.1 were recorded for the bottle house, mud house and cement house respectively. The TSV and PMV results both indicate that occupants of the bottle house felt more thermally comfortable when compared to occupants in the other dwellings. The results of this paper will provide evidence on the prospects of upcycling plastic waste for construction and its impact on occupant’s thermal comfort when compared to conventional building materials.
  • A Sectoral Systems of Innovation Perspective on the Circular Plastics Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa
    dc.title: A Sectoral Systems of Innovation Perspective on the Circular Plastics Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa dc.contributor.author: Ilo, Celine; Oyinlola, M.A.; Ajala, Olubunmi; Ogunde, Olawunmi; Kolade, Oluwaseun; Okoya, Silifat Abimbola; Abolfathi, Soroush
  • Exploring the gender similarities in Africa's circular plastic economy.
    dc.title: Exploring the gender similarities in Africa's circular plastic economy. dc.contributor.author: Ogunde, Olawunmi; Ajala, Olubunmi; Kolade, Oluwaseun; Okoya, Silifat Abimbola; Oyinlola, M.A.
  • Accelerating the Transition to a Circular Plastic Economy in Nigeria through 3D Printing Technology: Investigating Knowledge and Capacity in Universities
    dc.title: Accelerating the Transition to a Circular Plastic Economy in Nigeria through 3D Printing Technology: Investigating Knowledge and Capacity in Universities dc.contributor.author: Okoya, Silifat Abimbola; Ajala, Olubunmi; Kolade, Oluwaseun; Oyinlola, M.A.
  • Digital Innovations for a Circular Plastic Economy in Africa
    dc.title: Digital Innovations for a Circular Plastic Economy in Africa dc.contributor.author: Oyinlola, M.A.; Kolade, Oluwaseun dc.description: open access book Plastic pollution is one of the biggest challenges of the twenty-first century that requires innovative and varied solutions. Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, this book brings together interdisciplinary, multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder perspectives exploring challenges and opportunities for utilising digital innovations to manage and accelerate the transition to a circular plastic economy (CPE). This book is organised into three sections bringing together discussion of environmental conditions, operational dimensions and country case studies of digital transformation towards the circular plastic economy. It explores the environment for digitisation in the circular economy, bringing together perspectives from practitioners in academia, innovation, policy, civil society and government agencies. The book also highlights specific country case studies in relation to the development and implementation of different innovative ideas to drive the circular plastic economy across the three sub-Saharan African regions. Finally, the book interrogates the policy dimensions and practitioner perspectives towards a digitally enabled circular plastic economy. Written for a wide range of readers across academia, policy and practice, including researchers, students, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), digital entrepreneurs, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and multilateral agencies, policymakers and public officials, this book offers unique insights into complex, multilayered issues relating to the production and management of plastic waste and highlights how digital innovations can drive the transition to the circular plastic economy in Africa.
  • Upcycled construction materials to reduce dwelling overheating in tropical climates: The bottle house
    dc.title: Upcycled construction materials to reduce dwelling overheating in tropical climates: The bottle house dc.contributor.author: Roberts, Ben; Beizaee, Arash; Onyenokporo, Nwakaego; Oyinlola, M. A. dc.description.abstract: Component testing indicates that overheating in tropical buildings could be reduced using walls built from upcycled sand-filled plastic bottles, which also reduces building costs and prevents waste from polluting the environment. It is not yet known, however, how these bottle-composite walls influence thermal comfort in dwellings in-situ. This study presents the world's first in-situ measurement of indoor temperature in a “bottle house” which is compared to four other traditional dwellings, two with mud walls and two with sandcrete walls, over a 76-day monitoring period between April and June 2019. Aside from the wall and ceiling construction, the dwellings were otherwise similar in design and located in the same settlement in Abuja, Nigeria. The results showed that on average the bottle house was 2.4 °C cooler than the hottest mud dwelling and 1.8 °C cooler than the hottest sandcrete dwelling. Overheating, determined using the adaptive thermal comfort criteria, occurred in all five dwellings but was lowest in the bottle house. On the day with the highest maximum outdoor temperature (38.2 °C), the bottle house was the coolest dwelling during night time sleeping hours and was 3.4 °C cooler than the hottest mud dwelling during daytime waking hours, although 2.0 °C warmer than the coolest house, which had sandcrete walls. Thus, bottle-composite walls could be a suitable low-cost construction method which contributes to reducing overheating in tropical climates but require additional heat mitigation measures to reduce indoor temperatures to comfortable levels on the hottest days. dc.description: open access article
  • Effect of argon concentration on thermal efficiency of gas-filled insulating glass flat-plate collectors
    dc.title: Effect of argon concentration on thermal efficiency of gas-filled insulating glass flat-plate collectors dc.contributor.author: Summ, Thorsten; Ehrenwirth, Mathias; Trinkl, Christoph; Zörner, Wilfried; Pischow, Kaj; Greenough, Richard; Oyinlola, M. A. dc.description.abstract: Insulating glass flat-plate collectors can save cost by being produced quickly and automatically in insulated glass production facilities, and they can be filled with argon to reduce heat loss. During its lifetime, the collector is likely to lose argon because of gradual material degradation of the sealing. However, information on the influence of the argon concentration on the collector efficiency is limited. Therefore, the objective of this research work was to analyse this effect. A theoretical material property calculation of argon-air mixtures was carried out to determine the convective losses with variable argon concentrations. Thermal collector performance was measured experimentally using an outdoor solar tracker test rig. The results strongly suggest, that the influence of argon concentration on both the convective losses and the thermal efficiency is non-linear. The measurements revealed that an argon concentration of 90 % can increase average thermal performance by percentage points. An increase in argon concentration from 0 % to 50 % has almost twice the effect on average thermal efficiency as an increase from 50 % to 90 %. Concluding from these results, an argon leakage threshold of 2.5 percentage points per year is proposed to avoid disproportionate loss of efficiency over time. dc.description: open access article

 Click for full list of Muyiwa Oyinlola research outputs.

Research interests/expertise

  • Sustainable Development
  • Innovation
  • Circular Economy
  • Engineering for sustainable development
  • Plastic Waste Management in LMICs
  • Heat transfer
  • Energy in emerging economies
  • Sustainable energy
  • Transdisicplinary  for International Development

Areas of teaching

  • Energy Engineering
  • Thermodynamics
  • Heat transfer
  • Fluid dynamics
  • Renewable energy

Qualifications

PhD Heat Transfer in Solar Absorber Plates with Micro-Channels, University of Warwick, 2012-2015

MA Education Practice, 

MSc Renewable Energy Engineering, Kingston University, London, 2010-2011

BEng Mechanical Engineering, Ahmadu Bello Univeristy, Zaria, 2002-2008

 

Courses taught

ENGD2101 Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

ENGT5141 Advanced Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer

Membership of professional associations and societies

Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Energy Institute

Professional licences and certificates

Chartered Engineer

Projects

Wealth from Waste: Value added products for Chennai Waste Pickers 

The aim of the project is to assess the feasibility of using local skills and materials to transform waste plastics into filaments for 3D printing, which is identified as a high value item.  This study will document the current waste materials available, and current applications for processing waste plastic and creating 3D print material. This research would set the groundwork for future studies and enable the development of new circular economy business models, underpinned with novel technological innovation. 

Low Cost Sustainable Housing Research 

The project explores utilizing up-cycled and locally engineered materials to design affordable, self-sufficient homes for low income communities. The research aims to establish scientific methods to co-design a self-sufficient home, integrated with inhouse-electricity generation, in-house-water-purification system, earthquake resistant foundation and walls as well as ensuring it is socially acceptable within the community.  Therefore the project addresses 3 of the United Nations goals for sustainable development. 

Goal 6- clean water and sanitation

Goal 7- Affordable and clean energy

Goal 11- sustainable cities and communities,

Conference attendance

1. Oyinlola , M.A. and Shire, G.S.F. (2016) Heat Transfer in Low Reynolds Number Flows Through Miniaturized Channels. The 12th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics (HEFAT2016), Malaga, Spain

2. The 5th international conference on Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow in Microscale (HTFFM V), 22-26 April 2014, Marseille, France.  Analysis of temperature distribution in absorber plates with microchannels. Oyinlola, M.A., Shire, G.S.F. and Moss, R. W. (2014) Oral Presentation (Peer Reviewed)

3. The 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics (HEFAT2014), 14 - 16 July 2014, Orlando, USA. Investigating the effects of channel aspect ratio on fluid flow and heat transfer  in absorber plates with minichannels.  Oyinlola , M.A., Shire, G.S.F. , Moss, R. W. and Khaliji Oskouei, M (2014). Oral Presentation (Peer Reviewed)

4. The 13th UK Heat Transfer Conference (UKHTC), 2- 3 September 2013, London, UK. Investigating Heat transfer in Absorber plates with mini channels. Oyinlola, M.A. and Shire, G.S.F. (2013). Oral presentation (Peer Reviewed).

Current research students

Celine Ilo - Development of an optimization model for a digitally enabled Circular Plastics Economy (CPE) in Africa. October 2022 - Date

Teerapath Limboonruang - Optimizing heat transfer in a solar parabolic trough collector absorber. January  2022 - Date

Thorsten Summ - Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of a Cost-Optimised Large-Area Insulated Glass Flat-Plate Solar Thermal Collector October  2020 - Date

Huraira Umar Baba - Compressed Earth Block as a Sustainable Building Material: Challenges Confronting Its Use for Mass Urban Housing in Nigeria.  January  2020 - Date

Zainab Mohammed - Promoting The Relevance of Socio-Cultural Context in Sustainable Architecture - A Study of Mass Housing Design in Abuja, Nigeria. January  2020 - Date

    Externally funded research grants information

     

    Digital_Lyo, Innovate UK, Digitalisation and Automation of Medicines R&D and Manufacture   Role - Co-investigator May 2023 – April 2025,  £1,331,543

    Consolidation grant, British Council Innovation for African Universities Programme Role - Principal-investigator January  2023 – January  2024,   £50,000

    Garbage In Value Out (GIVO), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Role – Co-Investigator, January 2022 - October 2024, £1,500,000

    Circular Plastic Economy Innovation Hub, British Council ( Innovation for African Universities Programme) Role - Principal-investigator September 2021 – September 2022, £60,000

    Digital Innovations for Transitioning to a Circular Plastic Economy (DITCh Plastic) EPSRC-GCRF. Role - Principal-investigator May 2020 – Oct 2021,  £146,238 - https://ditch-plastic.org/

    Circular Plastic: Utilising frontier technology and user centred design to add value to plastic waste, facilitating entrepreneurship and employment EPSRC-GCRF. Role - Co-investigator Jun 2020 – Nov 2021,  £150,000 -https://www.circularplastic.co/

    Sustainability, inclusiveness and governance of mini-grids in Africa (SIGMA) - ESRC-GCRF. Role - Co-investigator March 2020 – March 2023,  £1,244,000 - https://www.sigma-gcrf.net/

    Assessing the informal waste sector contribution to Nepal’s circularity transition - Royal academy of engineering   Frontiers of Engineering for Development Seed funding  - Role -  Co investigator -Aug 2020 – Mar 2022, £20,000

    Wealth from Waste: Value added products for Chennai Waste Pickers - Royal academy of engineering   Frontiers of Engineering for Development Seed funding  - Role -  Principal investigator -June 2018 – June 2019, £30,000

    Blackout-Chasing: Tapping Peri-Urban Energy Perspectives, Preferences and Prospects, Royal academy of engineering   Frontiers of Engineering for Development Seed funding  - Role -  Co Investigator – February 2017 – February 2018, £20,000

    Developing local capacity for building affordable self-sufficient homes - Royal academy of engineering   Frontiers of Engineering for Development Seed funding  - Role -  Principal investigator – November 2016 – August 2017, £20,000 - http://lcshr.com/

    Internally funded research project information

    Principal Investigator: Low Cost Sustainable Home Prototype for Developing Countries (RIF Round 8, 01/08/16 - 31/07/17).Collaborators: Dr Tim Whitehead , Dr Amal Abuzeinab(DMU), Dr Farukh Farukh, Dr Karthikeyan Kandan

    Principal Investigator: Low Cost Sustainable Housing in Ahmedabad. Collaborators: Dr Tim Whitehead , Dr Amal Abuzeinab(DMU), Dr Farukh Farukh, Dr Karthikeyan Kandan

    Co Investigator: A perfect gap for SMILE: Smart Last-MILE Vaccine Cooling & Delivery System.Collaborators: Dr Karthikeyan Kandan,  Dr Farukh Farukh

    Co Investigator: Application of Terahertz Spectroscopy for In-Process Monitoring of Freeze-Drying of Pharmaceutical Products. Collaborators: Professor Geoff Smith, Dr.Ahmet Orun,

    Co Investigator:  Develop a device for monitoring the structure of the dry layer that develops in a product under-going the process of freeze-drying.  Collaborators: Professor Geoff Smith,  Dr.Ahmet Orun

    MSc Student projects Supervision

    Experimental study of a high performance solar flat plate collector

    Characterising a lab scale thermal energy store for concentrated solar thermal collectors

    Characterising the thermal performance of sustainable building components

    Developing a low cost parabolic trough collector for process heat

    Clean energy solution for powering and cooling off grid telecom shelters.

    CFD optimization of a solar Flat plate collector

    Heat and mass transfer analysis of a sustainable membrane distillation system

    Awards

    1. British Council Researcher Links travel grant to attend the China-UK Workshop on Achieving the Low Carbon City in Shanghai, China between 14-16 June 2019
    2. DMU PhD high flyers Scholarship -  Investigating the potential of waste materials to construct low energy, thermally comfortable dwellings for low income communities - October 2018
    3. Vice Chancellors Future Research Leaders programme -  September 2018
    4. British Council Researcher Links travel grant to attend the workshop on Closed Loop Green Technologies for Rural Communities in Delhi India between 10-13 September 2017
    5. British Council Researcher Links travel grant to attend  the UK-China workshop on shaping low carbon energy future between 28-31 August 2017
    6. British Council Researcher Links travel grant to attend the workshop on Water, Sanitation and Energy Nexus Research Initiative, between13-16 September 2016.
    7. European Institute of Innovation and Technology Climate – KIC Pioneers into Practice programme. €8000 grant to contribute  to a low carbon product/service development in two European region April – October 2013

    Completed PhD Supervision

    Dr. Evangelos Sakellariou - Feasibility study and parametric analyses of Solar Assisted Ground Sourced Heat Pump systems for different European climate zones.  January  2017 – June 2020

    Dr. Longinus Ogugua - Application of Terahertz Spectroscopy in In-Process Monitoring of Freeze-Drying Process: An Optimization Study of Process Analytical Technology. January 2017 – April 2021

    Dr. Tunmise Timothy Ayodele - A Framework for Low carbon retrofitting of Residential Buildings in Nigeria. January  2017 -  December 2021 

     

    Dr. Salisu Isihak - Technology Options for Improving Access to Energy Services in Areas With Low Electricity Access Rate: A Geographic Information System (GIS) Based Approach to Electricity Planning in Nigeria. April  2018 -  December 2021

    Muyiwa Oyinlola 2021