Physicochemical and Microbiological Qualities of the Abattoir Wastewater in Part of Minna Niger State

The study was aimed at Physicochemical and Microbiological composition of the abattoir wastewater in parts of Minna, Niger State. Based on morphological and biochemical tests using API kits, the yeast isolates were identified as species of Candida, Cryptococcus and Trichosporon. The most frequently isolated species was Candida lusitaniae (29.42%), followed by Cryptococcus neoformans (17.76%) while Candida tropicalis, Candida zeylanoides, Candida gulliernondii and Candida fermata had 11.72% frequency of occurrence each. Trichosporon mucoides had the least frequency of occurrence of 5.8%. Analysis of the abattoir wastewater revealed the mean value of 5257.50 mg/l, 2630.00 mg/l and 5830.00 mg/l for total suspended solids (TSS), Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and Chemical oxygen demand (COD) respectively. These values are above WHO standard limits of 20 mg/l, 20mg/l and 1000mg/l respectively. The pH of 7.90 and temperature 26.75 0C obtained for wastewater are within the limit allowed by the WHO. Besides, the concentrations of the heavy metals, copper, lead, magnesium, nickel and zinc in the samples were higher than permissible limit by the WHO except chromium. The study also revealed that the wastewater had mean total viable bacteria, yeast and coliform counts of 2.16× 107, 5.82 x 105 and 1.62 ×105 cfu/ml respectively. The results observed suggest therefore, the organisms particularly; C. neoformans and C. lusitaniae can be suitable candidates for bioremediation of abattoir waste water in the tropics. Keywords: Abattoir; Heavy metal; Wastewater and Yeast

Production and characterization of xanthan gum by bacterial isolates

Xanthan gum is a microbial polymer synthesised by a plant pathogen of the Xanthomonas genus. Due to its rheological characteristics and water solubility, it is of enormous commercial significance and has been utilized as a thickening and stabilizing agent in a variety of industries. In this work, the potential for synthesizing xanthan gum in Xanthomonas species isolated from black rot spotted tomatoes, peppers, mango, and bananas was investigated. After washing the leaves in saline solution, a tenfold dilution was made, and aliquots (1 ml) were placed on a nutrient agar plate and incubated for 48 h at 25 °C. Gram staining was made on colonies that appeared yellow. An emulsification test was carried out on bacteria that were gram-negative rods. Potential xanthan gum producers include isolates displaying yellow colonies, gram-negative rods, and stable emulsions on carbon-enriched media. These requirements were satisfied by eight (61.5 %) of the isolates tested. Biochemical analysis of the isolates indicated that they were Xanthomonas species, and they were coded appropriately (BX2, BX3, PX4, MX6, PX7, MX8, TM9, TX11). The molecular analysis of the best two isolates (TM9 and BX3) revealed that they were Xanthomonas campestris and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. After 96 h of incubation, Xanthomonas campestris and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia were the most effective xanthan gum producers, generating 2.10 g/l and 1.63 g/l of xanthan gum, respectively. The apparent viscosity (AV), emulsification index (IE24), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to characterize the xanthan gums produced. The findings indicated little or no differences between commercially synthesized xanthan gum and produced xanthan gum. However, xanthan gum from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia has a higher apparent viscosity (660.6 mPas) that is above those of Xanthomonas campestris (526.1 mPas) and commercial xanthan gum (411.3 mPas), respectively. The gums showed structural similarities and exhibited good thermal stability. These findings indicate that Xanthomonas species are viable options for xanthan gum production

Potential of Chicken Droppings in Reclaiming Diesel-Contaminated Soil from a Farmland situated at Gonin-gora, Chikun Local Government Area (L.G.A), Kaduna State, Nigeria

Diesel pollution of soil is widespread and adversely affects soil fertility, plant growth and soil microflora population. This study determined the potential of chicken droppings in reclaiming diesel-contaminated soil from a farmland situated at Gonin-gora, Chikun Local Government Area (L.G.A), Kaduna State, Nigeria using standard methods. Three earthen pots containing 1kg of diesel-contaminated soil each were amended with chicken droppings. Sample A, B and C were amended with 100g, 200g and 300g of pulverized chicken droppings respectively. A fourth sample D was maintained as the control (contained diesel-contaminated soil but was not amended). The duration of the experiment was 12 weeks and sampling was carried out monthly for changes in diesel-utilizing bacteria, physicochemical properties and diesel degradation. The diesel-utilizing bacteria ranged from 1.86 × 106 CFU/g to 7.36 × 106 CFU/g. Samples amended with chicken droppings had higher bacterial growth than the control sample. The diesel-utilizing bacteria identified in this study belonged to the genera Bacillus, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Micrococcus and Staphylococcus. The degradation of diesel was monitored using the weight loss method and there was significant degradation in the diesel content after the study period. The highest degradation of diesel was recorded in Sample C (polluted soil + 30% CD) (30.1%); followed by sample B (polluted soil + 20% CD) (28.3%); then sample A (polluted soil + 10% CD) (22.6%). Sample D (polluted soil without amendment) which was the control had the lowest (17.2%) degradation of diesel. GC-MS showed a significant decrease in carbon compounds of the residual diesel in all samples after the study period. Thus, the results obtained demonstrated the potential of chicken droppings for enhanced bioremediation of diesel-contaminated soil

Pre-treatment, Physicochemical Properties and Production of Bioethanol from Rice Husk using Fungi Isolated from Waste Dumpsite in Kaduna, Nigeria

This research is based on the pre-treatment and physicochemical characterization of rice husk and production of Bioethanol from rice husk using fungal isolates obtained from waste dump sites in Kaduna Nigeria. Standard procedures were followed. The results revealed a reduction in lignin (from 21.40 to 12.08%), hemicellulose (22.04-18.92%), protein (14.56-8.56%) and ash (1.31-1.04%) contents which resulted to an increase in the cellulosic fraction (49.55-58.29%) of the rice husk.. A significant difference (p<0.05) was observed in the reducing sugar concentrations of the 50g substrate concentration using Aspergillus niger SIF2 (0.60±0.30mg/ml), Aspergillus flavus CMXY22565 (0.56±0.29mg/ml) and a consortium (1.17±0.82mg/ml) of both organisms after 120 hours of enzymatic hydrolysis. The results also revealed a significant yield (p<0.05) in bioethanol production using Pichia kudriavzevii IPBCC.y.161552 (4.91±2.51%), Saccharomyces cerevisiae FJI (5.39±2.87%) and a consortium (9.02±4.83%) of both organisms. There was an increase in temperature and titratable acidity and a decrease in pH and specific gravity. The FTIR revealed a high ethanol content of 68% from the bioethanol produced from the 50g substrate concentration hydrolysed and fermented using a consortium of molds and yeasts. The results therefore suggest that bioethanol can be produced from rice husk with maximum yields obtained using a consortium of Aspergillus niger SIF2 and Aspergillus flavus CMXY22565 for hydrolysis as well as a consortium of Saccharomyces cerevisiae FJI and Pichia kudriavzevii IPBCC.y.161552 for fermentation

Assessment of phytoremediation potentials of legumes in spent engine oil contaminated soil

A B S T R A C T This study was conducted to evaluate the growth and phytoremediation potential of Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and Hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus) in spent engine oil (SEO) contaminated soil. The study involved a field experiment conducted in a botanical garden under irrigation. The two plant species were grown on (0.0, 2. were positive (≥ 1) in all treatments with the exception of Lablab purpureus, which recorded RE value of 0.6 (negative RE) for total fungal counts. The plants therefore, have potentials for phytoremediation and could be important tools in reclaiming soil with low levels of SEO contamination

The antimicrobial activities of methanolic extracts of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Terminalia catappa against some pathogenic microorganisms

Methanolic extracts of leaves of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Terminalia catappa were studied for in vitro microbial activities by agar dilution method. The phytochemical analysis of the crude extracts of the medicinal plants revealed the presence of saponin, saponin glycosides, steroid, cardiac glycoside, tannins, volatile oils, phenols and balsam (gum). The methanolic extracts of the two plants inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 103207 and Clinical strain respectively) but had no inhibitory effects on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli. Candida albicans was inhibited by the crude extracts of E. camaldulensis only. Accelerated gradient chromatography (AGC) gave fractions of the extract of T. catappa that were more active on Candida albicans and Escherichia coli than the crude extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extracts ranged from 1.25mg/ml to 5mg/ml. The results obtained suggest that T. catappa and E. camaldulensis can be used in treating diseases caused by the test organisms

Awareness and Level of Adoption of Aquaculture Management Techniques in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria

The study investigated the awareness and level of adoption of aquaculture management techniques in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Purposive and random sampling techniques were adopted to select 60 fish farmers from the study area and data were collected from the fish farmers with the aid of well structured questionnaire administered to them face to face by the researchers and some trained enumerators. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as means score, percentage, tables, Likert scale and multiple regression analysis. The findings indicated that majority (60.00%) of the respondents were male, while 95.00% of the farmers were between the age of 21-60 years with 91.67% of the fish farmers educated and 61.67% of fish farmer are highly experienced with 6 years and above. The findings also revealed that majority of the farmers are aware of aquaculture management techniques in the study area with 70.00% getting information on these techniques from extension agents followed by 55.00% who relied on other fish farmers for relevant information about fish farming. The Likert scale result revealed that thirteen out of twenty – one aquaculture management techniques postulated were adopted while eight were not adopted implying that 61.90% of the postulated techniques were adopted by the fish farmers in the study area. The result of the regression analysis showed that level of awareness of techniques; access to credit facility and number of contact with extension agent were the three factors influencing adoption of aquaculture management techniques by the fish farmers in the study area. Lack of credits/ fund to adopt improved practice (75.00%), expensiveness of techniques (55.00%), complexity of techniques (55.00%), and lack of support from the government (51.67%), lack of adequate and proper information on these techniques (50.00%), lack of training (45.00%) and lack of awareness (33.33%) were identified as constraints affecting adoption of aquaculture management techniques in the study area. In conclusion, the study revealed that the farmers were aware and adopted good numbers of the aquaculture management techniques introduced to them The study recommends that farmers should establish cooperative society so that they can pool their resources and knowledge together in solving most of the problems identified