Development of an Experimental Rig for Bioremediation Studies

In recent times cost of importing laboratory equipment for experimental studies is increasing at alarming rate and far beyond the reach of most educational and research institutions because of conflicting demands of these institutions. As a result, a study was carried out on the sizing, construction and testing of a robust and low cost experimental rig for bioremediation studies using indigenous technology. The experimental rig consists of air pretreatment unit, a fixed bed bioreactor, volatile organic compound trap or filter, air-flow meter, carbon dioxide (CO2) trap and a stand. The fabricated rig was tested for biodegradation of Soil Contaminated with Spent Motor Oil (SCSMO) at control air-flow rate of 10 L/h. Results obtained revealed that the equipment was effective in the degradation of SCSMO; 75% removal of the initial oil and grease content was achieved in 10 weeks. Therefore, the developed rig can be used for bioremediation studies and in the same vein; it can be scaled up for commercial treatment of hydrocarbon contaminated soils. Keywords: indigenous technology, spent motor oil, biostimulation, fixed bed bioreactor, low cost, oil and grease content

Development of a Bench Scale Biodigester for the Production of Bio-fertilizer using Cow Dung and Watermelon Peels

In order to reduce environmental pollution arising from watermelon waste and cow dung, conversion of these wastes into bio-fertilizer is an effective mechanism of waste management.  As a result a study was carried out for the development of a bench scale batch anaerobic bio-digester (23 L) for the production of bio-fertilizer. Five kilograms (5 kg) each of cow dung and pre-treated watermelon peels were mixed with water in a ratio of 1:1 w/v to obtained 18 L of slurry. The slurry was then charged into the developed bio-digester and allowed for 35 days at a temperature of 26-31˚C. Bio-fertilizer yield of 83% and biogas yield of 17% were obtained. Plants macronutrients (i.e. NPK) content were substantially increased in the digestates by 79%, 89% and 85% respectively. The presence of Clostridium (a nitrogen fixer bio-fertilizer), Bacillus and Pseudomonas (phosphate solubilizing bio-fertilizers) in the digestate indicated its suitability as bio-fertilizer. Keywords: Bio-fertilizer; Biodigester, Anaerobic digestion; Retention time; Cow dung; Watermelon peel

Biosorption and Kinetic Studies on Oil Removal from Produced Water Using Banana Peel

Crude oil production is accompanied by generation of large volumes of produced water.  The produced water contains both dissolved and dispersed oil and these pose health hazards to human health and contamination of the environment. In this work, banana peel, an agricultural waste was used to remove the oil component from produced water. The peel samples were dried, size-reduced and characterized for functional groups, surface morphology, elemental composition and surface area using FTIR, SEM, EDS, and BET analytical equipment respectively. Standard methods were employed for the production of biosorbent and removal of oil using batch process. The result of EDS spectroscopy revealed that the peel contained 88.52% C; 5.69% O; 2.19% Si; 2.80% K; and 0.80% Ca. Biosorption study with the peel showed that it can be used in the removal of oil (dissolved and dispersed oil) from produced water providing almost complete removal at an equivalent dosage of 267 mg banana peel per litter produced water after 35 minutes equilibrium time and initial oil concentration as high as 194 mg/l. Solution pH, loading rate, sorption time, and temperature effects were studied. Several biosorption kinetic models were tested and the result showed that banana peel biosorbent followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. Equilibrium isotherm studies on the other hand revealed that banana peel closely followed the Langmuir isotherm model.   Keywords: banana peel, produced water, biosorption, kinetic model

Evaluation of Official Governmental (e-Government) Websites for Accessibility in the Middle East

World Wide Web (www), a digital platform providing access to information in an accessible and equitable manner offers immense opportunities to all categories of users. Its inclusivism enables people with physical challenges to access websites, identify, appreciate, navigate, utilize, interact and contribute to the web. This study evaluates the web accessibility features of 58 governmental websites of 17 countries in the Middle East by means of the manual and the automated testing methods with different benchmarks based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG) and Section 508 standards for the website accessibility, for each to achieve a more comprehensive and efficient result for better analysis. The results of the findings are contrasting; from the manual evaluation based on specific criteria, countries such as United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman scored high percentages in majority of the criteria but scored very low in the automated evaluation

A SHETTLE’S METHOD MODEL FOR AUTOMATING PRECONCEPTION SEX SELECTION

The world over, and especially in Africa and Asia, couples show a preference for particular sex of children; eithermale or female. This preference may arise due to economic reasons, customs of the people, or simply for a “genderbalanced family”. Whatever the reasons, the fact still remains that couples would like to be able to choose the sex oftheir children. While there are various options to achieve sex selection, all of them are either too expensive or tooinvasive. This paper presents how Shettles’ method being the least expensive and the most reliable method ofpreconception sex selection was modeled to enable automation. The results show that it is a more consistent andreliable method for gender selection. In addition, the result also shows that the Shettles’ method lends itselffavourably to computer programming and would be very useful in the lives of couples that desire a particular genderof offspring.Keywords: Computer assisted, Preconception, Sex selection, Model, Programming

Factors affecting the performance of small-scale construction firms in Nigeria

Small-Scale Construction Firms (SSCFs) in Nigeria are confronted with several problems that tend to limits their contributions to the country’s GDP, employment generation as well as infrastructural development. Although the prospect for improved contribution towards development still exists, there is the need for implementation of good management practices and support measures. Therefore, this study uses focus group to explore factors affecting the performance of small-scale construction firms and possible remedial measures. The study identified 113 factors that negatively affect performance. The interview further helped in grouping the variables into seven (7) groups. The focus group participants helped to identify and classify eighty-two (82) measures into internal and external measures. Internal measures are to be implemented by the construction firms towards solving internal constraints and external measures to be implemented by government and other stakeholders towards minimizing problems that are outside the control of the small-scale construction firms. Results revealed critical factors affecting performance such as financial indiscipline by contractors, lack of experience and track records, poor policy by commercial banks on SMEs, corruption, effects of globalisation, multiple taxation, stringent prequalification criteria, poor design and specifications, lack of entrepreneurship skills and delay in payment for work done. The study recommends the implementation of remedial measures by management of small-scale construction firms and governments with other stakeholders that could improve performance. Keywords: small-scale constructions firms, focus group, problems, remedial measures and performance.&nbsp

The Institutional and Policy Environment and the Quest for Industrialization in Nigeria

The paper empirically investigates the impact of the institutional and policy environment on Nigeria’s industrialization, using annual data for the period 1981 to 2013. The institutional environment was proxied by quality of service delivery while government expenditure as a percentage of GDP and real exchange rate were used to reflect the policy environment. Foreign direct investment as percentage of GDP was employed to reflect technological transfer and diffusion. Using the technique of cointegration, a long run relationship was found between industrialization and associated variables. Government expenditure was found to be positively related to industrialization and statistically significant in the long and short run. In the short run, real exchange rate is positively related to industrialization and statistically significant, while a negative and statistically significant relationship was found in the long run. In the long and short run, technological transfer indicates a negative relationship with industrialization. Quality of service delivery was found to influence industrialization positively and significantly in the long and short run. A bilateral causality was found between industrialization and the associated variables. Based on the empirical findings, it is concluded that the institutional and policy environments are critical to industrialization in Nigeria and that pragmatic efforts should be made to initiate and implement policies that promote industrial growth, while enhancing the quality of institutions

EDTA and nitric acid responses on nickel uptake, translocation factor and pigments on Spinacia oleracea L. replanted seedlings in hydroponic solution

The effects of Na2EDTA and HNO3 on Ni2+ uptake by Spinacia oleracea seedlings replanted inhydroponic culture in a greenhouse was investigated. Eight week old seedlings, were exposed to various doses of Ni2+ (0, 1000, 2000, and 4000 mg/L) as NiSO4, at (0, 500 and 3000 mg/L) Na2EDTA and ( 0, 500 and 3000 mg /L) HNO3 in different combinations. There was a substantial increase in nickel uptake in chelated treatments (p < 0.05) compared to unchelated treatments of same concentrations of Ni2+. So, chelation enhanced Ni2+ uptake in S. oleracea. During the exposure, antioxidant defense system helped the plant to protect itself from the damage. Due to increasing nickel  uptake by the plant, the photosynthetic pigments (i.e chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and Caretenoids) gradually declined. In this study, Spinacia oleracea Seedlings and contents of the photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and Caretenoids) of both chelated and unchelated hydroponic treatments were investigated. Changes in photosynthetic pigments was significant (p < 0.05) with respect to addition of EDTA and HNO3 at different concentration to different concentrations of Ni2+ compared to unchelated treatments of same concentrations of Ni2+. The Ni2+ induced translocation factor was also determined which increased significantly (P < 0.05) with increasing Ni2+ concentrations

Stability Study of Some Selected Nigerian Crude Oil Emulsions and the Effectiveness of Locally Produced Demulsifier

Crude oil emulsion stability causes high viscosity of crude oil which leads to problems in pipeline transportation and processing. In this research, four samples of crude oil emulsions were collected from Ughelli East Wellhead and labeled A, B, C and D. These samples were characterized to determine their specific gravity, 0API gravity, structural composition, density, temperature, amount of water, amount of gas and the gross crude oil production. The 0API at 60 0F showed that all the samples had values below 30 0API which was an indication that the crude oil produced from these wells were heavy crude oil. The FTIR spectra showed bands at 3444.55 cm-1 for Sample A, 3418.23 cm-1 and 3175.94 cm-1for Sample B, 3444.61 cm-1 for Sample C and  3444.49 cm-1 for Sample D attributing to strong and broad O-H stretch, H-bonded and an indication of Asphaltenes presence; the alkanes signal, C-H stretch at 2961.14 cm-1 for Sample A, 2926.00 cm-1 for Sample B, 2924.15 cm-1 for Sample C and 2922.88 cm-1 for Sample D are indications of the presence of wax; C=O stretch at 1737.74 cm-1 only present in sample C is an indication of the presence of resins. The well test details showed that sample A and B had smaller water percentage in the gross crude oil production than Sample C and D with high water percentage. Therefore crude oil produced from these four wells represented by samples A, B, C and D contains natural emulsion stabilizers and stable. However, the stability of Samples A and B are more than that of Samples C and D. The performance of locally produced demulsifier increased with increase in residence time of contacting it with the emulsion samples at their operating temperatures, while equal dosage of patent Separol N46 demulsifier showed no performance within thesame residence time. However, treatments AWHT, BRT, CWHT and DWHT all at well head temperatures of 35.6 0C, 27 0C, 48.2 0C and 48.8 0C respectively showed that most water was expelled in 480 minutes. Key words: Stability, Selected, Crude oil, Emulsion, Demulsifiers, Treatmen