Improvisation of electric fan using rubber bottle in the teaching of basic technology in selected secondary schools in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State

This study was designed to determine the importance of improvisation of instructional materials in the teaching of Basic technology in selected secondary schools in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) of Rivers State. The study examined the effects of improvised materials on secondary school students’ retention and academic achievements in Basic technology concepts. Three purposes, three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study; the study adopted a survey research design. Population of the study comprises of one hundred and seventy five respondents comprising 150 students and 25 teachers drawn from the selected secondary schools. The population was manageable, hence, the entire population was used for the study, and there was no sampling. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was analyzed using mean score average to determine the upper and lower limit boundaries for either accepting or rejecting a decision. The study discovered inadequacy of instructional materials for teaching of Basic technology in secondary schools in ONELGA. The study also discovered a low level of exposure of teachers’ and students’ to improvisation of instructional materials in teaching and learning of Basic technology. Based on the findings, the study recommended amongst others that government and school administrators should ensure the provision of facilities and instructional materials for teaching Basic technology in their various schools to enhance effective teaching and learning process

Students’ Chemical Knowledge in Photosynthesis and Respiration in Port Harcourt Metropolis of Rivers State of Nigeria

The study investigated the amount of chemical knowledge students hold in their memory for understanding photosynthesis and respiration. Two hundred and three (203) students made up of 107 SS2 (mean age 15.8 years) and 96 US2 students (mean age 17.5 years) participated in the study. Three main instruments, namely, Photosynthesis - Respiration test (P-RT), Photosynthesis-Respiration Chemical Reaction Test (P-RCRT) and PLDRT-essay test on light and dark reactions of photosynthesis and fate of glucose in animal and plant systems, were used in the study. Overall findings of the study revealed that the students’ answers contained deficient chemistry content of photosynthetic and respiratory reactions. Students’ answers also lacked integration. Although there was no significant difference between the mean scores of University Students (US2) and that of the secondary students (SS2) in both photosynthesis and respiration, higher percentage (over 8%) of the answers of university students contained relevant chemical information than those of the secondary students

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