Optimization of enzymatic digestibility of sodium hydroxide- hydrogen peroxide oxidative pretreated siam weed for reducing sugar production

This study evaluated the enzymatic conversion of alkaline peroxide oxidative pretreatment of an invasive lignocellulosic biomass (siam weed) to reducing sugar, amenable to further microbial effects at the downstream processing. Using a statistical design of experiments approach (response surface methodology), optimum pretreatment conditions of 43.7 oC, 9.3 h, and 0.4% H2O2 , and enzymatic hydrolysis conditions of 25 FPU cellulase/g treated biomass, 50 oC hydrolysis temperature, 2% biomass loading, and 72 h hydrolysis period, 391.3 mg/g reducing sugar yield was achieved and validated. At the optimized pretreatment and enzymatic conditions, the conversion of treated biomass to untreated biomass was about a 6-fold increase

Effective Gravimetric Characterization for Lignocellulosic Biomass: Comparison of NaOH-H2O2 and Ca(OH)2-H2O2 Oxidation Pretreated Sugarcane Bagasse

In this study, alkaline peroxide oxidation pretreatment was evaluated for sugarcane bagasse, a lignocellulosic biomass. By comparing the effects of NaOHH2O2 and Ca(OH)2 on pretreatments at specified reaction time periods (3, 6, 9, and 12 h) and reaction temperatures (60, 70, 80, and 90 h), optimum responses in term of cellulose content, hemicellulose solubilization, and lignin removal were established. Optimum pretreatment conditions of 80 oC reaction temperature, 3 h reaction time, and 30 mL/L of water hydrogen peroxide concentration (1%H2O2) solubilized 69.5%(w/w) hemicellulose for the sodium hydroxide peroxide (SHP) pretreatments, 75.8%(w/w) lignin removal was also achieved with 59.2%(w/w) cellulose retained in the solid fraction. In addition, the responses for the optimum conditions for the calcium hydroxide peroxide (CHP) pretreatments, the cellulose content, hemicellulose solubilization, and lignin removal were 50.3%, 66.6%, and 65.4%(w/w) respectively. Pretreatments showed both NaOHH2O2 and Ca(OH)2-H2O2 to be useful pretreatment agents for the disruption of the polysaccharide complex. The study also revealed that NaOH-H2O2 pretreatment stands as a better choice to Ca(OH)2-H2O2 pretreatment

Photovoltaic Generating System Parameter Sizing for Building

Small to medium sized battery storage required to address the intermittency challenge of the energy of solar radiation could be achieved by appropriate sizing of the photovoltaic system parameters like photovoltaic module (PVM) number and battery capacity. This paper presents the results of evaluation of the optimum parameter values in sizing of stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system that satisfies building energy demand, with almost zero Loss of Power Supply Probability (LPSP). A time step simulation of system performance based on energy balance for various combinations of PV numbers and battery capacities was employed. (Three seasons of operation were considered; rainy, hot and hot/dry). The rainy season result indicating high storage capacity requirement of about (2500-Ah), is of highest cost compared to other seasons. Stand-alone photovoltaic system size that will assuage the intermittency challenge; mitigate peak demand costs and provide near zero LPSP was determined. Keywords: loss of power supply probability, photovoltaic, energy demand, parameter sizing, stand-alon

A Search for Alternative Solvent To Hexane During Neem Oil Extraction

The growing environmental concerns on the toxicity and flammability of hexane motivate the need to obtain a more environmentally friendly solvent capable of extracting as much oil as hexane or even more, while giving acceptable oil quality. This study therefore investigated the possibility of replacing Hexane with either Ethanol or the mixtures of both in the extraction of Neem Oil from Neem seed. It was observed that as the extraction time increased, oil yield increased, though there was little or no increase in oil yield at 5hours and 6 hours of operations. At different extraction time, Hexane produced oil yields greater than that obtained from Ethanol. Hence, Ethanol did not prove to be a good replacement for Hexane, even at higher temperature of 750C for Ethanol. Optimum temperature of extraction was found to be 550C. Surprisingly, mixtures of Ethanol and Hexane gave commendable results. Particularly, Ethanol-Hexane mixtures of 60/40, 50/50, and 40/60 % (volume proportions) gave better oil yields of 44%, 43% and 41.2% respectively than that of Hexane (40.25%) at the 6 hours of operation, thereby making the combinations good substitutes for Hexane

Orange-fleshed Sweetpotato on the home grownschool feeding menu in Nigeria

Sweetpotato for health and wealth in Nigeria and Jumpstarting OFSP in West Africa for diversified markets are two projects that focus on development of the value chain for health and wealth of the rural households in Nigeria, working in Osun and Kwara states. Out of search for OFSP demand at the formal sector, inclusion in the school feeding menu was conceived. The flyer presents the stages of inception, advocacy and sensitization that resulted in the inclusion of OFSP in the School Feeding Program in Osun State, as well as the achievements made between June 2014 and July 2015, and plans for scaling up

A Comparative study on Glucose Production from Sorghum Bicolor and Manihot Esculenta Species in Nigeria

The two-step enzymatic hydrolysis of Manihot esculenta and Sorghum bicolor using ƒ¿-amylase and amyloglucosidase were studied. The starch substrate were gelatinized at 80oC and then liquefied with the amylase enzyme at a temperature of 90oC. The samples are then cooled to 60oC and saccharified with amyloglucosidase. The effects of temperature and pH on saccharification process were considered. Results indicated that the optimum temperature for the conversion of starch to fermentable sugar (glucose) was at 60oC and the amount of glucose produced after 4 hours in sorghum was greater than that obtained when cassava was used. It was therefore concluded that optimum conditions for the production of glucose from both Manihot esculenta and Sorghum bicolor for bioethanol production are obtained at pH of 4 and saccharification temperature of 60oC, with Sorghum bicolor giving higher yield

Anti-Corrosion Activities of Apen-Class Inhibitive Drug on Aluminium Alloy in Simulated Chloride Environment

In this study, aluminium material normally used in the underlie ship was immersed in simulated sodium chloride environment and its degradation properties was evaluated. Investigation of corrosion rate and mass weight loss through gravimetric tests measurements showed that less mass loss was recorded for tests in sodium chloride with 3-(2'- chloro-6' fluorophenyl) and lowest corrosion rate values were found at 10%. On the other hand, the mass loss deteriorated in all 3-(2'-chloro-6' fluorophenyl) with less uniform corrosion. The existence of chloride dissolved the interfacial surface layer resulting into pit initiation and growth. It is found that corrosion degradation of aluminum is dependent on chloride and inhibitive concentratio

Proposed Model for the Determination of Biodiesel Cetane Number

Emphasis on the biodiesel yield from the trans-esterification of waste oils should not only be of interest, but the production of high quality biodiesel should be of greater concern.Factors that determine quality of biodiesel are the production process(es) and biodiesel properties. High quality biodiesel must have cetane number (CN) that falls within the specifications of America Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and/or European Committee for Standardisation (EN). CN is a measure of auto ignition quality of a fuel; the higher the cetane number, the shorter the delay interval and the greater is its combustibility. In this research work, conditions for the production of high yields of biodiesel from the trans-esterification of Waste Soyabean Oil (WSO) and proposed model for the determination of biodiesel cetane number were established. The results of biodiesel yields obtained from the WSO trans-esterification showed that biodiesel yield was favoured at methanol/oil mole ratio of 6, NaOH catalyst concentration of 0.7 w/w oil, reaction temperature of 55 0C and reaction time of 90 minutes. Proposed biodiesel cetane number model obtained was validated. The statistical analysis yielded pearson correlation of 0.824 between the calculated cetane number using the proposed model and the experimentally reportedcetane number; p-value of 0.086. Interestingly, percentage average absolute deviation (% AAD) obtained for the calculated cetane numberand cetane number reported by Ramirez-Verduscoet. al. (2012), when compared to experimentally reported cetane number, generated the same result of 3.28 %

Cadastral Information System for M.I. Wushishi Housing Estate.

This study presents the possibilities for efficient implementation of a Cadastral Information System for M. I. Wushishi Estate in a GIS environment. Logical and Physical models for the Cadastral Information System were built and utilized in the creation of the Cadastral Information System using an Entity relationship model. Keywords: Cadastral, Information System, Estat

Mathematical Model of COVID-19 Transmission Dynamics with Double Dose Vaccination

Abstract This research attempted to investigate the effects of double dose vaccination in a non-linear mathematical model of Covid-19 infections with special compartments class termed first and second dose vaccination. The basic reproduction number was obtained, the stability of the model was analyzed, and the sensitivity analysis was also carried out. Of interest is the numerical simulation of the model where the impacts of contact rate, first and second dose vaccination were studied. The obtained results recommended how to control the corona virus keeping in mind the contact rate and vaccination. Keywords:   Covid-19, Double dose Vaccination, Basic Reproduction Number, Global Stabilit