Production of Particleboard from Agricultural Waste - A Sustainable Approach to Waste Management

Large amounts of agricultural waste are left unutilized in Nigeria, resulting in detrimental environmental consequences. Particleboard made from such trash would help to reduce deforestation and have a good impact on the environment. The characteristics of particleboard made from corn cob (CC) and sugarcane bagasse (SB) with cassava starch and urea formaldehyde as separate binders were compared in this study. CC and SB mix proportions of 90:10, 70:30, and 50:50 percent (by volume) were used to make three layers of medium density particleboard. Manual mixing and blending of 25% and 10% by volume of the different binders and water respectively was done. The mixtures were compressed for 1 hour at 100 °C and 342 kg/m2. The ASTM D. 1037-12 (2020) and EN 312 (2010) standards were used to evaluate the particleboard. However, particleboard produced from 90 % CC and 10 % SB with cassava starch binder had the greatest modulus of elasticity (MOE) of 444.65 N/mm2 and modulus of rapture (MOR) of 10.59 N/mm2. The MOR and MOE data from this investigation allowed researchers to draw the conclusion that while the mechanical qualities of the panels improved as the fraction of CC particles increased, the panels' physical characteristics remained subpar

Bioremediation : data on biologically‐mediated remediation of crude oil (Escravos Light) polluted soil using Aspergillus niger

Abstract: This article presents data on Aspergillus niger effects on the biologically‐mediated remediation of soil polluted by raw and treated crude oil (Escravos Light blend). Absorbance of different concentrations of polluted soil samples (5% and 8% w/w) and types (raw and treated), for simulating different onshore crude oil spill, were obtained from the Aspergillus niger inoculated samples using ultra violet‐visible (UV‐Vis) spectrophotometry. This measurement was carried out for each sample at selected intervals for the 30‐ day measurements. The bioremediation data, presented in the article, were subjected to descriptive/analytical statistics of probability density functions and goodness‐of‐fit test‐statistics for dataset‐detailing and dataset‐comparisons. Information details from these data of biologically‐mediated remediation of crude oil polluted soil are useful for furthering research on bioremediation kinetics such as hydrocarbon content analyses, crude oil pollutant removal performance, biodegradation rate parameter and biostimulant efficiencies by the Aspergillus niger effects on the different concentrations of polluted soil

Rhizophora mangle L. leaf biochemical characterization : natural-green totalcorrosion inhibition prospect on concrete steel-reinforcement in 3.5% NaCl

Abstract: Effective corrosion-protection by plant-extract on metals, in aggressive service-environment, is dependent on the biochemical constituents of which the natural plant is made-up. This paper investigates biochemical characterization of inorganic and organic constituents of Rhizophora mangle L. leaf for gaining insight on its steel-reinforcement corrosion mitigating prospect in NaCl-immersed concretes. For the study, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and phytochemical screening analyses were employed. Totalcorrosion effect was also studied from steel-reinforced concrete samples, having different concentrations of the leaf-extract as admixture, and which were immersed in 3.5% NaCl (simulating saline/marine environment). Results, by AAS, showed that Rhizophora mangle L. leaf inorganic constituents were highest in iron, Fe = 10,316.17 μg/g and lowest in cadmium, Cd = 6.2019 μg/g but has neither lead (Pb) nor chromium (Cr). Also, organic constituents, by FT-IR, indicated extract from the leaf constitutes aromatic chained compounds rich in π-electrons as well as sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen-bearing ligands to which iron (steelrebar) exhibits coordinate affinity. Phytochemical characterization showed that the leaf-extract contains alkaloids, tannins, phlobatannins, saponins, steroids and glycosides. Corrosion-inhibiting prospect testing, using the leaf-extract, indicated reduced steel-reinforcement totalcorrosion effects that correlated with the extract admixture concentrations employed in the 3.5% NaCl-immersed steel-reinforced concretes

Alkaline Pre-Treatment and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Waste Papers to Fermentable Sugar

Waste paper is known to be the major component of organic solid waste. In this research, waste paper was used as a feedstock for the production of fermentable sugar with the aid of two (2) microorganisms. The waste papers used included newspaper, officpaper and foolscap paper. Enzymatic hydrolysis was carried out on the waste papers after the alkaline treatment using Aspergillus niger and Pseudomonas aeruginosa at different temperatures of 25 o C, 37 o C and 42 o C. The highest yield was obtained from the foolscap paper, which produced reducing sugar at a maximum concentration of 486.66 mg/L after two weeks using Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 37 o C. On the other hand, hydrolysing using Aspergillus niger, produced reducing sugar at a maximum concentration of 365 mg/L at an optimum temperature of 25 o C with office paper

A Bioremediation Study of Raw and Treated Crude Petroleum Oil Polluted Soil with Aspergillus niger and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

This study was conducted to investigate the degree of bioremediation that would occur in the samples of soil polluted with raw and treated crude petroleum (oil) with the aid of Aspergillus niger (fungi) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (bacteria). This was achieved by monitoring the Organic carbon content in the soil over 45 days and pH over 25 days. Four systems of 500 g soil were polluted with 40 g treated crude petroleum, while four systems were contaminated with 40 g raw crude petroleum. The eight systems were labeled accordingly. Two systems for raw crude control and treated crude control (RCC and TCC) were left as control, two systems for raw crude Aspergillus niger and treated crude Aspergillus niger (RCA and TCA) were treated with Aspergillus niger only, two systems for raw crude Pseudomonas aeruginosa and treated crude Pseudomonas aeruginosa (RCP and TCP) were treated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa only and the last two systems for raw crude Aspergillus niger and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (RCAP and TCAP) were treated with both Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aspergillus niger . At the end of the bioremediation period, the results obtained showed that the pH was not particularly a solid parameter to estimate the degree of bioremediation. This is because a proper trend in the results obtained could not be determined. Additionally, it was observed that Aspergillus niger (fungi) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (bacteria) alone and separate remediate raw crude polluted soil better than treated crude polluted soil. This was determined by the TOC (Total Organic Carbon) values on the 45th day of the experiment

Data on the rheological behavior of cassava starch paste using different models

Proper selection of rheological models is very important in flow characterization. These models are often used to evaluate parameters that help in the characterization of food samples. Rheological models also provide flow predictions for extreme conditions where the flow nature of the fluid cannot be determined, hence the need for appropriate selection of rheological models. The principal aim of this study is to suggest a rheological model that best characterize the rheological behavior of native cassava starch and to determine the effect of state variables like temperature and concentration on the accuracy of rheological models. Five rheological models (i.e. Herschel-Bulkley model, Robertson-Stiff model, Power-law model, Bingham plastic model and Prandtl-Eyring model) were selected for this study and these models were modified into statistical models by the inclusion of the error variance (ε). The least-square method was used in evaluating the various model parameters for each model. From this study, it was seen that the Herschel-Bulkley model and the Robertson-Stiff model most accurately described the rheological patterns in cassava starch production. The sensitivity analysis of the different rheological models also shows that the accuracy of the Herschel-Bulkley model, Robertson-Stiff model and Power-law model is not significantly affected by variations in temperature and concentration of the cassava starch. However, it was observed that the Bingham plastic model and Prandtl-Eyring model gave less accurate predictions at higher concentration and lower temperature respectively. A lot of the industrially accepted models such as the Bingham plastic model may not necessarily be the best model for characterization cassava starch production as shown in this study, hence rheological model optimization is recommended for further study

Bioconversion of Waste Foolscap and Newspaper to Fermentable Sugar

The aim of this project work was to evaluate the effect of bacteria – Serratia in the enzymatic hydrolysis of Foolscap [FS] and Newspaper [NP] into fermentable or reducing sugars. The effect of temperature and hydrolysis time (number of days) on the extent of concentration of reducing sugar yield were assessed and quantified using Dinitrosalicylic acid test method (DNS). A proximate analysis was carried out on the substrate before hydrolysis. Alkaline pre-treatment using sodium hydroxide and deinking process for the removal of paper with ink for higher susceptibility of the substrate before the enzymatic hydrolysis were carried out. The temperature effect on the waste sample were analysed at 37°C, 40°C and 45°C for 7 days, it was observed that at 37°C, saccharification was higher than at 40°C and 45°C. The general observation was in that Serratia had a very good effect on the waste paper samples. A 3-D surface plot revealed that the yield of sugar increased along with the hydrolysis time (number of days), with Foolscap having the highest yield of about 21mg/ml. The comparative analysis shows that the highest yield was obtained at the temperature of 37°C, for both substrates used

Tectona grandis Capped Silver-Nanoparticle Material Effects on Microbial Strains Inducing Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion

This paper investigates Tectona grandis capped silver nanoparticle material effects on the microbial strains inducing microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) of metals. Leaf-extract from Tectona grandis natural plant was used as a precursor for the synthesis of silver-nanoparticle material, which was characterised by a scanning electron microscopy having Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy (SEM + EDS) facility. Sensitivity and resistance studies by the synthesized Tectona grandis capped silver nanoparticle material on three Gram-positive and three Gram-negative, thus totalling six, MIC inducing microbial strains were then studied and compared with what was obtained from a control antibiotic chemical. Results showed that all the microbial strains studied were sensitive to the Tectona grandis capped silver nanoparticle materials whereas two strains of microbes, a Gram-positive and a Gram-negative strain, were resistant to the commercial antibiotic chemical. These results suggest positive prospects on Tectona grandis capped silver nanoparticle usage in corrosion control/protection applications on metallic materials for the microbial corrosion environment