Heavy Metal Distribution in the Vicinity of Automobile Scrap Sites in Agbor, Nigeria

Surface soil in the vicinity of automobile scrap sites were studied for heavy metal level. The result revealed that the concentration of heavy metals in the various sites exceeded those of the control sites. The mean concentration ranges (mg kg-1) for heavy metals in these sites were 4.00 – 11.55 for Cd; 6.22 – 977 for Pb; 0.34 – 1.26 for Cu; 0.72–1.59 for Cr and 12.21 – 93.31 for Fe. However, the concentrations compared well with those found in normal agricultural soil and were below environmental quality criteria for soil for agriculture, residential and industrial purposes except for cadmium. The accumulation pattern for the metals followed the order Fe > Cd > Pb > Cr > Cu. Cadmium represented a contamination hazards in these sites.Keywords: Vehicle scrap; heavy metals; soil concentration; Nigeri

Preparation and Characterization of Metal Soaps of Cocos nucifera Seed Oil

This study investigated the extraction of Cocos nucifera seed oil (CSO) from Cocos nucifera seed using aqueous processing and the production of metal soaps from the oil and their characterization in terms of colour, pH, free caustic alkalinity, foaming power, foam stability, and corrosion inhibition test. The metal soaps of the oil produced by metathesis were soaps of nickel, calcium, barium, zinc, iron and magnesium. The results of tests of the metal soaps showed that Ni-CSO was greenish in colour, Zn-CSO, Mg-CSO, Ba-CSO and Ca-CSO were white and Fe-CSO had a dark-brown colour. The pH of the metal soaps varied between 6.5 to 8.2. The free caustic alkalinity was low and varied between 0.30 % to 0.43 %. Foam stability was in the order Fe-CSO 0.80, Ca-CSO 0.81, Zn-CSO 0.86, Ni-CSO 0.90, Mg-CSO 0.92 and Ba-CSO 0.93. For corrosion inhibition test Ni-CSO at 100 mg/L, Ca-CSO at 60 mg/L, Mg-CSO, Ba-CSO and Fe-CSO at 40 mg/L inhibited tiger head razor blade corrosion while the other concentrations of the metal soaps showed varied degrees of corrosion.Keywords: Cocos nucifera seed oil; metal soaps; corrosion inhibition; foam stabilit

The application of disperse dyes derived from 4-bromoaniline and 3-chloroaniline on to polyester fabric

A series of new disazo disperse dye compounds based on 4-amino-2-chlorophenylazo-4-bromobenzene intermediate were prepared by linking various arylamines and phenolic derivatives to this intermediate through diazo coupling reactions. The structures of the azo compounds were confirmed by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and UV-visible spectral data. The results of the UV-vis absorption spectra of some of the dyes showed near-infrared absorptions around 573-800 nm. The results of the colour fastness to washing and sublimation gave an excellent value of grade 5. The light fastness values were found to be technically acceptable with the grey-scale grade of 5 to 6-7. Also, the rubbing fastness was observed to be grade 3/4 to 4.               KEY WORDS: Disazo dyes, Spectral absorption, Polyester, Fastness, Near-infrared absorption Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2019, 33(1), 127-134DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v33i1.12   

Bat and lyssavirus exposure among humans in area that celebrates bat festival, Nigeria, 2010 and 2013

Using questionnaires and serologic testing, we evaluated bat and lyssavirus exposure among persons in an area of Nigeria that celebrates a bat festival. Bats from festival caves underwent serologic testing for phylogroup II lyssaviruses (Lagos bat virus, Shimoni bat virus, Mokola virus). The enrolled households consisted of 2,112 persons, among whom 213 (10%) were reported to have ever had bat contact (having touched a bat, having been bitten by a bat, or having been scratched by a bat) and 52 (2%) to have ever been bitten by a bat. Of 203 participants with bat contact, 3 (1%) had received rabies vaccination. No participant had neutralizing antibodies to phylogroup II lyssaviruses, but ≥50% of bats had neutralizing antibodies to these lyssaviruses. Even though we found no evidence of phylogroup II lyssavirus exposure among humans, persons interacting with bats in the area could benefit from practicing bat-related health precautions