Assessment of Workers’ Level of Exposure to Work-Related Musculoskeletal Discomfort in Dewatered Cassava Mash Sieving Process

This study was undertaken to assess the level of exposure of processors to work-related musculoskeletal disorder when using the locally developed traditional sieve in the sieving process. Quick ergonomic checklist (QEC)  involving the researcher’s and the processors’ assessment using the risk assessment checklist, was used in this assessment and data was obtained from a sample of one hundred and eight (108) processors randomly selected from three senatorial districts of Rivers State. Thirty-six processors from each zone comprising of 14 males and 22 females, were selected., and assessed on the bases of their back, shoulder/arm, wrist/hand and neck posture and frequency of movement during traditional sieving process. The result of the assessment showed that the highest risk of discomfort occurred at the region of the wrist/hand, followed by back, shoulder/arm, and neck. The posture used in the sieving process exposed the processors, not only to the discomfort of pain but also put them at high risk of musculoskeletal disorder at indicated by  a high level of percentage exposure of 66% QEC rating. The result indicated a need for immediate attention and change to an improved method that will reduce the discomfort on the body parts assessed. identified parts

An investigation into the implementation of Building Information Modeling in the Middle East

Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. There have been many changes in the past few years in the use of BIM and how to implement BIM in the AEC Industry. The purpose of this research is to examine the current status of BIM in the Middle East by exploring the extent of adoption of BIM among stakeholders in the AEC industry in this region. To this end surveys were sent out to 297 and empirical statistics have been applied. The respondents acknowledged they were aware of the benefits of BIM in terms of it being a more effective method for designing and managing construction projects by supporting collaboration, improving the quality of the design by providing the ability to closely visualize designs in 3D and rendered forms and providing a platform which would facilitate the sharing of information relevant for design, construction and maintenance of buildings over their entire lifecycle. However, only 20% of AEC organizations in the Middle East are using BIM or are in the process of adopting BIM, with more professionals beginning to adopt BIM although most professionals within this region still look at BIM just as an advanced AutoCAD tool. Raising awareness related to the benefits of BIM and increasing training opportunities in the Middle East are necessary in order to allow all stakeholders to benefit substantially from BIM

Bioethanol Production from Low-Value Feedstocks: Wild Cocoyam, Waste Cassava Peels, and Waste Sugar Cane Molasses

Abstract: Bioethanol, produced by the anaerobic fermentation of carbohydrates, can be used as a renewable fuel, as vital ingredient in the production of beer, wine, or high-valued distillate alcoholic drink. Different plants have been installed in different parts of the world as carbon source to produce bioethanol. Feedstocks is a fundamental requirement for successful and efficient operations of these bioethanol manufacturing plants. One major challenge in choosing suitable feedstock is food versus fuel debate, that is, reducing to the barest minimum food crops serving as main source of food for human consumption. Thus, the focus of this review is to explore some crops rich in carbohydrate but less commonly consumed as food such as wild cocoyam, cassava peels and waste product of sugar refinery, sugar cane molasses as alternative feedstocks. In this review, the harvested wild cocoyam corms and cassava peels were washed, dried, ground and then made into a gelatinized solution to increase the surface area. The starch present in the slurry mixtures was then saccharified by the action of different hydrolytic enzymes, like alpha-amylase, protease, amylitic-TS, and amyloglucosidase. It was reported that the enzymatic hydrolysis of ground cocoyam and cassava was effective in yielding favorable levels of fermentable glucose. The saccharified wort was then inoculated with viable yeast strains to begin the fermentation process. On the other hand, sugar cane molasses considered highly rich in sugar content was converted to bioethanol using a gram negative, facultative anaerobic, rod shaped strain’’ Zymomonas mobilis’’ as the microorganism under anaerobic fermentation condition. The fermentation process varied for several days from 48 h to 168 h depending on the feedstock. Percent alcohol concentration produced from wild cocoyam sample was 12.90 % after 168 h of anaerobic fermentation, whilst sugar cane molasses recorded 9.3 % bioethanol content after 48 h of fermentation process. The percent alcohol recovered from waste cassava peel was 8.5 % after 96 h of fermentation. Keywords: Bioethanol, Anaerobic fermentation, wild cocoyam, molasses, and cassava peels. Title: Bioethanol Production from Low-Value Feedstocks: Wild Cocoyam, Waste Cassava Peels, and Waste Sugar Cane Molasses Author: Isah S., Ahiakwo J, Odusina A., Equere-Obong A., George J., Ojo E.M., Udoh S., Anwuchughum C., Edward A., Enahoro E., Salami A International Journal of Novel Research in Physics Chemistry & Mathematics ISSN 2394-9651 Vol. 10, Issue 3, September 2023 - December 2023 Page No: 1-19 Novelty Journals Website: www.noveltyjournals.com Published Date: 18-September-2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8355346 Paper Download Link (Source) https://www.noveltyjournals.com/upload/paper/Bioethanol%20Production-18092023-4.pdfInternational Journal of Novel Research in Physics Chemistry & Mathematics, ISSN 2394-9651, Novelty Journals, Website: www.noveltyjournals.co