DEPARTMENTS
Analytical Services
Since its inception, and even through the years when the institute was in significant decline, the IAST has offered commercial analytical services, particularly related to environmental contaminants, quality control for water, beverages and foods, and to a certain extent, microbial testing. The equipment base has now been significantly renewed. The goal for Analytical Services is for the institute to offer centralized, comprehensive commercial access to accredited analytical services in Guyana. Through the provision of analytical services, the IAST aims to generate additional income for R&D investment, as well as maintain a complement of state of the art equipment which can also be utilized for research and development. The analytical department is headed by Mr. Randy Fordyce, BSc. Click here to view services provided by the Analytical Department.
Indigenous Materials
The broad view of materials taken by the Institute encompasses housing, road, and fine chemicals. The indigenous materials department is focused on the development of durable, functional materials from cheap, renewable sources, waste recycled materials, waste biomass and clays. We work significantly with composites made of recycled plastics and agricultural and wood fibres, as well as with recycled rubber from used tires amalgamated with asphalt.
The majority of Guyana’s population reside on the narrow, fertile coastal plains of the country, where the alluvial marine soil is fertile and home to the major agricultural industries. Construction materials for roads, housing and infrastructural works are sourced through imports and from the country’s quarries in the hilly sand and clay regions, remote from the coast. This results in construction materials being relatively expensive.
Guyana has some 8,000 miles of farm to market access roads on the coast that are little more than compacted clay. During the periodic rainy seasons, many of these access roads become impassable. Significant expense is incurred by the Government of Guyana to constantly maintain these poor roads, which are a barrier to market access for agricultural produce, and a source of discomfort to residents in the rural coastal villages. The IAST’s Indigenous Materials Department is engaged in research and technology transfer that is targeted at the use of coastal clays for the production of road-building materials, materials for home construction, and cementitious materials (puzzolanic materials). Click for images and projects.
Extrusion and injection moulding as platform technologies have been embraced by the institute to produce a variety of products made from wood/rice/bagasse and plastic composites. These materials are all targeted currently at the home construction industry, and in particular, roofing shingles have been developed and are ready to be commercialized. Click for images and projects.
The Institute hosts the only lab scale and pilot scale functional wet organic chemistry facility in the country. Our current focus is on the use of coconut oil as a feedstock for the production of soaps, sanitizers, lubricants, polymers, flavors, pharmaceuticals, etc. Some of the above are still under development and some are at the stage where commercial products have been synthesized. Click for images and projects.
Biofuels
In the case of Guyana, we have a population density of approximately 4 km2 per capita, significant undeveloped arable land and water resources, and an equatorial climate. Without affecting standing forests and without competing for arable land on the fertile alluvial coastal plain (which should continue to be utilized for Food Production), Guyana can within a period of 5 to 10 years, produce as much as 65% of its current diesel demand in the form of biodiesel, and at least as much as 70% of its current gasoline demand in the form of ethanol. The macro- and micro-economic benefits of this development are significant. As a result, the development of Agro-Energy and Biofuels is an important growth sector for the Government of Guyana, and the Ministry of Agriculture and the IAST have been identified to play leading roles in the development of this nascent sector.
Bioprospecting
Food and Feeds Department
The Food and Feeds Department is headed by Mr. Sewpersaud Manohar, BSc. Click for a list of products and images.
INSTITUTE OF APPLIED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF GUYANA CAMPUS,
TURKEYEN, GREATER GEORGETOWN,
GUYANA
TELEPHONE: (592) 222-4212-5, (592)-222-4218, (592)-222-5864
FAX: (592) 222-4229
For further information kindly contact:
Mr. DEONARINE JAGDEO
Director (ag.)
RAYANN HINCKSON
Confidential Secretary
r.hinckson@iast.gov.gy