Agric & Bioresources Engineering
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://197.211.34.35:4000/handle/123456789/145
Agric & Bioresources Engineering
Browse
4 results
Search Results
Item Biogas Production from the Co-digestion of Cow dung and poultry Droppings Using a Plastic Cylindrical Digester(2017-07-13) Simeon, Meshack Imologie; Edache, Julius; Eyeowa, AdegokeThis study was carried out to compare the rate and amount of gas produced from the codigestion of two different substrates of cow dung and poultry droppings under anaerobic conditions. Biogas production from three(3) cylindrical bio-digesters containing cow dung, poultry droppings, and a mixture of cow dung and poultry droppings under an average temperature of 28 oc and a pH of 6.2 was examined. In each case, the feedstock was diluted with an equal volume of water to form a slurry. The digestion took place for 35 days. The biogas produced during this period was collected by the balloon method and subsequently measured and recorded. The results obtained from this study show that the co-digestion of cow dung and poultry droppings yielded a maximum volume of 2.62 cm³, while poultry droppings yielded 2.50 cm³ and cow dung yielded 1.78 cm³. Thus, the co-digestion of the feedstocks gave a better gas production, and the mean biogas yield was found to be significant (P<0.05) compared to each of the single substrates. This study has demonstrated that the co-digestion of cow dung and poultry droppings in a plastic cylinder could be a cheap method for locally producing biogas for domestic purposes. It is, however, recommended that gas production can be enhanced during hot seasons where higher temperature is easily attained.Item Evaluation of the physicochemical and thermal properties of honey samples from different floral locations in Enugu North senatorial zone, Nigeria.(The proceedings 12th CIGR Section, 2018-10-25) Asoiro, Felix; Simeon, Meshack Imologie; Ugochukwu Christian Abada; Chukwuemeka Jude OhagwuThis study was carried out to investigate the physicochemical and thermal properties of natural honey collected from different floral locations in Enugu North senatorial zone. The physicochemical and thermal parameters like moisture content, pH, sucrose, glucose, fructose, acidity, density, thermal conductivity, thermal heat diffusivity, specific heat capacity, viscosity, ash content, colour, and electrical conductivity were analyzed. The results obtained show that the pH values of the samples ranged from 4.7 to 5.7. The maximum and minimum moisture content were 22.5 and 16.59% (wb), respectively, with the sample from Igbo-Etiti having the lowest moisture content. The density value ranged from 820-1250 kg m-3, with honey samples from Igboeze-South recording the highest density. It was also observed that the sucrose content of the samples ranged from 1.037- 1.78g/100g, which is considered good and within the internationally acceptable value for honey. Electrical conductivity values for Igboeze-North, Udenu, Igboeze-South, Igbo-Etiti and Nsukka were 16.5, 6.0, 25.4, 3.5 and 11.4μS/cm, respectively, Fructose values were 34.339, 33.484, 34.515, 39.434 and 33.136 g/100g respectively and glucose contents were 31.361, 30.856, 31.639, 35.224 and 30.621 g/100g respectively It was also observed that honey from Igbo-Etiti is more viscous than all the samples. The honey samples from the different floral locations in Enugu North Senatorial zone were acidic. The colour of the sample is classified as Amber for samples from Igboeze-North, Igboeze-South, and Igbo-Etiti, while that of Udenu is Light Amber and that of Nsukka is Extra White. The thermal properties fell within the internationally acceptable range of values. Thermal heat conductivity ranged from 0.4358-0.4490 Wm-1K-1, specific heat capacity was from 1.3024-1.6355 kJkg-1K-1, and thermal heat diffusivity ranged from 2.4252× 10 -3.8313× 10 m2s-1. Honey is a promising source of food, raw material, and essential minerals. Knowledge of its physicochemical and thermal properties is essential to facilitate its postharvest processing.Item Development and Preliminary Testing of an Electronic Pest Repeller with Automatic Frequency Variation(International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology-Springer, 2013-01-01) Simeon, Meshack Imologie; Mohammed A.S.; Adebayo S. E.This study presents the development and preliminary performance evaluation of an improved electronic pest repeller with automatic frequency variation. The study is aimed at developing a device that is capable of emitting ultrasonic energy of varied frequencies. These frequencies do affect the auditory senses of pests such as rodents, avian, and nocturnal insects by making them uncomfortable in their abode. However, these frequencies do not affect the hearing ability of humans. An Astable Multi-vibrator (AMV), timer NE555, was used to generate the required ultrasonic frequency and automatically varied in five steps by a pulse generating IC (CA3130) and a counter (CD4017). A D-type flip-flop IC (CD4013) was used to obtain a symmetrical output signal, which was amplified in push-pull mode by 2-NPN Transistors (BD-139) and 2-PNP transistors (BD140). Five variable resistors (each 100KΩ) were used to control the different frequencies. Two transducers (tweeters) were employed to produce an efficient sound. The unit was tested with three groups of white foot mice (Peromyscus leucopus) and a female house mouse Mus musculus which all responded positively from a distance of up to fifteen (15) meters from the source. The average designed efficiency was found to be 86.5%. The device can be utilized by both small and large-scale farmers for repelling pests. The performance of the device could be greatly improved with little modifications, for instance, using microcontrollers and ultrasonic sensors to transmit the ultrasonic sound in a special frequency band.Item Application of urine as fuel in a soil-based membrane-less single chamber microbial fuel cell(AgricEngInt: CIGR Journal, 2019-04-30) Simeon, Meshack Imologie; Otache, Matins Yusuf; Ewemoje, Temidayo Abayomi; Raji, Abdulganiy OlayinkaMicrobial fuel cell (MFC) technology is a promising bio-technology that utilizes the microorganisms in organic wastes to generate electricity. Although human urine has been identified as a suitable substrate in MFCs, its possible utilization in a soil-based membrane-less single chamber microbial fuel cell (MSCMFC) for constant power generation has, hitherto, not been reported. In this study, an MFC was set up with mud as inoculum in a plastic cylindrical vessel using carbon felt electrodes. It was operated for 19 days (456 hours) without extra substrate. Then, the MFC was treated with human urine (as substrate) four times (Days 19, 24, 32, and 36), each time the MFC output stabilized across external loads. A control MFC (MFCcontrol) was made the same way and operated under the same conditions, but without the addition of urine. Both MFCs were operated for 40 days. The initial open circuit voltage (OCV) of the MFC treated with urine (MFCurine) was 227 mV, and that of the MFC control was 219 mV. Both MFCs produced overlapping OCVs to the point of adding urine. The maximum OCVs of MFC control and MFCurine prior to treatment were 729 mV and 740 mV, respectively. The OCV of MFCurine increased to a maximum value of 755 mV, four days after the initial treatment (day 23). At the final stage (Day 40), the OCV of MFCurine was 474.64 mV; whereas the corresponding value for MFCcontrol was 7.31 mV. A microchip was used to amplify the output of the MFCs to power a light-emitting diode. In addition, MFCurine was used to power a digital clock/thermometer. This study showed that human urine can be successfully utilized as fuel in a soil-based MSCMFC for the production of electrical energy, which can be boosted to power low-energy utility devices in farms or homes.