School of Infrastructure Process Engineering and Technology (SIPET)
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School of Infrastructure Process Engineering and Technology (SIPET)
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Item Design, Construction and Performance Evaluation of a Rice Winnowing Machine.(2013) Balami, A. A.; Fadiji, S. T.; Suleiman, A.; Simeon, Meshack Imologie; Muhammad, I. A.; Hussani, M. S; Mshelia, Z. A.Item Determination of the Suitability of Urine as Substrate in a Power Generating Soil Microbial Fuel Cell(2016-08-18) Simeon, Meshack Imologie; Raji O. A.; Musa J. J.; Kuti I.Urine has been identified as a suitable substrate in Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs). However, its possible utilization in a soil-based Membrane-less Single Chamber Microbial Fuel Cell (MSCMFC) has, hitherto, not been reported. This study used the mud-watt MFC vessel inoculated with mud prepared from topsoil, and was operated across seven external loads for 19 days (456 hours) without adding any substrate to the soil. Urine was fed into the cell in four durations of time, after the MFC output stabilized. For comparison, a fresh setup (control MFC) was made and operated under the same conditions of temperature (27+3°C), but without the addition of urine. The performances of the MFCs were examined over seven external loads of resistance: 4670 , 2190 , 1000 , 470 , 220 , 100 , and 47 . The Urine-treated MFC and the control MFC both produced an initial peak power output of 5.62μW. Both MFCs produced close values of power outputs up to the point of adding urine. At the final stage, the peak power output of the MFC treated with urine was 246.77μW; whereas the corresponding values for the control MFC were 0.007μW. This study showed that fresh (untreated) human urine can be successfully utilized as fuel in a soil-based MFC for the production of electrical energy for varied external loads.Item Design, Fabrication and Testing of a Tractor Drawn Soybean Planter(FUW Trends in Science & Technology Journal, 2017-04) Agidi, Gbabo; Andrew, I.; Simeon, Meshack ImologieA tractor drawn Soybean drum planter was designed, fabricated and tested in the DESFABENG Company Limited, Bida, Niger State. The project was undertaken because most of the imported planters usually have maintenance and repair problems in addition to high costs of procurement that are not affordable to an average farmer. The major components of the developed planter are three drums with predetermined hole sizes at the exterior ends, a central rectangular shaft, spring soil openers, roller soil coverers, tractor hitching points, two wheels, and power transmission mechanism, and a frame. All these components were fabricated with locally available materials. Using three test speeds, the planter was preliminarily assessed for seed rate, soil opening, covering, and germination efficiencies. Results obtained indicate that desirable seed rate values of 47.7 and 61.2 kg/ha were observed for tractor/implement speeds of 20 and 16 km/hr, respectively. The highest germination efficiency of the planter was 81.3% at a tractor/implement speed of 16 km/hr with a corresponding soil opening efficiency of 94%.Item Aerodynamic and Thermal Properties of Melon (Citrullus Lanatus) Seeds Under Varying Drying Temperature for Separation from Shells and Processing(ARID ZONE JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY & ENVIRONMENT, 2018-12) Asoiro Felix; Simeon, Meshack Imologie; I. C. EzugwuItem Optimisation Of The Production Parameters Of Delonix Regia Methyl Ester Using Box Behnken Design(INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, 2019-09-09) Adejumo, B. A.; Agboola, J. B.; Orhevba, B. A.; Obasa, P. A.; Simeon, Meshack ImologieThe optimisation of the production parameters of Delonix regia ester was carried out to establish the parameters for the production of optimum methyl ester yield from Delonix regia seed oil. The effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, alcohol: oil molar ratio, and catalyst concentration as well as their interaction effects on the yield of methyl ester, were investigated using the response surface methodology Box-Behnken design. Data obtained were analyzed statistically using Design expect 9.0 statistical package to determine the response model, surface respond anal ysis of variance (ANOVA). The data collected from optimization of the reaction process was fitted to a model. The results showe d that the percentage yield in term of reaction temperature, time, molar ratio, concentration and interaction terms of reaction tem perature and reaction time were significant (p ≤ 0.05) while the lack of fit F value for the Delonix regia methyl ester yield response showed that it was not significant ( p ≤ 0.05) relative to the pure error. This indicates that all the models predicted for methyl ester yield response were adequate. Regression models for data on response methyl ester yield were significant ( p ≤ 0.05) with a satisfactory R 2 value of 0.829. The boundaries of the design intergalactic of methyl ester yield have the lowest value at 72 % within the process range of 40 0 C to 56 0 C for Temperature, 30 to 53 minutes for Reaction time, for all production processes while the highest of 90.21 % with the process boundary range of 55 to 60 0 C for A: Temperature, 40 to 60 minutes reaction ti me. The optimization solution gave the process conditions for each process factor at the highest desirability prediction of 0.642 as the best reaction temperature of 53.20 0 C and the reaction time of 60 minutes, alcohol: oil molar ratio of 2:1, and catalyst concentration of 0.69% when the set goal is based on the physic thermal properties of produced methyl ester.Item Characterization of Kaolin Clay from Kutigi and Its De-Aluminated form for Catalysts Development towards Economic growth of Nigeria(APWEN International conference (a division of NSE) Kano, 2017-09) Omale, Friday David; Eterigho Elizabeth J.; Baaki, Monica AlueshimaKaolin, a product of natural hydrated aluminium silicate which has undergone refinement is a type of clay material which is usually in powder form and is whitish in colour. It is a soft sedimentary rock which has light weight and a chalk-like appearance. The chemical analysis of the kaolin obtained from Kutigi in Niger State by X-ray fluorescence shows that the clay is mainly composed of silica and alumina which are 50.94% and 32.93% respectively. The de-alumination of the clay by action of H2SO4 shows that a large percentage of the silica in the clay was removed. X-ray fluorescence of the de-aluminated clay shows a higher alumina content (76.236%) and silica (1.095%) indicating its removal.Item Production and Characterization of Biodegradable Plastic from Nigeria Cassava Starch(International Conference on Engineering, Science and Applications (ICESA, 2017), Toshi Center, Tokyo, Japan, 2017-08) Eterigho, E. J.; Farrow, T. S.; Ejejigbe, Silver E; Onaivia, Ene C.The use of synthetic polymer in the industries and household packaging for various purposes has increased, however, it possesses environmental challenge due to its nondegradability. This research therefore focused on the production of a biodegradable plastic by blending various composition of poly vinyl alcohol (PVA), additives and cassava starch. The product produced (plastic) were extruded, analysed and tested for biodegradability under natural conditions. The results obtained were compared with the conventional polymer. The density of the produced plastic was 0.83 Kg/m3, melting temperature was 200oC and its water adsorption rate was 1.3% per day. The tensile strength was 23.63N/mm2 compared to 10.86N/mm2 and 8.29N/mm2 for polyethene and paper respectively. The results showed excellent retention of physical, thermal, structural and mechanical property required in plastics. Thus, indicating the possibility of universal application of Nigeria cassava starch as a source of biodegradable agent in plastic films productionItem Catalytic Degradation of Polyethylene to Gas Oil using Synthesized Clay Based Copper Modified Catalyst(Nigeria Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences (NJEAS), 2015-04) Babatunde, E. O.; David, I.; Olutoye, M. A.; Akpan U. G.; Eterigho Elizabeth JumokeIn this study local clay was pretreated, characterized, modified and used as catalyst for the degradation of low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The raw clay was thermally treated at 800 °C for 4 h in a furnace which was later modified by incorporating copper into it through impregnation method. The functionalities of the catalyst were determined based on their characterization. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscope, X-Ray Florescence and surface area determination were done for both the raw clay and modified catalysts. Characterization of the catalysts revealed that the interaction between CuO/clay formed a synergetic mixed oxides and this is an important factor to its catalytic activity. The product obtained was analysed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and the product was mainly composed of hydrocarbons in the carbon range of C- C, which is the hydrocarbon range of gas oil (diesel) fraction. Also, the data obtained showed that at catalyst loading of 1.0 g, 5.0 g of polyethylene feedstock and reaction temperature of 250 °C, the yield of gas oil was 50.22%. The catalyst easily separates from the product mixture.Item Effect of Modification on Conventional Preparation Method for Sulphated Zirconia on the Production of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester(Asian Journal of Engineering and Technology, 2014-06) Eterigho, Elizabeth Jumoke; Farrow, T. Salome; Ogbuka, P. ChidiSulphated zirconia was synthesized using different volume of sulphating agent in order to optimize its catalytic property: (1) in the first case the “conventional” 15 ml H2SO4 to 1g of Zr(OH)4 for impregnation was used in wet-precipitation method and the catalyst designated ‘wp’ and (2) same procedure but with modification in volume of acid; 2 ml of H2SO4 was used for 1g of Zr(OH)4, ‘mwp’. The properties of the uncalcined and calcined catalysts were examined by various techniques: EDX, XPS, XRDP, Py-DRIFTS and BET nitrogen adsorption techniques. The sulphur content in the uncalcined (‘mwp’ and ‘wp’) catalysts was the same; 0.07 mol each whereas the calcined catalysts were 0.07 mol and 0.05 mol for ‘mwp’ and ‘wp’ respectively. BET surface area was determined to be 65.0 m2/g for wp and 101m2/g for ‘mwp’. The effect of the variation of sulphating agent on the catalyst activity was investigated in catalytic cracking of triglycerides for fatty acid methyl esters. Sulphated zirconia from the modified conventional method was found to perform better than the conventional wet-precipitated sulphated zirconia. Furthermore, ‘mwp’ retained approximately 74 % of its sulphur content after 3 h reaction whereas ‘wp’ catalyst lost 100% during the reaction as indicated by SEM-EDX. Interestingly, the results show variation in characterization and in their selectivity to different types of fatty acid methyl esters under the same reaction conditions. The ‘mwp’ catalyst showed higher catalytic activity for methyl ester yield of 40 % as well as higher selectivity for saturated methyl estersItem Synthesis, Characterization and Evaluation of two Forms of Sulphated Zirconia for Biofuel Production by Triglyceride Cracking(Bioenergy III Conference: Present and New Perspectives on Biorefineries Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, 2011-05-22) Eterigho, E. J.; Lee, J. G. M.; Harvey, A. P.Catalyst technology has a substantial impact on the sustainability of industrial processes, products, environment, the economics and quality of life of any country. Currently the world is becoming increasingly, environmentally aware and renewable transport fuels such as biodiesel are becoming increasingly prevalent. Currently, the major technical challenges in conventional biodiesel production (by transesterification with methanol) are: unwanted side reactions, difficult downstream separations, and ensuring sustainability l"?. Catalysis can make a significant contribution to improving this process, as the load on downstream processes would be greatly reduced, and the flow sheet greatly simplified, thereby reducing capital cost. However, another catalytic-based solution is heterogeneously catalysed vegetable oil cracking 2) This would remove the dependence on methanol, which is seldom produced. sustainably and is a significant process cost. Current challenges to catalysis of this reaction include maximizing efficiency and ensuring that the catalyst is chemically and thermally stable, and can be regenerated Catalytic properties are strongly affected by preparation method 3). Hence it is necessary for researchers to investigate different methods of preparation in order to optimise catalyst performance. Sulphated zirconia is a super-acid catalyst, used for many organic reactions. However, it has been found to be susceptible to leaching, rapid deactivation during catalytic reactions and a relatively small surface area when prepared through the conventional method.