Effects of Soil Amendments on the Intrinsic Qualities and Development of Soil Seed Bank of a Monitored Naturally Attenuated Petroleum Hydrocarbon-Polluted Soil

A record of the soil seed bank in oil polluted areas is necessary to assess their capacity for tolerance and phytoremediation potentials of such polluted sites. The present study investigated the effect of soil amendments on the development of soil seed bank of a waste engine oil polluted soil. Top soil (0- 10cm) was collected from an area of known soil seed bank and physiochemical parameters. The soil was then contaminated at 5 % w/w oil-in-soil and immediately amended with poultry manure, sawdust and dried leaves of Vernonia amygdalina and a combination of any of the amendments. Results showed that at 3 months after pollution (MAP), there was general reduction in heavy metal composition and polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contents of the soil. This content significantly reduced to 46.85 mg/kg 3 months after pollution using treatment SD. The heavy metal content of Fe was 3250.1 mg/kg. This reduced to 934.5 mg/kg using treatment SD with similar reductions in Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb, Ni and V contents. Euphorbia spp were the most prevalent weeds. Soil amendment of waste engine oil polluted soil showed the influence on the enhancement of the soil seed bank. Weed diversity was also affected with significant improvement recorded in the polluted soil which probably resulted from enhanced biodegradation activities. Indigenous plant species (particularly Euphorbia spp. and Cyperus sp.) should be used together with soil amendments in phytoremediation following results from present study. Keywords: attenuation, bioremediation, heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, soil amendment, soil seed bank

Colour analysis of syrup from malted and unmalted rice of different varieties

The colour of rice syrup produced from flours of malted and unmalted rice of different varieties treated with a combination of starch hydrolyzing enzymes were analysed using CIE-LAB Spectrophotometric colorimeter after being filtered and/or centrifuged. The resulting syrups were processed as filtered unmalted hydrolyzed rice (FUHR), filtered malted hydrolyzed rice (FMHR), centrifuged unmalted hydrolyzed rice (CUHR) and centrifuged malted hydrolyzed rice (CMHR). Results showed that L* ranged from 60.16 to 68.57, a* ranged from 10.49 to 11.13 and b* ranged from 55.34 to 64.56. The magnitude of the colour values was an indication of the intensity of the rice syrup colour. Hue angle (oH*) ranged from 79.08o to 80.36o indicating less yellow in the CIE-LAB colour space and brown colour spectrum in the visible region of opponent colour chart. Total colour difference (ΔE) of syrups ranged from 0.50 to 1.72 for ΔEunmalted while ΔEmalted ranged from 0.49 to 1.76. However, the ΔEfiltered ranged from 5.89 to 11.19 while ΔEcentrifuged ranged from 5.54 to 9.47 indicating that filtration and centrifugation contributed to non-significant difference (p>0.05) in colour attributes (ΔE) of the rice syrup, whereas very distinct colour difference (ΔE) was observed between rice syrups from malted and unmalted samples

Biodegradation of Crude Oil Polluted Soil by Co-Composting with Agricultural Wastes and Inorganic Fertilizer

Pollution of the environment by petroleum products is inevitable due to oil production,   transportation and distribution activities.   The present study is aimed at examining the extent of bioremediation that can be achieved in crude oil polluted soil after supplementing with organic manure (poultry droppings and goat dung); inorganic fertilizer (NPK 15:15:15) and saw dust respectively. A bioremediation study was carried out on soil experimentally polluted with Bonny Light crude oil by supplementation with organic and inorganic nutrients (poultry manure, goat dung, saw dust and NPK fertilizer). The efficacy of the treatments was monitored for 112days by the measurement of total hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria load and some physico-chemical parameters. The polluted soil (Control) sample had mean bacterial counts of 8.8x104, 9.0x104, 9.2´104, 9.9x104 and 7.6x104 cfu/g respectively. Sample treated with NPK fertilizer had mean bacterial counts of 4.4x104, 4.6x104, 4.7x104, 4.9x104 and 5.2x104 cfu/g on days 0,28,56,84 and 112 respectively; sample treated with poultry manure had mean bacterial counts of 1.6x104, 1.8x104, 2.0x104, 2.4x104 and 2.7x104 cfu/g on days 0, 28,56,84 and 112 respectively; the saw dust treated sample had mean bacterial counts of 2.0x104, 2.3x104, 2.7x104, 2.9x104 and 3.0x104 cfu/g on days 0,28,56,84 and 112 respectively while that treated with goat dung had mean bacterial counts of 9.3x104, 9.5x104, 9.6x104, 9.8x104and 9.9x104 cfu/g on days 0,28,56,84 and 112 respectively.  There were differences in the physico-chemical analyses from the diverse samples. After statistical analysis (P£0.05) there was a significant difference between the different treated samples from the control. The results suggest that nutrient supplementation would be effective in the remediation of crude oil polluted soils. The potentials of various treatment options for the bioremediation of crude oil polluted soils seems to hold the most immediate solution especially for use in areas that would be adversely affected by physical or other removal methods. In this study, the reduction of oil in the treated samples is evident, polluted samples supplemented with fertilizer and poultry manure respectively proved to be the best options during the 112 days study period. This study shows that those organic supplements containing nitrogen and phosphorus have great potentials for the remediation of soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbon within a reasonable time. Keywords: Bioremediation, Crude Oil Polluted Soil, Organic Manure (poultry droppings and goat dung); Inorganic fertilizer (NPK 15:15:15), Saw dust

Circular economy use of biomass residues to alleviate poverty, environment, and health constraints

Inadequate energy and water resources supply are major constraints contributing to poverty and poor health outcomes in developing economies. Low-income countries lack ready access to modern necessities such as electricity and potable water. On one hand, the scarcity of electricity and other clean energies compel reliance on traditional biomass for domestic fuels. On the other hand, harvesting firewood to meet energy needs leads to deforestation and environmental degradation. Furthermore, burning the wood for heat creates ecosystem perturbators such as toxicants, greenhouse gasses, and particulate matter. These pollutants portend adverse health concerns, including premature mortality. Globally, fine particulate matter air pollution alone causes about 3.3 million deaths annually. The contribution of this paper is to offer how circular economy targeted technologies could come to the rescue. In particular, utilizing biomass residues and wastes for briquette and pellet creation is highlighted. These densified fuel products could serve as green energies in domestic and industrial applications; and thus, help to attenuate poverty, and the adverse environmental and health consequences of traditional biomass

Combined impact of freezing and soaking times on different cowpea varieties' flour functionality and resultant gel strength, sensory and product yield of moi-moi

The preparation of moi-moi either from cowpea flour (processed by dry-milling) or paste (processed by wet-milling) has evolved from the indigenous processing methods. Feasibly, freezing should enhance the characteristics of the cowpea grain, and when combined with conventional processing, help to improve emergent products. In this current work, therefore, the combined impact of freezing with soaking times on different cowpea varieties' flour functionality and resultant gel strength, sensory and product yield of moi-moi were studied. Analysis of flour functionality involved the determinations of moisture content, bulk density, oil absorption capacity, swelling index and water absorption capacity, whereas those of moi-moi products involved gel strength, sensory and (product) yield. Across the cowpea flour samples, the functional attributes significantly differed (p 0.05), except for the aroma (p < 0.05). Moi-moi products' yield varied widely (p < 0.05) by different reconstituted water volumes. Overall, combining freezing with conventional processing that involved reconstituted water volumes of cowpea promises an enhanced moi-moi yield

Potentials of 3D extrusion‐based printing in resolving food processing challenges: A perspective review

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has promising application potentials in improving food product manufacturing, increasingly helping in simplifying the supply chain, as well as expanding the utilization of food materials. To further understand the current situation of 3D food printing in providing food engineering solutions with customized design, the authors checked recently conducted reviews and considered the extrusion-based type to deserve additional literature synthesis. In this perspective review, therefore, we scoped the potentials of 3D extrusion-based printing in resolving food processing challenges. The evolving trends of 3D food printing technologies, fundamentals of extrusion processes, food printer, and printing enhancement, (extrusion) food systems, algorithm development, and associated food rheological properties were discussed. The (extrusion) mechanism in 3D food printing involving some essentials for material flow and configuration, its uniqueness, suitability, and printability to food materials, (food material) types in the extrusion-based (3D food printing), together with essential food properties and their dynamics were also discussed. Additionally, some bottlenecks/concerns still applicable to extrusion-based 3D food printing were brainstormed. Developing enhanced calibrating techniques for 3D printing materials, and designing better methods of integrating data will help improve the algorithmic representations of printed foods. Rheological complexities associated with the extrusion-based 3D food printing require both industry and researchers to work together so as to tackle the (rheological) shifts that make (food) materials unsuitable.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Heavy Metal Content and Microbial Composition of the Rhizosphere of Eleusine Indica Within an Auto-Mechanic Workshop in Benin City, Nigeria

Plant-assisted bioremediation holds promise for in-situ treatment of polluted soil. However, en-hancement of this process for successful phytoremediation processes requires a sound understand-ing of the complex interactions of the rhizosphere. The present study thus investigated the chemi-cal and microbial composition of rhizosphere of Eleusine indica in an auto-mechanic workshop in Benin City. A plot of 30 m x 30 m was randomly located on the workshop and ten subdivided into 9 sub-plots of 10m x 10m, each designated as Subplots A – I, respectively. Plants were counted in each of the sub-plots and density was recorded as number of plants per 100 m2. Soil samples were obtained from within the plant’s rhizosphere and at a distance of 2 m away from plant presence. Results showed that there was an average of 34 plant stands/100 m2. Heavy metals assayed showed mean compositions of 1720.7 mg/kg of Fe, 80.3 mg/kg of Zn, 0.36 mg/kg of Cr, 3.92 mg/kg of Ni, and a total hydrocarbon content of 1856.2 mg/kg. Heavy metal presence within the rhizosphere was higher compared to those of soil samples collected 2 m away from the rhizosphere. The bacte-ria isolates generally obtained in the mechanic workshop were Bacillus subtilis, Microccoccus lu-teus, Microccoccus varians, Pseudomonas putida, Achromobacter sp, Bacillus pumilis, Clostrid-ium sp. and Serratia marascens. The following fungal isolates were identified: Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium solani, Penicillium sp., Geotrichum sp., Rhizopus sp. and Tricho-derma sp. Diversity and dominance indices calculated indicated a species richness of 0.332 for bacterial presence in the rhizosphere, and a dominance index of 0.489. For fungal species in the rhizosphere, species richness was 0.289 whereas dominance index was 0.528. The findings thus indicated that successful plant-assisted bioremediation involves interactions of the rhizosphere

Effect of combined cell wall degrading enzyme treatment on the total dissolved solids and sugars of soymilk

Soymilk from different varieties of soybean was treated with combinations of cell wall hydrolyzing enzymes (glucanase, cellulose, arabanase, hemicellulase and xylanase). Treated samples and control were evaluated for Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and different sugars (glucose, raffinose, sucrose, fructose, xylose, maltose, lactose, stachyose, starch, galactose, cellulose) using HPLC. Mean TDS of all enzyme-treated soymilk samples (235.8-268.3 ppm) was significantly (p≤0.05) higher than the control (167.8 ppm), it also increased significantly (p≤0.05) after sterilization. Sugars present in the enzyme-hydrolyzed soymilk were significantly (p≤0.05) different from the control. Sucrose content was depleted after enzyme treatment. The change in content of glucose, xylose, fructose, maltose, raffinose, starchyose had high correlation with TDS. Possible chemical modification of sugars impaired their detection despite increases in TDS. Use of TDS for rapid monitoring of enzyme hydrolyses of soymilk cell-wall sugars is feasible

Phytoaccumulation of Heavy Metals in a Waste Engine Oil-contaminated Soil by Aspillia africana After Exposure to Hydroxyl Amine Hydrochloride Pre-treatment

This study employed the use of NH2OH.HCl in the pre-treatment of&nbsp;Aspilia africana&nbsp;for the phytoremediation of waste engine oil-contaminated soil for a period of three months. 8 kg of soil was obtained, weighed and polluted at 5% W/W of waste engine oil which was replicated in 18 buckets and left for a period of one month to attenuate naturally before sowing with stems of&nbsp;Aspilia africana&nbsp;which were treated with four different concentrations of NH2OH.HCl (0.03125%, 0.0625%, 0.1250% and 0.2500% w/v) by soaking in the solution for one hour after which the planted stems were exposed for another two months with vegetative and physico-chemical parameters measured. The control was treated in distilled water (i.e. 0% w/v). Concentrations of heavy metals as well as Polyaromatic hydrocarbon in the contaminated soil were high after contamination and thus would normally be expected to impact the nutrients in the soil responsible for plant growth; with Cu present at a concentration of 26.24 mg/kg at 1 month after contamination (MAC) as compared to their none availability in the soil before contamination. As the plants matured with increase in time however, heavy metal concentrations in the soil decreased to the barest minimum in the soil with Cu (26.24 mg/kg at 1 MAC) been remediated to 0.40 mg/kg at 3 MAC using 0.0312% concentration of NH2OH.HCl treated&nbsp;Aspilia africana.&nbsp;It was observed that a considerable amount of Heavy metal concentrations in the contaminated soil were gotten rid of in the soil within the three months period that the experiment was carried out. Phytoremediation technology had worked for the degradation of contaminants in the soil and thus rendered the soil good for other useful purposes including agriculture and also to be kept for future reclamation activities. It is expected that further studies on this method of remediation will expose us to greatly appreciate nature’s gift of cleansing our environment for mankind. &nbsp