MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS ACTUALIZATION: THE STRATEGIC ROLES OF NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES.

To enumerate the milestone reached in international cooperation as pertaining to inspiring development efforts embedded in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as set out by the United Nations in 2000, with the sole aim of improving the lives of about two billion people around the world, is to recount the obvious relevance. Its pertinence is more weighty and significant to Africa and Asia continents, knowing that a large proportion of the world-poorest are densely concentrated in them. This work identifies, analyzes and enumerates the roles of Nigerian universities in attaining Millennium Development Goals by 2015. It also submits that strategic massification and vision specificity are indispensable routes through which most developing world countries both in Asia and Africa can accomplish the behemoth task before them in terms of poverty reduction, hunger elimination, education and environmental targets

Deacidification of high acidic rubber seed oil by reesterification with glycerol

Some studies have shown that rubber seed oil (RSO) from the seed of rubber tree (hevea brasiliensis)has potential technical applications. However, the high free fatty acid (FFA) associated with the oil may be a limiting factor in its applications. In this study, crude rubber seed oil (RSO) containing 37.69% FFA was deacidified using 4.3-5.6% of glycerol. The reactions were carried out at a pressure of 20mmHg in the presence of zinc dust and zinc chloride catalysts added separately at high temperature (150 – 2500C). The progress of the reaction was monitored by determining the FFA at various time intervals.The FFA content in the RSO was reduced to 1.5% in six hours when 4.3% glycerol was used with zinc dust at a temperature of 2000C while the triglycerides content of the oil increased from 40.32% in the crude oil to 80.62% in the deacidified RSO. The study showed that this process is effective in the deacidification of RSO without loss of neutral glycerides as in alkali neutralization

Considerations of the extraction process and potential technical applications of Nigerian rubber seed oil

Rubber seeds from the rubber tree (hevea brasiliensis) are in abundance in Nigeria from which nonedible oil could be obtained. However, the seeds are wasted in the rubber plantations annually even though the extractable oil has potential technical applications. If the full potentials of the oil are to be realized, there is need to have a data base information on the oil extraction process and its properties. Rubber seeds were collected from different rubber clones and extracted first by n-hexane to determine the yield characteristics. Second, the seeds were extracted by a hydraulic press at varied operating conditions: pressure range (5-8MPa), temperatures, 40-90ºC; and moisture content, 7-16%. The effect of particle size and other operating variables on oil yield were studied. The physico-chemical properties of the extracted oil were evaluated. It was found that the percentage oil yield from the seeds of the rubber clone NIG800 at 45.03% was higher than the yield from other clones; GTI (40.21%) and RRIM 707 (38.42%) when the particle size of 1.16 mm was used. Oil yield increased with increase in temperature and pressure. Maximum oil yield was obtained during mechanical pressing at a moisture content of 10% (wt), temperature of 70ºC and pressure of 8MPa. The physicochemical characteristics of the oil showed high incidence of free fatty acid (FFA) of 37.96% (wt) and the high iodine value (IV) of 142.45 is indicative of the presence of high unsaturation. Rubber seed oil could therefore serve as semi-drying oil used in ingredients for surface coating and in the formulation of products where the presence of unsaturation is important

Synthesis and Characterization of Vulcanized Vegetable Oil from Rubber Seed Oil

Vulcanized vegetable oil (VVO) is a product synthesized from unsaturated vegetable oil and a vulcanizing agent such as sulphur. It is used in rubber industry as processing aid and is imported into Nigeria whereas there are potential plant oils such as rubber seed oil (RSO) locally available in the country for its synthesis. Rubber seed oil is obtained from the seeds of the rubber tree (hevea brasiliensis) and are in abundance in Nigeria but unexploited. Its use in the synthesis of VVO was investigated by using sulphur as the vulcanizing agent. The effects of various doses of additives such as iodine, magnesium oxide, sodium carbonate, 2-mercaptobenzothioazole and zinc diethyldithiocarbonate on the vulcanization process were investigated. The vulcanized rubber seed oil (VRSO) obtained was characterized in terms of hardness, free sulphur, ash content and acetone extract. The type of vulcanized oil produced from rubber seed oil was found to depend on the level of sulphur and additive used. As the level of sulphur used in the synthesis without additives was increased from 15wt% to 30wt% of oil, the gel time was reduced from 35minutes to 14minutes and the physical properties of the VRSO improved. The use of some of the additives markedly affected the gel time particularly magnesium oxide which at 10wt% and 30wt% sulphur loading reduced gel time to 6minutes while some others seemed to have little effect on the gel time. The study shows that VVO can be produced from RSO when the right combination of additives is used instead of when sulphur is used separately

Raw Material Development For Industrial Applications

Studies on the electrical properties of several locally availabl~ vegetable oils have strong similarity between their properties and those of the transformer oil used for comparison purposes. Appropriate treatment of the oils gave oils of higher break down voltages than that of the transformer oil. The results also showed the dependence of the result on the percentage FF A content of the oils. Further studies requiring the use of highly refine~ oils (very low FFA) in actual operation are necessary. These will test the stability of the oils during actual performance and serve· to confirm the promise shown by these renewable raw materials

The ·Effect Of An Anti-Oxidant On The Bbreakdown Voltage Of Palm Olein "Samples

The effect of the anti-o-;(idant (hydroquinone) on the breakdown" voltage of JJalm olein samples was studied. The oil san1fles had different acid values resultir}g from the different degrees of neutralization treatment~ ,given. The hydroquinone addition ranged from 0.23. to 1.13 weight percent of the oil. , The hydroquinone. had a positive effect on the breakdown voltage of the oil samples. The increase in the breakdown voltage was rapid at low concentrations of the :hydroquinone with the tncr~ase tending towards an asymptotic value at higher concentrations. The effect of the h"ydroquinone on the breakdown voltage was also dependent on the acid value of the oil. Oil samples with lower acid values had sharper increases in their breakd.own voltages .. Percentage increase in the brea't<down voltage of 6p.67(vis-a-vis the additive~less samples). was rec~rded for oil sample of acid • value of 1 .515 mg KOH/tj oil and containing 0.45% by weight hydroquir;10ne. These. results show that the one major problem !o. xidative stability) in the use ·of vegetable oil. as :transformer oil can be ~ overcome without an ad~e,rse effect on their electrical properties

Poverty Alleviation And National Development: Prospects And Challenges

This paper attempts to explain the concept of poverty and the root causes of poverty in 'our society. The major focus is identifying the basic strategies for poverty reduction. The research investigation identifies among other things; the role of government, international and other donor organizations in alleviating poverty from our society. The contributions of entrepreneurial development as a vital tool for pqverty eradication were also studied coupled with an in-depth review of the fives basic factors of poverty. It was discovered that ignorance, disease, apathy and ot~ers, if properly handled and addressed will go a longer way in solving the issue of poverty which has eaten deep into the fabric of our society

Re- Engineering Our Waste Management Methods: A Road .··Map To Sustainable Waste Management Practice In Nigeria

The paper is geared towards finding solution to the irregular dumping of waste around the major, minor roads and streets of many cities in Nigeria. It also address among other things, sustainable waste management practice and its objectives, the different stages in effective waste management and disposal, problems associated with the methods of waste disposal in Nigeria, factors that.limits sustainable waste management practice and the wayforwf!:rd. Also discussed in this paper are the roles of individuals, government, international and other organizations in ensuring that waste is properly disposed and effectively managed. It was proposed at the end of the investigation that for sustainable waste management to be effectively established, people must change their attitude, they must respect laws and regulations guarding irregular waste disposal. Finally, they must understand the concept of waste reduction at source as the most effective method of manf!ging waste