Investigation of the Effects of Flowline Sizes, Flow Rates, Insulation Material, Type and Configuration on Flow Assurance of Waxy Crude

The recovery of hydrocarbons has gone into deep and ultra-deep waters. Typically, operations from such an environment make the system susceptible to flow assurance challenges. Operations with long subsea flowlines need special attention with respect to flow assurance problems, especially with respect to wax deposition and risk of hydrate formation. As a result, during such operations, it becomes very crucial to evaluate the flowline sizes, flow rates and subsea flowline lengths to minimize flow assurance problems. For the wax deposition control, the operating temperature must be maintained above wax appearance temperature (WAT) by either insulation or electrical heating depending on the cost and energy efficiency factors. In this study, several multiphase simulations were carried out using PIPESIM software to investigate the effects of flowline sizes, flow rates, insulation material, type and configuration on flow assurance of waxy crude over 10.2 km between the wellhead and the first stage separator on the platform. Considering the implications of these factors for flow assurance. The data and results obtained from this study suggest that line size of 0.29 m, the flow rate of 3280 m3/d, poly-urethane foam, and pipe-in-pipe insulation type are favourable to flow assurance of waxy crude with respect to maintaining the temperature of the fluids above the wax appearance temperature of 26 oC; and also to deliver the fluids to the platform at the recommended pressure of over 11 bar. Keywords: Waxy Crude. Flow Assurance. Flow Rates. PIPESIM software, wax control. DOI: 10.7176/ISDE/11-3-02 Publication date: April 30th 2020

Corruption as a Militating Factor to Economic Growth in Nigeria

The study is aim at evaluating corruption as a militating factor to economic growth in Nigeria. Corruption has retard economic growth and development of many countries all over the world especially the developing countries. This portends a great danger to both the developed and developing economies because of it bandwagon effect. Secondary data were sourced from the annual statistical reports of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and World Bank Reports (WBR) on Nigeria and corruption reports from transparency international on Nigeria. The CBN report provided information for Nigeria economic growth which was proxy by GDP from   1996 to 2015 while WBR provided information on corruption perception on Nigeria proxy by Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Corruption Rank (CR), and Relative Corruption Rank (RCR). Hypotheses were formulated and data obtained from the proxy mentioned above were used for the analysis using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression technique. The study found out that corruption and corruption ranking have significant relationship with economic growth and development. Keywords: Corruption, Corruption ranking and economic development

Is CAPM A Good Predictor Of Stock Return In The Nigerian Chemical And Paints Stocks?

This research is on testing the predictive power of Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) as enunciated by Sharpe (1964) in the determination of the required rates of return of Nigerian chemical and paints stocks that coincides with the actual rates of return. As it were, there is no clear cut understanding on the belief with particular reference to Nigerian chemical and paints stocks. In the light of the above assertion, the objective of this study is to find out the required rate of return of Nigerian chemical and paints stocks from 2000-2012 and compare them with the actual rates of return in the corresponding periods to indentify the valuation status of the stocks. Being an empirical study, analytical research design was adopted. The data used were secondary data, which were collected from the financial statements of the firms, The Nigerian Stock Exchange publications, and Central banks of Nigeria publications. The findings show that the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) as enunciated by Sharpe (1964) did not give any appropriate forecast of the returns from the Chemical and Paints sector stocks throughout the thirteen-year period of study. The CAPM made thirty-one under-valuations and sixty-five overvaluations to make a total of ninety-six misappropriations in the thirteen years period of study. Therefore, the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is not a good predictor of stock return in the Chemical and Paints sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Keywords: historical equity market risk premium, historical equity beta, required rate of return to equity, actual market return, actual stock return

The Use of Strategic Silence in Interpersonal Communication

For over a century now, the attention of communication scholars has shifted from strategic communication to strategic silence with an open invitation for experts to investigate the potency of the latter in the line of communication. As an honour to this invitation, this study investigates the use of strategic silence in interpersonal communication among residents of Enugu Metropolis in Enugu State Nigeria. In conducting this survey, explanatory mixed method research design was used to generate both qualitative and quantitative data using questionnaire and interview. After a thorough analysis, both quantitative and qualitative data revealed that residents of Enugu metropolis use strategic silence in interpersonal communication. Finding also revealed that the respondents use strategic silence both negatively and positively to influence others in the line of communication. Based on these findings, it is recommended that users of strategic silence should always deploy it for positive reasons

Exergoeconomic and Environmental Modeling of Integrated Polygeneration Power Plant with Biomass-Based Syngas Supplemental Firing

There is a burden of adequate energy supply for meeting demand and reducing emission to avoid the average global temperature of above 2 °C of the pre-industrial era. Therefore, this study presents the exergoeconomic and environmental analysis of a proposed integrated multi-generation plant (IMP), with supplemental biomass-based syngas firing. An in-service gas turbine plant, fired by natural gas, was retrofitted with a gas turbine (GT), steam turbine (ST), organic Rankine cycle (ORC) for cooling and power production, a modified Kalina cycle (KC) for power production and cooling, and a vapour absorption system (VAB) for cooling. The overall network, energy efficiency, and exergy efficiency of the IMP were estimated at 183 MW, 61.50% and 44.22%, respectively. The specific emissions were estimated at 122.2, 0.222, and 3.0 × 10−7 kg/MWh for CO2, NOx, and CO, respectively. Similarly, the harmful fuel emission factor, and newly introduced sustainability indicators—exergo-thermal index (ETI) and exergetic utility exponent (EUE)—were obtained as 0.00067, 0.675, and 0.734, respectively. The LCC of $1.58 million was obtained, with a payback of 4 years, while the unit cost of energy was estimated at 0.0166$/kWh. The exergoeconomic factor and the relative cost difference of the IMP were obtained as 50.37% and 162.38%, respectively. The optimum operating parameters obtained by a genetic algorithm gave the plant’s total cost rate of 125.83 $/hr and exergy efficiency of 39.50%. The proposed system had the potential to drive the current energy transition crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shock in the energy sector

Rural Household Attitude towards Traditional Methods of Malaria Treatment in South-East, Nigeria

This study assessed rural households’ attitude towards traditional methods of malaria treatment and cultural beliefs that affect choice of malaria treatment for enhanced agricultural production in south-east, Nigeria. A sample size of 360 household heads was randomly selected for the study. Data were collected with the use of structured questionnaire and Focus Group Discussions (FGD), key informant interview and participant observation. Descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency distribution and percentages were used to achieve the stated objectives. Respondents from the three states studied had positive attitude towards traditional methods of malaria treatment (grand mean= 3.47, 3.77, and 3.05 for Abia, Ebonyi and Imo States respectively), although respondents from Abia (mean= 2.83) and Imo States (mean= 2.41) disagreed that the environment under which traditional medicines for malaria treatment were prepared was hygienic. They indicated that traditional methods of malaria treatments have less chemical residues (mean= 3.50 and 3.48, for Abia, and Ebonyi States, respectively). The study suggests the need for collaborative efforts among all stakeholders, particularly orthodox medical personnel and traditional healers so as to have concerted efforts to ensure sustained malaria treatment

Rural Household Attitude towards Traditional Methods of Malaria Treatment in South-East, Nigeria

This study assessed rural households’ attitude towards traditional methods of malaria treatment and cultural beliefs that affect choice of malaria treatment for enhanced agricultural production in south-east, Nigeria. A sample size of 360 household heads was randomly selected for the study. Data were collected with the use of structured questionnaire and Focus Group Discussions (FGD), key informant interview and participant observation. Descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency distribution and percentages were used to achieve the stated objectives. Respondents from the three states studied had positive attitude towards traditional methods of malaria treatment (grand mean= 3.47, 3.77, and 3.05 for Abia, Ebonyi and Imo States respectively), although respondents from Abia (mean= 2.83) and Imo States (mean= 2.41) disagreed that the environment under which traditional medicines for malaria treatment were prepared was hygienic. They indicated that traditional methods of malaria treatments have less chemical residues (mean= 3.50 and 3.48, for Abia, and Ebonyi States, respectively). The study suggests the need for collaborative efforts among all stakeholders, particularly orthodox medical personnel and traditional healers so as to have concerted efforts to ensure sustained malaria treatment

Effects of Household Waste Generation, Disposal and Management on Farmers’ Health in Owerri Metropolis of IMO State, Nigeria

The study investigated the effects of household waste generation, disposal and management on farmers' health in Owerri metropolis. It specifically ascertained the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, identified the types and sources of waste in the study area, examined the waste disposal and management methods in the study area examined the effects of inappropriate waste disposal and ascertained the appropriate waste disposal methods used in the study area. A multi stage sampling technique was used to select one hundred and eight farmers from the three Local Government Area in Owerri metropolis. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive statistics tool such as mean, frequency, percentage, and mean scores. Results show that waste is majorly generated from markets and residential homes. Waste disposal methods were mainly burning, landfills and open dumping. Its effects includes destroys the beauty of the environment, blocks gutters and drainage system, pollutes the environment among others. Subsequently, appropriate waste disposal methods in the study area includes burning of waste (29.17%), placing of bins at appropriate places (16.07%). The study recommends amongst others that waste management environmental agency should make waste dumps or receptacles accessible to residents, public campaigns should be embarked upon to educate the citizens on ills of dirty environment

A Comparison of Approaches to Regional Land-Use Capability Analysis for Agricultural Land-Planning

Smallholder agriculture is a major source of income and food for developing nations. With more frequent drought and increasing scarcity of arable land, more accurate land-use planning tools are needed to allocate land resources to support regional agricultural activity. To address this need, we created Land Capability Classification (LCC) system maps using data from two digital soil maps, which were compared with measurements from 1305 field sites in the Dosso region of Niger. Based on these, we developed 250 m gridded maps of LCC values across the region. Across the region, land is severely limited for agricultural use because of low available water-holding capacity (AWC) that limits dry season agricultural potential, especially without irrigation, and requires more frequent irrigation where supplemental water is available. If the AWC limitation is removed in the LCC algorithm (i.e., simulating the use of sufficient irrigation or a much higher and more evenly distributed rainfall), the dominant limitations become less severe and more spatially varied. Finally, we used additional soil fertility data from the field samples to illustrate the value of collecting contemporary data for dynamic soil properties that are critical for crop production, including soil organic carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen. View Full-Text</div