Total Carotenoids, Tocopherols and Free fatty Acids Levels of Palm Oils Produced from small Scale Mills in Ovia - North East Local Government area of Edo State-Nigeria

This research was conducted to determine the total carotenoids, tocopherols and Free Fatty Acid(FFA) levels of oils produced from small scale mills and to evaluate their antioxidant effects. The study areas were located in Ovia-North East Local Government area of Edo State. The methods of harvesting, processing of the fruits and the storage of the oils were observed because of the positive effects the latter have on quality. Samples of palm oil were collected in duplicates with 100ml screw cap glass sample bottles from the storage drums of the ten (10) small scale mills.The total tocopherols and carotenoids of the oil samples were determined by the AOCS methods. The moisture content of the oils was determined with an electronic moisture analyser.The Free Fatty Acid was determined by the titrimetric method of sodium hydroxide. The results indicated that most of the oils were prone to oxidation and hydrolysis as their moisture (between 0.15 ± 0.01% and 0.53 ± 0.03%), tocopherols (between19.50 ± 0.10mg/100g and 51.0 ± 0.00mg/100g) and carotenoids (between 24.40 ± 0.10mg/100g and 65.0 ± 0.20mg/100g) values  suggest. Statistical analysis revealed that significant difference exists between the mean of each of the parameters of the oil sample analyzed. The FFA results indicated that the oils were oxidized which suggested that the the carotenoids and tocopherols did not play their expected roles because their antioxidant limit exceeded.Keywords: Carotenoids, Tocopherols, Moisture, Free FattyAcids, Small Scale Mills, Palm oi

Physicochemical, heavy metal and mineral elements assessment of waters from four rivers along Benin-Agbor road in Edo state, Nigeria

The Benin-Agbor road is a major road linking Edo State and the Eastern states of Nigeria, characterized by daily vehicular movements. The inhabitants of the area depend on the river waters mainly for their domestic purposes. It was against the above background that this research was conducted in order to assess the suitability of the waters from four rivers for drinking purposes and the possible hazards the inhabitants may be exposed to. Twenty-two parameters were determined which have relationship with water quality assessment by using recommended methods. Results from the sampling sites indicate that some of the parameters were within the permissible limit recommended by World bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO), whereas other parameters were above the permissible limit like the iron with a range of 2.08 ± 0.02mg/L to 19.90 ± 0.20mg/L; manganese 2.20 ± 0.10mg/L to 5.80 ± 0.20mg/L and lead 0.02±0.00mg/L to 0.17±0.00mg/L. The physicochemical parameters like PH, colour, electrical conductivity, turbidity, total solids and chemical oxygen demand of the waters of the four rivers ranged between 6.50 ±0.10 and 6.30±0.10; 49.70±0.20 and18.00±0.00(Hazen); 80.00±0.10 and 19.30±0.00 (μ/cm);14.60 ± 0.20 and 4.25 ±0.20(NTU);10.50 ± 0.30 and4.30 ± 0.00(mg/L);26.00 ± 0.00 and 8.80 ± 0.20(mg/L) respectively. The continuous ingestion and accumulation of the excess heavy metals like lead whose concentration was higher than the permissible level in drinking water might result in serious health disorders.Keywords: Physicochemical, Anion, Cation, River waters, Edo Stat

Sugar and macrominerals composition of sap produced by Raphia hookeri palms

Mature Raphia hookeri palms located in the experimental fields of the Nigerian Institute For Oil Palm Research Nigeria were selected, and tapped daily at the base of the inflorescences. The exudates (saps) were collected and the sugars and macromineral composition were determined. Maximum sucrose quantity (9.5%) was obtained about 28 days after initiation of tapping. The sucrose concentration was correlated with the sap volume. Sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and nitrogen were present in the varied concentrations throughout the duration of the tapping operation. The concentration of the macrominerals were of the order of K>Mg>N>P>Na. Statistically, significant differences (

Prediction of Impact Energy of TIG Mild Steel Welds Using ANN

The present trend in the fabrication industries is the use of automated welding processes to obtain high production rates and high quality output.TIG welding, happens to be the best welding method employed in  the manufacturing industry. one of the problem facing the fabrication industry is the control of the process input parameters to obtain a good welded joint . however it is essential to establish the relationship between process parameters and weld quality output to predict and control weld bead quality .The aim of this study is to predict the impact energy of TIG mild steel welds using ANN.In this study, twenty experimental runs were carried out, each experimental run comprising the current, voltage and gas flow rate, the TIG welding process was used to join two pieces of mild steel plates measuring 60 x40 x10 mm , the impact energy was measured respectively. Thereafter the data collected from the experimental results was analysed with the ANN. The experimental results for the impact energy was analyzed with the Artificial Neural Networks. The overall R-value is shown to be 98.7%.  The best validation performance is 0.48429 and occurred at epoch five (5). The coefficient of correlation for training shows of 99.9%closeness ,99.4% for validation and 89.8% for  testing respectively

Optimization and Prediction of Ultimate Tensile of TIG Mild Steel Welds Using ANN

TIG welding, is about the most popular welding method, which finds its applications in  the fabrication industry. The integrity and service life of engineering structures is a very important factor in the welding technology sector, one of the problem facing the fabrication industry is the control of the process input parameters to obtain a good welded joint . Research has shown that one of the practical ways to improving on weld qualities is to optimize the input process parameters. The aim of this study is to predict the ultimate tensile strength of TIG mild steel welds using ANN.In this study, twenty experimental runs were carried out, each experimental run comprising the current, voltage and gas flow rate, the TIG welding process was used to join two pieces of mild steel plates measuring 60 x40 x10 mm , the tensile strength was measured respectively. Thereafter the data collected from the experimental results was analysed with the ANN. The experimental results for the ultimate tensile strength was analyzed with the Artificial Neural Networks. The best validation performance is 0.48429 and occurred at epoch five (5). The R-value (coefficient of correlation ) for training shows of 99.9%closeness ,99.4% for validation and 89.8% for  testing respectively. The overall R-value is shown to be 98.7%. For ultimate tensile strength, both the artificial neural network and the Response surface methodology models fit well. However the RSM model Provided a better overall fit to the experimental data than the ANN.

Optimization and Prediction of Ultimate Tensile of TIG Mild Steel Welds Using RSM

TIG welding, is about the most popular welding method, which finds its applications in the fabrication industry. The integrity and service life of engineering structures is a very important factor in the welding technology sector, one of the problem facing the fabrication industry is the control of the process input parameters to obtain a good welded joint . Research has shown that one of the practical ways to improving on weld qualities is to optimize the input process parameters. The aim of this study is to optimize and predict the ultimate tensile strength of TIG mild steel welds using RSM with the purpose of achieving the highest tensile strength.In this study, twenty experimental runs were carried out, each experimental run comprising the current, voltage and gas flow rate, the TIG welding process was used to join two pieces of mild steel plates measuring 60 x40 x10 mm , the tensile strength was measured respectively. Thereafter the data collected from the experimental results was analysed with the RSMAnalysis of variance (ANOVA) a p-value  of 0.0001 which is <0.005 indicates that the model is significant To validate the significance and adequacy of the model based on its ability to optimize the uultimate tensile strength and impact energythe goodness of fit statistics showns that the model posses an R2 value of 0.905 and R2 adjusted of 0.837 a noise to signal ratio of 12.897  was realized, a ratio greater tha 4 is desired  indicating thatt the model possesed adequate signal  to predict the target response.the result shows that a combination of current 90 amps,voltage 22volts and gas flow rate 13lit/min will produce an optimum UTS of 381Mpa  with a desiribility value of 0.889

Optimization of Impact Energy of TIG Mild Steel Welds Using RSM

TIG welding, is about the most popular welding method, which finds its applications in the fabrication industry. The integrity and service life of engineering structures is a very important factor in the welding technology sector, one of the problem facing the fabrication industry is the control of the process input parameters to obtain a good welded joint. Research has shown that one of the practical ways to improving on weld qualities is to optimize the input process parameters. The aim of this study is to optimize the impact energy of TIG mild steel welds using RSM with the purpose of achieving the highest impact energy.In this study, twenty experimental runs were carried out, each experimental run comprising the current, voltage and gas flow rate, the TIG welding process was used to join two pieces of mild steel plates measuring 60 x40 x10 mm, the tensile strength was measured respectively. Thereafter the data collected from the experimental results was analysed with the RSM Analysis of variance (ANOVA) a p-value of 0.0001 which is <0.005 indicates that the model is significant. To validate the significance and adequacy of the model based on its ability to optimize the ultimate impact energythe goodness of fit statistics showns that the model posses an R2 value of 0.705989 and R2 adjusted of 0.537617a noise to signal ratio of 7.89717 was realized, a ratio greater tha 4 is desired  indicating thatt the model possesed adequate signal  to predict the target response.the result shows that a combination of current 90 amps,voltage 22volts and gas flow rate 13lit/min will produce an optimum UTS of 381Mpa and impact energyof 116.6898J  with a desiribility value of 0.889

Comparative studies on the production of biodiesel from shea nut oil by acid catalyzed and supercritical transesterification processes

Shea nut oil has been confirmed as a feasible and sustainable biofuel source and may be used to improve the economics of biodiesel production. However, there is need to evaluate the best route for achieving optimum yield and best quality. Therefore, two processes were investigated in this study - acid catalyzed and supercritical transesterification processes. Shea nut seeds were collected, its oil mechanically extracted thereafter, and the physiochemical properties were analyzed. In the acid catalysed process, shea nut oil was transesterified into biodiesel using ethanol with sulphuric acid (H2SO4) as a catalyst. This gave a conversion of between 55wt% and 90wt% for temperatures between 20oC and 90oC. The optimum ratio of ethanol/oil was found to be 30:1 at 80oC for reaction time of 120 minutes. While for supercritical transesterification process (without acid), the conversion was between 55wt% and 82.5wt% at temperatures between 220oC and 300oC. However, the optimum condition here was 20:1 ethanol/oil molar ratio, at 240oC and 24 minutes reaction time. The biodiesel properties produced were evaluated and most of these conformed to Biodiesel Standard, ASTM D- 6751 and the international standard, EN-14214. Also, the properties of Biodiesel produced by supercritical process seem better compared to that from the acid catalyzed process in line with the ASTM D – 6751 and EN-14214 standards, thus a better option for diesel engines making supercritical transesterification a preferred option for biodiesel production from shea nut oil.Keywords: Sheanut, biodiesel, transesterification, acid-catalysed, supercritical, conversio

A PRACTICAL OPTIMISATION METHOD TO IMPROVE QOS AND GOS-BASED KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS IN GSM NETWORK CELL CLUSTER ENVIRONMENT

ABSTRACT The delivering of both good quality of service (QoS) 45%, 87.74%, and 92.85% to 99.05%, 95.38% and 99.03% respectively across the three GSM cell clusters. The GoS is reduced from 3. 33%, 6.60% and 2.38% to 0.00%, 3.70% and 0.00% respectively. Furthermore, ESA, which correspond end points service availability, has improved from 94.44%, 93.40% and 97.62% to 100%, 96.30% and 100% respectively. I