Optimisation of the ozone pre-treatment of agricultural residues and conversion to platform chemicals

Ph. D. ThesisBiomass in the form of agricultural residues offers clear potential for conversion into energy, especially the use of processing residues such as corn cob and rice husk etc, due to their abundance/availability and high carbohydrate content. Depending on the conversion process, pre-treatment allows easier access to the carbohydrate components (cellulose and hemicellulose) for conversion to advanced generation biofuels and platform chemicals such as 5-hydroxymethyl furfural, furfural etc. leaving lignin as a low-value residue which is often burnt to provide parasitic energy for the conversion process. The conversion of lignin into high value platform chemicals will increase the profitability and sustainability of the biorefinery process. However, to achieve complete utilisation of the lignin, it must be of high purity and lack extensive modifications. Ozone pre-treatment is recently gaining attention as a promising green alternative for cellulose isolation. However, the drawback of using ozone for large-scale industrial applications is the high costs for generating ozone in-situ as it cannot be stored due to its short lifetime and high reactivity. This study aims to pre-treat and fractionate the agricultural processing residues (corn cob and spelt husk) and convert the carbohydrate components to chemical platforms (5-hydroxymethyl furfural and furfural) that can be used in several applications i.e medicines, diesel, fuel additives and plastics. The first stage of this study developed an energy-efficient surface two-zone plasma ozone generator consisting of two stainless-steel mesh electrodes and a dielectric of quartz glass. The design offered good temperature control, which produced 2.5 times higher concentration and quantity of ozone at the same power input than a conventional single-zone plasma reactor. A maximum ozone concentration of 140g m-3 and 90g (kWh) -1 productivity was obtained from the two-zone system, comparable to commercial ozone generators but with 30 – 40% lower power consumption (11kWh kg-1 O3). Hence mitigating the drawbacks with the use of ozone in industrial applications caused by large energy demand. Optimisation of the ozone pre-treatment process was achieved by incorporating ultrasound which enhanced lignin separation by 38.5%. Following organosolv fractionation at low temperature (80⁰C), about 90% and 94% of lignin with high purity (95%) were recovered for corn cob and spelt husk respectively with guaiacyl-syringyl lignin the major fraction from corn cob and guaiacyl lignin from spelt husk. In addition, 84 - 85% cellulose was recovered with III 78% purity. The recovered cellulose had its crystallinity decreased by 19% and its degree of polymerisation (DP) decreased by 17%. In a microwave reactor, corn cob and spelt husk (untreated and pre-treated) were reacted in a DMSO-H2O media to produce HMF and furfural. HMF and furfural yields of untreated corn cob were higher than those from spelt husk due to a difference in their morphology with increased porosity of corn cob allowing easy access to cellulose. Pre-treatment led to a 58% and 74% increase in HMF yield for corn cob and spelt husk respectively, while a 10% and 66.7% increase in furfural. Reacting fractionated cellulose from corn cob and spelt husk yielded a similar HMF yield of 40mg g -1 irrespective of the feedstock used. Overall, HMF and furfural yields were influenced by changes in cellulose properties following pre-treatment such as fibre size, increased surface area, decrease in the degree of polymerisation and decrease in lignin content following lignocellulose pre-treatment. The economic efficiency and competitiveness of the conversion process for large scale co production of HMF, furfural and lignin from spelt husk was determined. The proposed approach was compared with process where HMF and furfural were co-produced without lignin. Co-production with lignin yielded a profit of $213,657 higher than without lignin for a plant size of 100 tonnes per day of spelt husk due to extra revenue obtained from lignin sales, meaning fractionation of lignin had a positive effect on the process economics than its utilisation for heat or boiler fuel. Thus, the improved pre-treatment and quality separation of biomass components enhanced downstream conversion to value-added products, thereby improving the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of the ozone pre-treatment process and conversion to HMF and furfural. In addition, the co-production of lignin will offset the cost of production of platform chemicals, thereby increasing the economics of a biorefinery.Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) Nigeri

Perception of Undergraduates on Use of Turnitin Plagiarism Checker in Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria

Projects, theses and dissertations submitted to the library form the highest number of collections in most academic library holdings in Nigeria. Ensuring that such works are free from plagiarism becomes imperative for future use and reuse. In an attempt to help stem this ugly trend of plagiarism, the Nigerian Universities Commission directed that all Universities in Nigeria should adopt the use of Turnitin plagiarism checker. This study seeks to determine the perception, challenges, and support systems available for students regarding the use of Turnitin in Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMin). There are 3,033 final year undergraduate students in the 2017/2018 academic session. Using Krejcie & Morgan sample size table, 341 undergraduates and eleven (11) Turnitin Officers were randomly sampled across Departments and Schools (Faculties) in FUTMin. Structured questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. A total of 338 (99%) copies of questionnaire from undergraduates and 11 (100%) from Turnitin Officers were filled, returned and found valid for this study. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data from which the results were presented in tables. Findings revealed that students were relatively unaware of what constitutes plagiarism. Recommendations included the need for awareness and orientation on what constitutes plagiarism, citation and referencing education

The implications of digital estate in shariah compliant Fintech: a legal analysis

The surge in shariah compliant fintech has continued to create large volume, value and scale of intangible digital assets across platforms. This paper provides a legal analysis for digital estates in shariah compliant fintech environments. The paper adopts qualitative analysis of both primary and secondary sources from existing journals and regulatory instruments in Islamic finance jurisdictions to explore the gaps in the law regarding digital estate and unclaimed money regulation. The paper further compares different legal approaches adopted by other jurisdictions in regulating digital estate. The paper finds that there is a scope for administration of digital estate in both regulated and unregulated shariah compliant fintech platforms. Similarly, the adoption of e-KYC which complies with shariah ethos is essential to ensure that digital estate is not lost upon the demise of the account holder. The legal right and title of the account holder and legal heirs can only be protected through the operation of digital estate regulation in a Shariah-compliant fintech environment. Similarly, this paper is of value to successor and administrators of account holders in fintech environments as recommends measures to uphold the property rights and financial benefit of the account holders and legal heirs

Distribution of culturable endophytic bacteria in lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus)

Endophytic bacteria are currently being harnessed as potential sources of bioactive compounds, potential biofertilizers, and as tools for bioremediation. This therefore stresses the importance of searching for these noble bacteria in various plants. In the present study, fresh and apparently healthy leaves and roots of lemon grass were collected and surfacesterilized using 70% (v/v) Ethanol, 3% sodium hypochlorite solution and sterile distilled water. Isolation of endophytic bacteria was achieved using culture technique, while identification was done based on morphological, biochemical and microscopic characteristics. A total of 16 endophytic bacteria were isolated and identified as Bacillus spp. (3 isolates), Escherichia coli (1 isolate), Klebsiella pnuemoniae (3 isolates), Micrococcus spp. (3 isolates), Pseudomonas spp. (1 isolate), Rhizobium (2 isolates) and Staphylococcus aureus (3 isolates). The root portions of the plant harbour 10 (62.5%) of the entire endophytic bacteria isolated, while the leaves harbour the remaining 6 (37.5%). Gram negative rod- shaped bacteria are the dominant of all the bacteria in the roots (50%), whereas, in the leaves, Gram positive cocci are the dominant (50% of all). No Gram negative cocci were isolated from the plant. In conclusion, Lemon grass harbours diverse genera of endophytic bacteria present both in the roots and leaves of the plant, but the roots harbour higher populations of the bacteria.Keywords: Endophytic bacteria, Lemon grass, Root, Leaf, Isolatio

Optimisation and dose responses of bioluminescent bacterial biosensors induced with target hydrocarbons

Routine analytical methods are constrained in the speed of application, sample throughput and inability to determine the right bioavailable loading of pollutants. Microbial biosensor technology resolved these constraints by offering the most rapid, sensitive, reliable and cost-effective technology, especially in a bioavailable context. This study describes the growth characterisation and optimisation of three different lux-marked biosensors and their induction bioassay, thus testing their responses to doses of target hydrocarbons (naphthalene, toluene, Isopropylbenzene) and solution of mixed hydrocarbons. These biosensors, Pseudomonas fluorescence HK44, Escherichia coli HMS174 and Pseudomonas putidaTVA8 harbours luxCDABE reporter genes coupled to induction by hydrocarbons. Biosensors harvested at optimal exponential phase and induced with hydrocarbon using the optimised assay conditions are highly sensitive and responsive to their inducers in a proportionate dose-dependent status. The established dose responses of these catabolic biosensors signify the prospect of extrapolation for estimating the genuine contamination loading of pollutants for environmental relevance. However, several factors may contribute to the quenching effect at high concentration of inducers. Robust responsiveness to mixed hydrocarbon solution has been also realised accentuating its feasibility in analysing of real environmental samples containing heterogenous pollutants. This study emphasises the suitability of bioluminescent bacterial biosensors for pollutants analysis and notably the detection of soluble bioavailable fractions of diverse hydrocarbons, hence, serves as a reliable bioindicator of hydrocarbon pollution in an environment. Even so, the real value of biosensors is for a suite of ecologically justified biosensors to be applied in complementary combinations with other focused analytical or chemical methods for broad and resourceful inference

Subjective reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and sociodemographic predictors of vaccination in Nigeria: an online survey

The purpose of this study was to examine the subjective reasons for hesitancy to receive COVID-19 vaccination and the sociodemographic factors associated with vaccination uptake. An online social media survey was conducted among the general Nigerian population using a self-developed questionnaire. Data were analyzed using binary logistic regression with crude and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) at a 95% confidence interval (CI) and a p value of less than 0.05. A total of 576 participants with a mean age of 31.86 years participated in the study. 28% (n = 158) received one or more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Teachers were significantly less likely than health professionals to be vaccinated (AOR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.16–0.69). In addition, unemployed people (AOR = 0.37, 95% CI 0.15–0.89) were less likely to be vaccinated than government employees, and those of intermediate socioeconomic status (AOR = 0.47 95% CI 0.26–0.88) were less likely to be vaccinated than were those of high socioeconomic status. Five main themes emerged regarding participants’ subjective reasons for hesitating to receive the COVID-19 vaccine: fear related to vaccine content (e.g., efficacy), negative effects on the body (e.g., blood clots), distrust of the system/government (e.g., politics), psychological concerns (e.g., anxiety), and misconceptions. Sociodemographic variables and vaccine misconceptions were found to play an important role in COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Nigeria

Identifying the research, advocacy, policy and implementation needs for the prevention and management of respiratory syncytial virus lower respiratory tract infection in low- and middle-income countries

Introduction: The high burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in young children disproportionately occurs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The PROUD (Preventing RespiratOry syncytial virUs in unDerdeveloped countries) Taskforce of 24 RSV worldwide experts assessed key needs for RSV prevention in LMICs, including vaccine and newer preventive measures. Methods: A global, survey-based study was undertaken in 2021. An online questionnaire was developed following three meetings of the Taskforce panellists wherein factors related to RSV infection, its prevention and management were identified using iterative questioning. Each factor was scored, by non-panellists interested in RSV, on a scale of zero (very-low-relevance) to 100 (very-high-relevance) within two scenarios: (1) Current and (2) Future expectations for RSV management. Results: Ninety questionnaires were completed: 70 by respondents (71.4% physicians; 27.1% researchers/scientists) from 16 LMICs and 20 from nine high-income (HI) countries (90.0% physicians; 5.0% researchers/scientists), as a reference group. Within LMICs, RSV awareness was perceived to be low, and management was not prioritised. Of the 100 factors scored, those related to improved diagnosis particularly access to affordable point-of-care diagnostics, disease burden data generation, clinical and general education, prompt access to new interventions, and engagement with policymakers/payers were identified of paramount importance. There was a strong need for clinical education and local data generation in the lowest economies, whereas upper-middle income countries were more closely aligned with HI countries in terms of current RSV service provision. Conclusion: Seven key actions for improving RSV prevention and management in LMICs are proposed

Preference and views of final year medical students on mentoring in Bayero University Kano

Background: Mentoring is vital to the maturation of individuals, especially early in their careers and aids professional growth. This study was conducted to find out the views of final year students of Bayero University Medical School on mentoring. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study. The students were given a self-administered questionnaire after a careful explanation and consent obtained. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 16 using Chi-square (χ2) and Fischer exact test (F) with a P< 0.05 considered to be significant. Results: There were a total of 84 students with a male:female ratio of 3.4:1. The age range was between 22 and 42 years with a mean age of 26.4 ± 2.99 years. All the students had formal mentors assigned to them, but none had mentors in the 1st year of school, and only two (2.3%) were assigned mentors in the 2nd year of study. Religion, ethnicity, gender, or specialties of the mentors were not considered important characteristics of mentors by majority of the students, and there was no gender difference in these views. Developing career goals and time management were the priority mentor topics. During the initiation of formal mentoring, only 7 (8.3%) of the students were asked for their goals before being assigned to mentors. Conclusion: Mentoring should be commenced in the 1st year of study, and mentoring goals should be clearly defined for a successful mentee – mentor relationship