Distribution pattern of some heavy metals in the dust particulates of Funtua Textile Limited, Katsina, Nigeria

The sequential extraction of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb in industrial dust particulates collected in ten different sections/Departments of Funtua textile limited and the control site from Dikke village was carried out in order to ascertain the percentage of bioavailable fractions. Analyses of metals in the extracts were done using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS). The sequential extractions showed that significant amount of Cu25.87(O1) to 92.73% (E1) was associated with non-residual and 0.09 (E1) to 56.94% (O2) organic bound fractions; similarly, Cd was also associated with the non- residual fractions across the sites with values 42.22(W2) to 97.78% (E2). Cr and Ni exhibited the highest percentage of 73.46(W1) to 100.00 % (W2) and 23.64 (E2) to 77.26 % (S1), respectively. Pb in the particulate dust samples was significantly associated with the non-residual fraction and carbonate bound fraction with range of 21.71(D)–61.68(S2) % across the sites. This study revealed contamination of the particulates dust especially with Cu, Cr and Pb; this implies health risks to human, living or carrying out daily activities along the corridors of this industry.Keywords: Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, Funtua textile, Heavy metals, Particulates dust, Sequential extractio

Synthesis and growth of spherical ZnO nanoparticles using different amount of plant extract: characterization and morphology of structures

The use of plant extracts has become an interesting ecofriendly method to synthesize and stabilize the different structures nanoparticles (NPs). This work investigated the effect of plant extract as a reducing and stabilizing agent on the growth and morphology of ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs). Green synthesis and growth of spherical ZnONPs was carried out by co-precipitation method using a Zinc acetate salt and various amounts of Azadirachta indica seed husk extract (20 ml and 40 ml). The synthesized ZnO-NPs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The FTIR analyses revealed the presence of Phenolic alcohol, amines and carboxylic acid groups and ZnO in synthesized NPs with more intense peaks at higher amount (40 ml) of A. indica extract. Also, structural morphology analyses using SEM revealed uniform spherical shaped particles with diameter from 25 to 60 nm (20 ml of extract) and 19 to 35 nm (40 ml of extract) for ZnO-NPs. The EDX spectral revealed that the required phase of Zn and O was present 69.54% (Zn) and 30.46% (O) at 20 ml of extract, also 73.71% (Zn), 26.26% (O) at 40 ml of extract respectively and confirmed high purity for the synthesized ZnO NPs. TEM revealed spherical shaped NPs with diameter ranging from 28 to 52 nm (20 ml of extract) and 8.2 to 11.9 nm (40 ml of extract) respectively, with a trend reduction in particle size of NPs at higher amount of A. indica seed extract (40 ml) and growth of more uniform particles with no agglomeration. The study showed successful growth of spherical ZnO-NPs with required properties at a higher amount of extract

Use of water quality index to assess the impact of flooding on water quality of River Kaduna, Nigeria

Flooding is increasingly becoming a yearly occurrence in Nigeria and many parts of the world and is linked to climate change. It comes with a wide range of consequences including the destruction of life and property and surface water pollution. This study used water quality index (WQI) to assess the impact of 2019 and 2020 flood events on the water quality of River Kaduna. Nine water quality parameters were selected based on Nigeria standards, while the weighted arithmetic method was applied in calculating the WQI. The result shows that electrical conductivity, TDS, Cl-, Na, sulphate, and nitrate were all below the maximum standard limits throughout the study period, while Fe and turbidity were above the limits. While other parameters showed varied responses before and after the two flood events, Fe and turbidity were consistently higher after the flood events. The water quality of the river is generally in the extremely poor class, both before and after the 2019 and 2020 floods (WQI > 100). There was a pronounced decrease in water quality at all the sampling stations after both the 2019 and 2020 flood events. The decreasing water quality should be of a public health concern as a large number of people depends on this river for domestic use

Phytochemical Screening, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of the Stem Extracts of Woolly Bush (Adenanthos sericeus)

Preliminary phytochemical screening of various extracts of the stem of Adenanthos sericeus were carried out in this work. The results obtained revealed some differences in the constituent of the aqueous, n-hexane, acetone and methanol extracts tested. Saponins, resins, anthraquinones, glycoside, alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, steroids, phenols and terpenoid at varying proportion were detected. The free radical scavenging activity carried out using hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity to determine the antioxidant activity reveals a great antioxidant potential in Adenanthos sericeus. Also, the antimicrobial activities carried out using the following organisms; Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Eschericia coli, Salmonella. The results obtained shows the stem extracts of Adenanthos sericeus has proven to have an interesting pharmacological active compounds with great radical scavenging and antimicrobial effects. As such could be used in ethnomedicine for treatment of infections and ailmentsKeywords: Adenanthos sericeus(s), Antimicrobial, Phytochemicals, Organism

The influence of physicochemical characteristics of a non-edible oil of yellow oleander seed on its fuel properties

In this study, oil was extracted from yellow oleander (YO) seed and the yield was found to be 64.7% . The physico-chemical parameters of the yellow oleander seed oil (YO) were assessed following the ASTM standard methods, and found to have iodine value of 75.82 and calorific value of 13.79 MJ/Kg. Other physicochemical parameters determined were acid value (1.26), peroxide value (3.0 meq/kg) and specific gravity (0.88406 g/cm3). Some Fuel properties of the oil include high flash points (192 oC), kinematic viscosity (23.23 mm2/s) and cloud point of 14 oC. The FTIR analyses of the YO showed the carbonyl functional group of the triglycerides at 1739 cm-1 to 1745cm-1 as the most intense and prominent bands. The fatty acid composition of the oil was determined using the Gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and the saturated fatty acid of yellow oleander seed oil was found to be 38.11% with palmitic acid (23.61%) and stearic acid (10.78%). The GC-MS result showed about 80% saturated/ monounsaturated fatty acids in the YO, signifying high potential for biodiesel production.Keywords: yellow oleander seed oil, biodiesel, fuel , triglyceride, saturated fatty aci

Heavy metal pollution and ecological risk assessment in the sediments of River Kaduna, Nigeria

This study evaluated the pollution level and ecological risk of Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb and, Zn in sediments of River Kaduna. The total metal concentrations were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS), while the pollution level and ecological risk of the metals were evaluated using a combination of geo-accumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), Nemerow pollution index (NPI), and potential ecological risk index. While Cd was below detection limits, the level of other heavy metals in all the sites followed the order: Zn > Cr > Cu > Pb. Heavy metals in the sediment can be classified as unpolluted to moderately polluted (Igeo < 2), with the pollution level following the order of Cr > Cu > Pb > Zn. While PLI classified the sites as polluted, NPI further subdivided the pollution level of the sites as precaution domain, slightly polluted domain, and moderately polluted domain. Pollution of the sites decreased from March to September at sites MU and JI but increased at NK. The same pattern was also observed for the ecological risk of the sites. However, none of the metals posed an ecological risk in the area as the risk factors were all below the lower threshold (Er < 40), and there was also a low risk to the local ecosystem at all the sites from the studied metals (RI < 110). The metals showed seasonal and spatial variation with levels that did not pose a serious threat in the area