Characterization of Doum Palm Seed Kernel as Natural Sorbent for Metal Ions Removal from Gombe Ternary Wastewater

Water pollution is one of the major challenges in cities and industrialized areas of the world. The effluent from Gombe ternary wastewater pollutes the surrounding waters thereby constituting health threat to the populace within its vicinity. In view of the above, a bio-sorption study of zinc and lead ions from Gombe ternary wastewater using doum palm seed kernel was carried out. The wastewater was characterized and was found to contain 0.03 mg/l lead metal ion and 0.81 mg/l zinc ion. The doum palm kernel bio-sorbent was obtained after oil extraction from the seed and processed as contained in the method mentioned in this paper. The kernel residue was characterized for functional groups using FTIR, surface morphology using SEM, surface area using BET, and elemental composition using XRF. The results indicated that the doum palm kernel is harmless, and possesses functional groups on its surface, which may be substituted with the metallic ions present in the wastewater. This gives the kernel the ability to adsorb positively charged ions on its surface by simple chemisorption. This mechanism is supported by the rough surface observed in the scanning electron microscopy. Adsorption and desorption of nitrogen was made at STP and the curve indicated very high correlation of close to unity. The surface area measured by multi BET method was recorded as 13.464 m2/g. This value is not high enough to adsorb metals by physical adsorption

Bio-Fertilizers via Co-Digestion: a Review

In diversifying the economies of most oil producing countries especially in regions with arable lands, Agriculture becomes the next choice aside mineral deposits. This has led to a search for an alternative to inorganic fertilizers, the alternatives are the biofertilizers. The paper discussed the classification of the anaerobic co-digestion process based on the application of inoculants to the biodigester feedstock to speed up the digestion process and the absence of inoculants. Biodigester feedstock also looked at the various mechanisms in the digestion process which includes hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis, and methanogenesis, the pathways were illustrated with chemical equations and various microorganisms that take part in the anaerobic process were mentioned and tabulated. The types of biofertilizers, merits, and demerits, the difference between biofertilizers and organic fertilizers were comprehensively discussed. Current trends on the application of the co-digestion technique to improve the yield, nutrient, and safety of biofertilizers and also the recent progression on the technique were mentioned

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy Characterization of Adhesive Produced From Polystyrene Waste

In this study, the optimized adhesive formulated from polystyrene waste was characterized for Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) / Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, solubility, density and water absorption for identification of existing functional group(s), morphology, elemental compositions, etc. The results revealed that polystyrene, unsaturated hydrocarbon has been degraded to form a new product containing aromatic compounds. SEM morphology showed well mixed blended adhesive with silver-like appearance due to additives and EDX revealed 12 existing elemental compositions with their corresponding percentage atomic weights as follows; carbon 93.14 %, hafnium 1.44 %, vanadium 1.66 %, chromium 1.40 %, bromine 0.47 %, palladium 0.26 %, copper 0.43 %, nickel 0.31 %, cobalt 0.29 %, potassium 0.38 %, iron 0.15 % and manganese 0.08 %. The produced polystyrene adhesive was sparsely soluble in water after 30 minutes; it has a density of 1041 kg/m3 and does not absorb moisture. Because of these results, the adhesive from polystyrene waste could serve as green adhesive, since there are no threats of toxic substance emission from the spectral analysis since most of the elements are used as a supplement in pharmaceuticals and catalyst in process industries

Formulation and Characterization of Adhesive Produced From Polystyrene Waste Using Response Surface Optimization

Polystyrene is extensively used in building and construction industry, packaging and transportation of fragile equipment due its low density, high melting point, low thermal conductivity, low water absorption, etc. Polystyrene after usage is usually discarded thereby causing environmental problems. The post-usage of polystyrene has, therefore, been a subject of intense research in recent times. The aim of this work is to produce adhesive from polystyrene wastes. Polystyrene waste (PS) was collected, processed and dissolved in tackifyer and formulated with diphnyle amine and diethylene glycol dibenzoate additives to produce adhesive using 3 levels variables factors and 4 levels testing factors of design expert optimization software. The produced adhesive was further characterized for viscosity, pH, percentages solid and moisture contents for their response surfaces. The results showed that the best fit viscosity for each run was Run 1B> Run 5A > Run 5D> Run 5B>Run 4D based on the regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The pH values obtained ranged from 4.0 to 6.3; percentage moisture content was in the order of Run 1B < 5A<4D<4B and percentage solid content was in the order of Run 1B<5A<4D. The best fitted adhesive was run 1B with 5.93 % moisture content; 5A has 7.57 % moisture content and 4D with 8.76% moisture content. The percentage solid content; Run 1B has 67.19 %, 5A has 68.16 % and 4D has 75.50 %. The produced adhesives were found within the standard range of adhesives used in production of particleboard

Development of Bench Scale Water Treatment Unit for the Treatment of Medium Turbid Water: The Use of Natural Coagulant

Water purification is a process used to enhance water quality and make it more acceptable for specific end-use. The rising increase for portable drinking water has made natural coagulant application for water purification a welcome development. Most reported researches were on the use of natural coagulants in a laboratory batch scale. Because of those above, a bench-scale laboratory study was carried out on the application of Balanites Aegyptiaca seed as a natural coagulant. The outcome showed its usefulness toward water purification. This paper reported the developed bench-scale water treatment plant's performance utilising Balanites Aegyptiaca seed stock solution and the powdered kennel as bio-coagulant. Some design equations were adopted. The treatment units considered include coagulation/flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration. The total tank design capacity was 20 litres with the overflow area's actual size for sedimentation of 7.46 litres. 0.5 Hp electric motor with a speed of 600 rpm and a speed gear drop of 120 rpm were selected. 0.0127 m pipe flow line diameter connecting the tanks with a corresponding pipe flow velocity of 0.108 m/s was obtained from the design. However, in both the coagulation, sedimentation and filtration units, the material balance obtained showed a steadiness in the material flow across sedimentation and filtration units. However, among the parameters tested in the raw turbid water, the turbid water revealed turbidity of 514 NTU, the colour of 5600 CTU, the conductivity of 276 µs/cm, pH of 7.10 and total coliform bacteria count of 85 CFU/100 mL which were above the recommended set standard of WHO and NIS. The result of the treated water using the stock solution and the powdered kennel (bio-coagulant) on the developed water treatment unit showed a remarkable reduction in the tested parameters in the raw turbid water used for the treatment process. Total coliform count reduces from 85 CFU/100 ml to 10 CFU/ml in both cases. It was observed that conductivity increases after the treatment, but other inorganic constituents reduce significantly though not to WHO and NIS's recommended set standard. The 0-dosage treatment conducted also showed a reduction in all the tested parameters

Equilibrium and kinetics of phenol adsorption by crab shell chitosan

Chitosan synthesized from the Pessu river crab shell was screened to coarse (CC, 600 µm), medium (MC, 300 µm) and fine (FC, 150 µm) aggregate for phenol removal. The aggregates were characterized for surface chemistry, surface morphology, thermal behavior, and surface texture. The surface chemistry showed the characteristics primary and secondary amine/amide groups of chitosan. The values of specific surface area are 191, 226, and 209 m2/g for CC, MC, and FC, respectively. The effects of initial concentration (10–300 mg/L), adsorbent dosage (0.5–2.0 g/L), contact time (0–100 min), temperature (20–70 °C) and solution pH (2.6–8.7) were evaluated in phenol removal. Coarse chitosan displayed a maximum adsorption capacity of 59.3 mg/g, in which mesopore filling and ionic interactions are the possible adsorption mechanisms. Sips isotherm model fitted well with the equilibrium data (R 2 = 0.988 and SSE = 33.74), suggesting the adsorption onto a heterogeneous surface through adsorbate-adsorbent interactions. Kinetics data are best described by the pseudo-first-order model (R 2 ≥ 0.98 and SSE ≤ 2.88), indicating that external diffusion is the significant step in phenol adsorption. Chitosan derived from crab shell is a promising adsorbent for the removal of phenol from wastewater

Bio-Fertilizers via Co-Digestion: a Review

In diversifying the economies of most oil producing countries especially in regions with arable lands, Agriculture becomes the next choice aside mineral deposits. This has led to a search for an alternative to inorganic fertilizers, the alternatives are the biofertilizers. The paper discussed the classification of the anaerobic co-digestion process based on the application of inoculants to the biodigester feedstock to speed up the digestion process and the absence of inoculants. Biodigester feedstock also looked at the various mechanisms in the digestion process which includes hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis, and methanogenesis, the pathways were illustrated with chemical equations and various microorganisms that take part in the anaerobic process were mentioned and tabulated. The types of biofertilizers, merits, and demerits, the difference between biofertilizers and organic fertilizers were comprehensively discussed. Current trends on the application of the co-digestion technique to improve the yield, nutrient, and safety of biofertilizers and also the recent progression on the technique were mentioned

Adsorption dynamics of dye onto crab shell chitosan/neem leaf composite

The aim of this study was to evaluate the adsorption dynamics of crab shell chitosan/neem leaf composite against methylene blue dye at varying concentrations (50 and 200 mg/L), bed depths (2.5 and 5.0 cm), and flow rates (2.17 and 2.90 mL/min). The chitosan composite has a specific surface of 258 m2 /g. Its surface is rich in amine/amide groups. The results reflect better dye adsorption at higher operating conditions. The maxi-mum dye adsorption capacity observed was almost 77 mg/g. The kinetics models showed good correlation with the experimental data and described the breakthrough behaviour of dye removal. The Thomas model predicts external and internal diffusion as the rate controlling mechanisms, while the Adams-Bohart model indicates a simultaneous steady state process of intraparticle diffusion and ionic interaction. Chitosan composite is a prom-ising adsorbent candidate for dye wastewater treatment

Retracted - Characterization of Cassia Tora Seed (CTS) Oil-Based Biodiesel-Diesel Blends

Because we identified the conflict of interest in “Characterization of Cassia Tora Seed (CTS) Oil-Based Biodiesel-Diesel Blends,” which was published on January 31, 2021, issue of the Journal, 1 we wish to retract the article.Authors: Saferiel Onatola Morakinyo, Umar Omeiza Aroke, Jibril Mohammed, Idris Misau Muhammad, Abdulwadud Abdulkarim Yusuf The paper reported on the characterization of CTS oil-based biodiesel-diesel blends. The study's primary objective are the physicochemical characterization of oil and biodiesel from Cassia Tora seed (CTS) oil, characterization of CTS oil-based biodiesel using FTIR and GCMS analysis. Extraction revealed the presence of 8.8% oil in Cassia Tora seed. The CTS biodiesel's viscosity was found to be 0.9092, which is well above the petroleum diesel.The physiochemical characterization showed that 5, 12.5 and 20 % CTS oil-based biodiesel-diesel blends are within acceptable limit for combustion engine without modification having viscosities of 0.8744, 0.8764, and 0.8787 respectively while 100% CTS oil-based biodiesel would require upgrading to meet up with the recommended standard for fuel used as diesel in internal combustion engines.FTIR and GCMS analysis showed functional groups and characteristic peaks of fatty acids and methyl ester with carbon range from C13–C17, C16 constituted the major Fatty acid group and contained 61.69 % Monounsaturated Fatty Acid (MUFA), and 38.31 % Saturated Fatty Acid (SFA) giving a 94.3% biodiesel yield