Search

Discharge of industrial effluent in aquatic environment is a serious threat to life due to toxic heavy metals. Algae can be used as cheap bioremediation agent in comparison to conventional technologies. This research was conducted to evaluate the bioremediation potential of two algal species i.e.Spirogyra spp. and Chlorella spp. for the removal of heavy metals from two tannery industries M Tannery and GB Tannery located in Challawa Industrial area by using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS Unicorn 969) and also Physicochemical parameters like pH, Temperature, EC, TDS, DO and BOD were measured. In GB Tannery, Spirogyra spp. had the highest affinity for Cr which was 50%, 67%, 50% at 3rd, 6th and 9th weeks interval respectively. Chlorella spp. showed highest affinity for Cu was 60% 85% and 93%. In M tannery, Chlorella spp. had the highest potential to remove heavy metals from the effluent, showing high affinity for Cu which was 80%, 92%, 59% at 3rd, 6th and 9th weeks respectively. Both algal species were not effective for Cr removal. Temperature ranged between 30-31˚C which might be as a result of ambient temperature, pH of both tanneries did not differ significantly and it was not within the maximum permissible limit of 6.5-8.5. EC of M Tannery was a little higher than GB Tannery (8.417±0.2627, 6.920±0.05000) which were below the permissible limit. TDS of M tannery is higher than that of GB Tannery 1919.0±68.462mg/l, 1916.0±61.944mg/l which were not within the permissible limit. DO content were within the permissible limits of

Heavy oils and bitumen are indispensable resources for a turbulent-free transition to a decarbonized global energy and economic system. This is because according to the analysis of the International Energy Agency’s 2020 estimates, the world requires up to 770 billion barrels of oil from now to year 2040. However, BP’s 2020 statistical review of world energy has shown that the global total reserves of the cheap-to-produce conventional oil are roughly only 520.2 billion barrels. This implies that the huge reserves of the practically unexploited difficult-and-costly-to-upgrade-and-produce heavy oils and bitumen must be immediately developed using advanced upgrading and extraction technologies which have greener credentials. Furthermore, in accordance with climate change mitigation strategies and to efficiently develop the heavy oils and bitumen resources, producers would like to maximize their upgrading within the reservoirs by using energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies such as the yet-to-be-fully-understood THAI-CAPRI process. The THAI-CAPRI process uses in situ combustion and in situ catalytic reactions to produce high-quality oil from heavy oils and bitumen reservoirs. However, prolonging catalyst life and effectiveness and maximizing catalytic reactions are a major challenge in the THAI-CAPRI process. Therefore, in this work, the first ever-detailed investigations of the effects of alumina-supported cobalt oxide–molybdenum oxide (CoMo/γ-Al2O3) catalyst packing porosity on the performance of the THAI-CAPRI process are performed through numerical simulations using CMG STARS. The key findings in this study include: the larger the catalyst packing porosity, the higher the accessible surface area for the mobilized oil to reach the inner coke-uncoated catalysts and thus the higher the API gravity and quality of the produced oil, which clearly indicated that sulphur and nitrogen heteroatoms were catalytically removed and replaced with hydrogen. Over the 290 min of combustion period, slightly more oil (i.e. an additional 0.43% oil originally in place (OOIP)) is recovered in the model which has the higher catalyst packing porosity. In other words, there is a cumulative oil production of 2330 cm3 when the catalyst packing porosity is 56% versus a cumulative oil production of 2300 cm3 in the model whose catalyst packing porosity is 45%. The larger the catalyst packing porosity, the lower the mass and thus cost of the catalyst required per m3 of annular space around the horizontal producer well. The peak temperature and the very small amount of produced oxygen are only marginally affected by the catalyst packing porosity, thereby implying that the extents of the combustion and thermal cracking reactions are respectively the same in both models. Thus, the higher upgrading achieved in the model whose catalyst packing porosity is 56% is purely due to the fact that the extent of the catalytic reactions in the model is larger than those in the model whose catalyst packing porosity is 45%.

This study examined the effect of financial development, fossil energy use, economic progress, and FDI on environmental pollution in Nigeria from 1981 – 2014 using the ARDL technique. The outcome of the bond test reveals the presence of a long-run association on the variables of the model. The short-run estimate shows that all the variables positively influence CO2. The result of the long-run analysis further indicates that financial progress, fossil fuel, and GDP accelerates the level of CO2 discharge. However, FDI does not explain environmental pollution in Nigeria. Hence, the study suggests that government and policymakers should formulate policies to improve financial development designed to mitigate CO2 discharge by giving directives to financial institutions that all credits allocation should be toward the purchase of low emission technologies and domestic appliances. In addition, environmentalists should enlighten citizens on the danger of environmental pollution and ways to reduce it through public lectures and seminars.

Arthropods are diverse and make vital contributions to ecosystem functions, notably in pollination, organic matter degradation, and as prey to other animals. Also, some arthropods create menace in fields and in food stores; and some are agents of diseases to other organisms. In this work, we sought data on the population features of arthropods in fallow farmlands within Bayero University Kano, New Campus and adjoining marginal fields during April to November 2018. We randomly sampled four replicate plots of 100m x 100m, with each plot traversed by two transects of 100m. The transects were further divided into 10-point stations from which samples of five full-arm (180°) sweeps of 40 cm diameter were taken. Non-flying arthropods were sampled using pitfall traps on 10 random, 10m x 10m sub-plots made out from the larger plots. Population indices, namely, diversity, apparent density, dominance, evenness and richness were determined. The pitfall traps yielded 10 orders of arthropods compared to the sweep net with only five. The mean apparent population densities/ha-1 were significantly higher for the pitfall trap (1017/ha-1) than 320/ha-1 for the sweep net. The density also differed significantly amongst certain orders. Further, all the population indices had higher values for the pitfall trap method than for the sweep net. There were strong positive correlations between arthropod abundance and rainfall pattern. Because of the looming impact of global climate changes and increasing loss of biodiversity, further investigation is recommended to focus on conservation goals.