Co-digestion of Food Waste and Human Excreta for Biogas Production

The ever increasing cost of fossil fuels and its attendant pollution menace has provided the pedigree to consider alternative sources of energy. An investigation was launched into the design and construction of an Anaerobic Digester system from locally available raw materials using local technology and the production of biogas from food wastes and Human excreta generated within a University campus. The experiment lasted for 60 days using a 40-liters laboratory scale anaerobic digester. The volume of gas generated from the mixture was 84,750cm3 and comprised of 58% CH4, 24% CO2, and 19% H2S and other impurities. The physico-chemistry of the feedstock in the digester revealed an initial drop in pH to more acidic range and a steady increase 4.52 – 6.10. The temperature remained relatively constant at mesophilic range: 22.0ºC– 30.5ºC throughout the study. The Carbon/Nitrogen (C/N) ratio of the feedstock before digestion was within 139:1. Population distributions of the microflora show aerobic and anaerobic bacteria to include Klebsiella spp, Bacillus spp, Escherichia coli, Clostridium spp and a methanogen of the genera Methanococcus. In most developing nations of Sub-Saharan Africa where biomass is abundant, and where biogas technology is in its infant stage, the anaerobic digestion system could be the much awaited solution

Haematological Response of Clarias Gariepinus to Rubber Processing Effluent

Industrialization has led to huge waste generation over the last decades, the absence of adequate facilities for treating such wastes in most developing nations has led to the discharge of effluents into the environment without proper treatment. Toxicological effects of effluents from rubber processing plant (collected during the period of low rivertide i.e. between October 2012 and February 2013) were carried out in this study. Lethal concentration (96-h LC50) was evaluated using 0.25mg/L, 0.30mg/L, 0.35mg/L and 0.40mg/L while sub-lethal effects (42 days) was carried out on haematological parameters like Red Blood Cell (RBC), White Blood Cell (WBC), Haemoglobin (Hb), Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH) and Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC) using 0.064mg/L, 0.048mg/L, 0.032mg/L and 0.016mg/L which are the 20%, 15%, 10% and 5% of the 96-h LC50 value. Mortality increased as the concentrations of the effluent increases and 0.32mg/L was obtained as LC50. In comparison with the control, the mean value obtained for PCV, HB and RBC showed significant differences (P<0.05) most especially at highest concentration while there was no significant difference in all values obtained for WBC, MCV, MCH and MCHC. It was concluded that the rubber processing effluent had some negative effect on the haematology of Clarias gariepinus. Therefore, it is recommended that the effluent should be properly treated before discharge into the environme

Acute toxicity of synyhetic resin effluent to African Catfish, Clarias gariepinus [BURCHELL, 1822].

Aquatic pollution as a field has gained a lot of attention over the decades majorly because of the vital role the aquatic environment plays in the human lifecycle. Indusrial wastewaters are often generated and discharged into the environment without treatment. Toxicity of effluents from Synythetic Resin production plant were evaluated in this study. Acute toxicity (96-h LC50) was evaluated using 0.23, 0.31, 0.35 and 0.39 mg/L of the effluent in a renewal bioassay procedure. Physicochemical parameters of the effluent were also evaluated, the values obtained for lead, cyanide, total suspened solid, total hadness, total dissolved solids and alkalinity were higher than the Federal Environmental Protection Agency standard specification for effluent discharge into aquatic environment and as such contributed to the effluent's toxicity. Mortality increased as the concentrations of the effluent increases and 0.355mg/L was obtained as LC50. The research eventually revealed that the synthetic resin effluent has a high level of toxicity to catfish. Deleterious effects such as biomagnification and other abberations may occur in man if exposed to substantial concentration of the effluent

Mechanical pretreatment of lignocelluloses for enhanced biogas production: Methane yield prediction from biomass structural components

In this study, mechanical pretreatment was applied to six different lignocelluloses in two different treatment phases and the prediction of their methane yield was done from biomass chemical composition. Physicochemical, proximate and microbial analyses were carried out on both pretreated and untreated biomass using standard methods. Mechanical pretreatments caused the breakdown of structural materials in all the used biomass which was characterized by reduction of the lagging time during anaerobic digestion and the subsequent increase in methane yield up to 22%. The different loading rate of biomass had no effect on the overall methane yield increase. Both single and multiple linear regressions models were used in order to correlate the chemical composition of the biomass with their methane potentials and a fairly high correlation (R2 = 0.63) was obtained. The study also showed that the pretreatments are economically feasible. Therefore, its further application to other biomass is encouraged

Assessment of Occupational Diseases among Artisans and Factory Workers in Ifo, Nigeria

The ever increasing incidences of occupational diseases among workers have continually drawn the attention of researchers towards ameliorating the situation. Investigation was launched to assess occupational diseases among artisans and factory workers in Ifo, Nigeria. Structured questionnaires with oral interview were employed to complement the health records of the respondents at the Government accredited health center. Of the one hundred and fifty six (156) respondents, ninety six (62%) are males and sixty one (38%) female, sixty one point fifty four percent (61.54%) are youths of age 20 to 39 years, fifty one (32.69%) are illiterates and one hundred and eight (69.21%) earn N100, 000 ($615) and below as monthly wages. The diseases prevalent in these workers were evaluated to include but not limited to disorders of muscles, bones, joints, skin and the respiratory organs indicating that most of the jobs are such that causes damages to these special parts of the body and could lead to deformities/incapacitation in old age. Common amongst these diseases are Pre-patellar bursitis and Eczema (1.92% each), Tuberculosis, Asthma and Sunburn (5.77% each). Toxic/inflammatory syndrome, hearing impairment, allergies and computer vision syndrome (7.69% each). Two (1.28% in each case) have been diagnosed of Lead poisoning, Lung cancer, Carpal tunnel syndrome, Pulmonary fibrosis, Meniscus lesion and Olecranon bursitis. Upper airway disorders (4.49%), Irritations (3.21%), Post-traumatic stress syndrome (11.54%), skin allergies (13.46%). Chronic bronchitis; Pneumonia; Pneumoconiosis; Hepatitis and Anthrax-like infection (0.64 % each). The causes of these diseases/disorders include dusts from quarry, textile, cotton, metal, paper, mineral, wood, cereals, cement, and chemical fumes industries, extreme posture of wrist, repetitive movements, inhalations from petrol fuel, prolonged pressure of the elbow region, prolonged kneeling/ squatting position, forceful exertions and microorganisms. Adequate occupational health and safety awareness through training and campaign should be provided. The use of personal protective equipment among workers should also be encouraged

Data on optimization of bioconversion of fruit rind of Telfairia occidentalis (Fluted pumpkin) and poultry manure for biogas generation

The data described in this article was obtained in an experiment designed for genera- tion of biogas from the anaerobic co-digestion of Fluted pumpkin fruit rind and poultry manure in three phases namely A, B and C. This paper is directly related to a published article “Dahunsi SO, Oranusi S, Efeovbokhan VE, Zahedi S, Ojediran JO, Olayanju A, Oluyori AP, Adekanye TA, Izebere JO, Enyinnaya M (2018). Biochemical conversion of fruit rind of Telfairia occidentalis (Fluted pumpkin) and Poultry manure. Energy Sources (Part A) Utiliza- tion and Environmental Effects , 40(23): 2799–2811”. This paper presents the data on op- timization of important process parameters (temperature, pH, retention time, total solids and volatile solids) for standardization during the production of biogas. The response sur-face methodology (RSM) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) were both used for the modeling and optimization in this study and the optimal conditions for this process were statistically predicted as temperature of 30.02 °C, pH of 7.90, retention time of 20.03 days, total solids of 5.94 g/kg and volatile solids of 4.01 g/kg. The predicted biogas yield under the above set conditions was 2614.1, 2289.9 and 1003.3 10 −3 m 3 /kg VS for digestions ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ respectively

Microbial Profiles of Hands, Foods, Easy Contact Surfaces and Food Contact Surfaces: A Case Study of a University Campus

Human hands usually harbour microbes both as part of body normal flora as well as transient microbes acquired from the environment. One common way by which transient organisms of hand are picked up is by contact with food and surfaces. A total of 130 samples consisting of 40 hand swabs, 20 each of food samples and food contact surfaces and 10 each of swabs from banisters, table top, door handles, taps handles and toilet flushers were collected from different locations of the University campus. Samples were analyzed for total aerobic plate count, fungal count, coliform count and for specific organisms. About 98% of hand swabs, food contact and the easy contact surfaces were contaminated with diverse organisms. Hand swabs from the halls of residence and Library had higher levels of contaminations 2.1x105 and 1.9x105 cfu respectively. Toilet flushers and Banisters had TAPC of 8.3x106 and 4.8x106. Moin-moin, Fried rice and Coleslaw had counts of 3.2x107, 1.6x106 and 1.1x106 cfu/g. The predominant microorganisms isolated were Bacillus spp., Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. and Actinomycetes. Also present in the food samples and contact surfaces are Klebsiella spp., Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. Different types of organisms can be picked up from the environment specifically the easy contact surfaces and the hand can be the most important means by which enteric pathogens are transmitted. Likewise, the rate of food borne illness can be greatly reduced by effective HACCP, GMP and hand washing