DETERMINANTS OF RESIDENTIAL PER CAPITA WATER DEMAND OF MAKURDI METROPOLIS

 This report presents the findings of the study on the determinants of residential per capita water demand of Makurdi metropolis in Benue State, Nigeria. Data for the study was obtained by the use of questionnaires, oral interviews and observations. The data was analyzed using SPSS. Twenty variables were considered in the multiple regression analysis for developing a consumption model. Seven variables were found to influence residential per capita water consumption significantly. Level of education, gender, kitchen type, number of cars, and well as a source were positively significant while, household size and number of children below 6 years influence the per capita water demand negatively. The multiple regression analysis showed R2 of 0.434 implying that the model explains 43% of the variation in residential per capital water demand of Makurdi. The F test (F= 14.236, p= 0.01) showed that the variables in the model combine together to predict the residential per capita water demand of Makurdi metropolis. The consideration of the various factors identified as influencing the residential per capita water consumption in Makurdi metropolis is recommended. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v35i2.2

Column studies on the removal of chromium from waste water by mango seed shell activated carbon

The effects of time and carbon height on the removal of chromium from wastewater were investigated in fixed down flow adsorption columns containing mango seed shell activated carbon (MSSAC) for the purpose of converting the waste to wealth. The Hutchin’s bed depth service time (BDST) model was used to study the columns performance at 10% and 90% breakthrough concentrations. The BDST model constants were determined. The BDST equation obtained at flow rate of 1.61l.hr and influent chromium concentration of 3.151mg/L was used to predict the adsorbent performance at other flow rates and initial chromium concentrations. Results obtained revealed that there was a gradual decrease in the percentage of chromium adsorbed with time; the percentage adsorbed became zero at 72.33, 467.5 and 572 hours respectively for 3cm, 3.5cm and 4cm carbon heights. The breakthrough curves for chromium adsorption deviated from the characteristic S-curve for most dynamic studies because 100% removal of chromium was not attained even at the commencement of the column operation because of the high initial concentration of the adsorbate adopted in this study. It was observed that for a given breakthrough concentration, the service time decreased with increase in both flow rate and initial chromium concentration. Chi-square test performed on the developed BDST models revealed the reliability of the models for the prediction of the columns performance particularly at lower breakthrough concentrations. It was therefore recommended that MSSAC can be used for the removal of chromium from wastewater in adsorption columns; however there is the need for pilot studies on live wastewater to investigate the effect of interference.Keywords: Column Adsorption, Activated carbon, mango seed shells, wastewater, pilot studie

Bacteriological and physico-chemical qualities of ground water in Makurdi metropolis

No Abstract.Global Journal of Environmental Sciences Vol. 7 (1) 2008: pp. 29-3

Adsorption characteristics of mango (magnifera indica) seed shell activated carbon for removing phenol from wastewater

Adsorption characteristics of mango (Magnifera indica) seed shell activated carbon for phenol rem-oval from wastewater were examined by experimental single stage batch operation. Contact time, stirring rate, adsorbent dose, pH, initial phenol concentration, carbon particle size and impregnation ratio of ZnCl2 to the seed shells were the variables controlling the adsorption rates. The optimum carbon dose was 10 g/L of water for both Chur-kpev (local) and Dausha (improved) varieties at stirring rate of 98 rpm and pH range of 4 - 8. Phenol removal increased with initial phenol concentration for activated Dausha 1:2, Chur-kpev 1:2 and Chur-kpev 1:3, and initial phenol concentration of 0.123 mg/L was chosen as the optimum level. The phenol adsorbed increased with contact time, and 120 minutes was the optimum time for phenol adsorption. The amount of phenol adsorb-ed was inversely proportional to the carbon particle size, and the optimum particle size range of 150 - 300 μm was adopted for phenol removal. The percentage of phenol adsorbed and adsorptive capacity of the activated carbons decreased with the levels of ZnCl2 impregnation. The mass ratio of 1 part of ZnCl2 to 2 parts of mango seed shells (1:2) for the two mango varieties was the best impregnation ratio. The activated chur-kpev variety exhibited best adsorption characteristics for phenol removal from the wastewate

Kinetic Studies of Colour and Phenol Removal from Wastewater using Mango Seed Shell Activated Carbon

Kinetic studies by batch technique were carried out using activated carbon prepared from mango seed shell for the adsorption of colour and phenol from wastewater. The data generated from the studies were used for kinetic modelling in order to determine the rate and mechanism of adsorption. The results revealed that adsorption was best fitted by the pseudo-second order model for both methylene blue (MB) and phenol adsorptions. Intra-particle diffusion kinetic plots did not pass through the origin, indicating that intra-particle diffusion was not the only rate controlling mechanism. The results showed that mango seed shell activated carbon (MSSAC) is more effective for adsorption of colour than phenol in wastewater