The production of Wara cheese from locally sourced coagulants and its nutritional evaluation

The use of vegetable extracts as milk coagulants has evolved recently in soft cheese processing. In this study, two types of cheeses were produced from locally sourced raw cow milk using two different coagulants, Calotropis procera leaf and CaCl2. Protein, fat, Zn, Mg, and Fe were the nutrients and minerals that were assayed. The protein (18.4%), Fat (7.93%), Mg (4.13%), Zn (4.01%), Fe (2.59%) of Calotropis procera coagulated cheese was significantly higher than CaCl2 coagulant produced cheese with protein content of (9.13%), Fat (5.53%), Mg (2.34%), Zn (2.59%), Fe (1.13%). The higher ash content in the cheese produced with CaCl2 coagulant makes it susceptible to microbial growth, as a result, reducing its shelf-life. The study suggests that cow milk and Calotropis procera produced cheese appears promising in nutritional contents with further quality improvemen

Enhanced Biodegradation of Hydrocarbon Sludge Using Consortium of Microorganisms

In this work, the effects of consortium of Microorganisms, Pseudomonas purida, Pseudomonas aeuniguma, Pseudomonas florescence, and Bacillus megaterium, in degrading hydrocarbon sludge from refinery wastes, in Niger Delta area of Nigeria, have been studied. Focus is particularly on reduction of BOD, COD, TOC and ROC of the hydrocarbon sludge to comply with standard requirement for disposal. The organisms were maintained in nutrient agar plants and subculture on weekly basis throughout the period of investigation. Lab-assay method was used to carry out the experiment, i.e, Ex-Situ treatment. The sludge was inoculated with the consortium of Microorganisms and samples were taken for analysis at two week interval for a period of eight weeks. Result shows that, for the duration of investigation, there was 71.3% reduction of the initial BOD, 60.0% reduction of the initial COD, 78.4% reduction of the initial TOC and 78.1 % reduction of the initial ROC. It was noted that given enough time the consortium of Microorganisms has the potential to biodegrade the hydrocarbon sludge to an acceptable level of the Environmental Regulatory Body's standard. The sludge however requires more than eight weeks for the toxic level to be reduced to Regulatory Body's standard. It was also observed that the rate of biodegradation of the sludge by the Microorganisms declined with time

A Comparative study on Glucose Production from Sorghum Bicolor and Manihot Esculenta Species in Nigeria

The two-step enzymatic hydrolysis of Manihot esculenta and Sorghum bicolor using ƒ¿-amylase and amyloglucosidase were studied. The starch substrate were gelatinized at 80oC and then liquefied with the amylase enzyme at a temperature of 90oC. The samples are then cooled to 60oC and saccharified with amyloglucosidase. The effects of temperature and pH on saccharification process were considered. Results indicated that the optimum temperature for the conversion of starch to fermentable sugar (glucose) was at 60oC and the amount of glucose produced after 4 hours in sorghum was greater than that obtained when cassava was used. It was therefore concluded that optimum conditions for the production of glucose from both Manihot esculenta and Sorghum bicolor for bioethanol production are obtained at pH of 4 and saccharification temperature of 60oC, with Sorghum bicolor giving higher yield

Optimum Hydrolysis Conditions of Cassava Starch for Glucose Production

Acid and enzymatic hydrolysis of cassava starch to glucose (fermentable sugar) were investigated and compared. And the effects of acid concentration, pH, temperature and time on the yield of glucose were studied. Experiments were carried out at a temperature range of (60 – 100)0C between 30 minutes and 4 hours. (0.2 – 1.0)M strength of H2SO4 acid was used and pH values range of 4 – 7 was considered during enzymatic hydrolysis. The study revealed that maximum concentration of glucose was obtained at 1000C using 1.0M H2SO4 acid for 4 hours during acid hydrolysis. At pH of 4, temperature of 600C and 4 hours of operation, highest concentration of glucose was obtained during enzymatic hydrolysis. Enzymatic hydrolysis produced higher yield of glucose when compared to that obtained from acid hydrolysis

Methanolysis of Triglycerides Using Jatropha oil and Koh Catalyst

In this study, Jatropha curcas oil was used as feedstock for biodiesel production by alkali-catalyzed methanolysis. To establish the optimum conditions for biodiesel production, effects of certain factors were investigated, these factors are oil-to-methanol molar ratios (1:4 - 1:8), KOH catalyst concentrations (0.5 - 1.5% w/w oil), reaction temperatures (50 - 70ºC), and reaction times (55 - 90minutes). Biodiesel produced were analyzed to determine its viscosity, flash point and pour point. The experimental work revealed that optimum conditions for Jatropha curcas biodiesel production were oil-to-methanol molar ratio of 1:6, a catalyst concentration of 1.0% w/w oil, a reaction temperature of 60 °C, and a reaction time of 80 minutes. The methyl ester produced under these optimum conditions was 93.75 % w/w