Harvesting Electrical Energy Produced by Electrogenic Bacteria in Microbial Fuel Cells

Cellular respiration is the process by which organic matter oxidizes, and the energy stored in the chemical bonds of the food releases. Normally, cellular respiration occurs inside the mitochondria of cells; however, a unique type of bacteria releases electrons externally. These specialized organisms are called electrogenic bacteria. Our goal is to construct a microbial fuel cell (MFC) with electrogenic bacteria, harvest the external electrons created by cellular respiration, and channel them through an external circuit to generate electricity. Mud soil, which has a high number of electrogenic bacteria in the environment, was used to construct an MFC. In the presence of gram-negative bacteria, which exist in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, the constructed MFC delivered electrical energy to an external circuit. The MFC can generate electricity, and thereby power, from biodegradable substances and organic wastes found in the environment and landfills. They can also be used to power small devices and sensors used in day-to-day activities. To determine the effect of sugar on the growth and development of bacteria present in the MFC, the quantity of sugar administered will be monitored in relation to the power generated per day

Attraction of

The cowpea beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus Fab. is an economically important pest of stored grain and causes serious damage to stored peas. The application of pesticides has been the generic control measure due to its effectiveness, affordability and ease of application. However, due to the apparent health and environmental consequences with pesticides, stakeholders are advocating for an alternative management approach that has less social and environmental impact and is more sustainable. Consequently, this study examined the attraction of mated female to volatile blends collected from pods of cowpea plants (Borno-brown and black-eyed cultivars) at three developmental stages  developing podsie; 15-17 days after anthesis (daa), fully developed pods (18-20 daa) and mature pods (> 20 daa). The beetles’ responses to the pods’ odour were determined using a two-arm olfactometer, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify and  quantify the volatile compounds collected from the pods. The results showed that female C. maculatus attraction increased with the pod’s age, and that the composition and abundance of volatile compounds varied between cowpea cultivars and the pod’s developmental stage. These findings form an important bases towards developing alternative approach for the management of bruchids. Key words: volatile compounds, cowpea plants, GC-MS, pod’s developmental stage, days after anthesi

Spatial Analysis Flood Risk Exposure in Ajeokuta Using Geographic Information System (GIS)

Heavy floods in Nigeria have shown increasing trend in recent years. Ajeokuta is one of the areas affected annually by flood due to its location along the river Niger basin.  Flood risk mapping and analysis are vital elements for appropriate land use planning in flood prone areas. The aim of this paper is to demarcate flood risk potential areas and determine the spatial impact of the recent major flood event in Ajeokuta using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. Identified flood inducing factors in the study area, such as slope, elevation, drainage density, proximity to the river and land use were reclassified and combined to delineate flood risk zones using multi-criteria approach in a GIS environment. The idea was to identify the areas with the highest number of flood inducing factors and assess its proximity to the inundated areas during the recent flood events as a criteria for determination of locations for future flood events. Moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometre (MODIS) data of NASA terra satellite, SRTM, Landsat image with resolution of 30m, geographical map of the study area and geographical information system (GIS) were used for this purpose. Each of the flood indicators was reclassified into four which included high risk, moderately risk, low risk, and no risk  through  ranking process. Flood risk map (FRM) was later generated by overlaying the reclassified maps of all the parameters using addition operator and validated with a view to assisting decision makers on the menace posed by the disaster. The flood risk map revealed that the very high risky places covered area of 376.31 square kilometers (27.63%) while high risky covered 322.88 square kilometers (23.71%), The low risky areas covered 151.76 square kilometers (11.14%)  and areas free from risk covers 511.040 square kilometers (37.52%). This analysis further revealed that 56 settlements are within the very high risk zone these  includes  Geregu, Gbokojo, Adogu, upake, Adogo, Achaga, Badogo, upaga etc Keywords: Risk, Flood Disasters, GIS, S.R.T.M, MODIS DOI: 10.7176/JEES/10-8-07 Publication date:August 31st 202

Estimation of Sustainable Water Resources Potential of Ikpa Sub-Watershed Using GIS And NRCS (SCS) Approaches

The knowledge of water quantity that a watershed yields enables planning for its utilization and effective management for sustainability. Lack of adequate water infrastructures within Ikpa watershed and overstretched existing infrastructure problems have led to avoidable water related health hazards in Ikpa watershed. There is dearth of information on the quantification of water yield availability within the watershed. The study was therefore designed to estimate water resources potentials of the Ikpa watershed. Shape and drainage network of the watershed were determined using Geographic Information System (GIS). Data from Nigerian Meteorological Agency were used to estimate the watershed’s water quantity using water balance model. Watershed physiographical characteristics were determined, while surface water quantities were estimated using National Resources Conservation Service - Soil Conservation Service (NRCS - SCS), GIS and Remote Sensing (RS) approaches. Pearson correlation analysis was used to forecast rainfall–runoff magnitudes. Best fitted probability distribution functions to the watershed were determined using three different plotting methods at four different return periods. Ikpa watershed is fern shaped with dendritic drainage network of stream order 4. Physiographical parameters of the watershed were as follows: area (360.56 km2), total length (158.23 km), average runoff coefficient (0.36), average slope (0.11) and average concentration time (0.06 min). Estimated surface water quantities with NRCS-SCS and GIS were 2.96 billion m3 and 4.89 billion m3, respectively and subsurface water quantity was 37.2 billion m3. Total annual potable water potential was obtained to be 24.12 billion m3 with 12.27% accounting for the surface water quantity. Human population within the watershed was 245,663. It was observed that 0.05% of the total water resources available was utilized annually, indicating underutilization of the available water. The overall available water resources within Ikpa watershed are fairly sustainable. The water resources potential was grossly underutilized and could be harnessed for beneficial use

Tillage Methods to Determine Soil Infiltration Rates: A Case Study in Uyo, Nigeria

This study evaluated the effect of tillage methods on the infiltration rate of a sandy loam soil in Uyo. Nigeria. Tillage treatments adopted include zero –tillage, crude tillage, plough alone and plough harrow tillage. The result of the study revealed that the basic infiltration rates under zero crude, plough and plough harrow tillage in a sandy loam soil in Uyo were 18mm/hr, 20mm/hr, 21mm/hr and 24mm/hr respectively. Soil moisture content was averaged at 8.32% with a mean deviation of 0.372.The bulk density of the soil ranges from 0.611kg/m3 to 0.613kg/m3. The mean percentages of Sand, Silt and Clay from the analyzed Soil Sample were 74.43%, 13.64% and 16.69% respectively. A 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the significance difference between the average infiltration rates under the different tillage treatments. The result showed that there is a significant effect of tillage method on soil infiltration rate and soil infiltration rate under different tillage treatment followed the order plough + harrow > Plough alone > Crude tillage > Zero tillage. The study recommends that farmers in Uyo should endeavour to till their farm before planting at least with crude tillage implement as it will help to pulverize the soil surface and make it easier for irrigation and root penetration as well as root development

Earth Observation System-Based Impact Assessment of 2012 Flood in Delta State Nigeria

Flooding is one of the most serious natural hazards in the world. It has become a common natural disaster which has claimed many lives, displaced millions and resulted to the destruction of properties and degradation of contiguous farmland.  Though over the decades the people of Delta state have had to contend with sporadic overflows from the river but not in the scale of 2012 flood event. Flood in 2012, submerged coastal villages, displaced millions of people, submerged several square kilometers of land,  disrupt economic activities and properties worth of millions of naira was lost. This study was provoked based on the fact that since the disaster, no reliable investigation and inventory has been made as a guide for mitigation for future occurrence. Currently Earth observing system (EOS) is gaining popularity in solving many environmental problems due to its accurate and timely delivery of information required for decision making. Therefore the aim of this study was to determine the impact of 2012 flood in delta state.  Pre-flood and flood imageries captured by and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometre (MODIS), Land sat imagery with resolution 30m, SRTM with resolution 30 arc second, questionnaire, interview, Global positioning system (GPS)  and geographic information system (GIS) was used for data collection and analysis. The map generated from the non-flood image captured on 20th October 2010 was used as a reference to determine the extent of flooding from the disaster image. Spatial impact was determined based on the extent of the submerged land territory while physical economic impact was measured based on property damages. This study revealed that a total landed area of 2185Sq.kms was covered by flood excluding the original extent of the river. Further assessment  revealed that 785000 people were affected, crops worth’s 3.1 billion naira were destroyed, 231 communities in 12 local government of the 25 local government areas were adversely affected these include 118 communities market, 743 market stalls, 220 primary schools, 84 secondary schools, 435 fish farms, 526 poultry farms, 58 piggeries and 5099 houses. Keywords: key words, MODIS, SRTM, Flood,  Hazard, Imagery DOI: 10.7176/CER/12-9-08 Publication date:September 30th 202

Identification of Potential Sites for Rainwater Harvesting Structures in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria: RS and GIS Approach

Water is the most essential resource on earth for life's existence. Changing hydrological phenomena and increase of water demand generally, create serious water scarcity problems. Precipitation and underground water are major sources to mitigate this problem. Construction of water harvesting structures across watersheds is gaining drive recently to improve efficiency and effectiveness in water availability, supply, use, and water demand for various purposes. In this study, geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) techniques integrated with multi-criteria analysis were used to achieve study objectives – identify possible locations for water harvesting structures using GIS and structure type. Considering the complexity of identification of the water harvesting structures sites, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to determine the weight of importance of five criteria used for the suitability analysis: rainfall, slope, drainage density, land cover and soil texture. These factors were ranked based on their importance to water harvesting structure and the weight generated from the AHP, the criteria were combined using the weighted overlay techniques (WOT). Dam and pond locations were identified from the suitability map generated. 1.06% and 1.88% of the study area fall within areas of high suitability for pond and dam constructions respectively. The highly suitable area falls within the area of very high rainfall intensity and a gentle slope

Tillage Methods to Determine Soil Infiltration Rates: A Case Study in Uyo, Nigeria

This study evaluated the effect of tillage methods on the infiltration rate of a sandy loam soil in Uyo. Nigeria. Tillage treatments adopted include zero –tillage, crude tillage, plough alone and plough harrow tillage. The result of the study revealed that the basic infiltration rates under zero crude, plough and plough harrow tillage in a sandy loam soil in Uyo were 18mm/hr, 20mm/hr, 21mm/hr and 24mm/hr respectively. Soil moisture content was averaged at 8.32% with a mean deviation of 0.372.The bulk density of the soil ranges from 0.611kg/m3 to 0.613kg/m3. The mean percentages of Sand, Silt and Clay from the analyzed Soil Sample were 74.43%, 13.64% and 16.69% respectively. A 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the significance difference between the average infiltration rates under the different tillage treatments. The result showed that there is a significant effect of tillage method on soil infiltration rate and soil infiltration rate under different tillage treatment followed the order plough + harrow > Plough alone > Crude tillage > Zero tillage. The study recommends that farmers in Uyo should endeavour to till their farm before planting at least with crude tillage implement as it will help to pulverize the soil surface and make it easier for irrigation and root penetration as well as root development

Review of Reverse Osmosis as Green Technology against Water Supply: Challenges and the way Forward

Communication in Physical Sciences 2020, 6(1): 726-737 Ahamefula A. Ahuchaogu* and Chukwuemeka T. Adu Received 19 September 2020/Accepted 02 October 2020 Contaminated water can be treated and be re-used but where portable water supply is not available, implementation of reverse osmosis technology is capable of increasing the volume of water supply. This paper reviewed the technology behind reverse osmosis, their proportional utilization, methods classification, expected technical problems and solutions that are connected with its operation. Desalination is admitted as one of the major application areas of reverse osmosis program.  The review acknowledges fouling, scale formation and corrosion as the major challenges that can hinder the operation of reverse osmosis plants and recommended precautional methods during design, testing and implementation of reverse osmosis plants. &nbsp