LAUTECH Journal of Engineering and Technology

EVALUATION OF THE RHEOLOGICAL AND PH CONTROL PERFORMANCE OF PLANTAIN PEEL-SNAIL SHELL BIOCOMPOSITE ADDITIVE IN WATER BASED DRILLING FLUID

Julie Mamukuyomi — 2021-04-26

This study evaluated the applications of Plantain Peel-Snail Shell (PP-SS) bio-composite powder as pH and rheological parameters control additive in Water-Based Drilling Fluid (WBDF). The plant and animal derived wastes were prepared, ground, sieved, and blended together in ratio 1:1 to obtain bio-composite powder. Twelve sets of WBDFs were formulated based on the American Petroleum Institute (API) standard of 25 g bentonite to 350 ml of water. Rheological properties, drilling fluid weight, and pH were conducted on the WBDFs to evaluate the effects of different composite powder concentrations (2, 4, and 6 %w/w) at different temperatures of 30, 50, and 70 oC. The results showed PP-SS bio-composite powder increased the drilling fluid weight by 5.56-15.74% and pH value by 5.56–27.78% as well as improved the rheological properties (apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity, and yield point) of the WBDF as the bio-composite powder concentration increased. The results also revealed that drilling fluid weight did not change with increasing temperature. Apparent and plastic viscosities decreased with increase in temperature while the pH and yield point increased with increase in temperature. Thus, PP-SS bio-composite powder has the potential to be used as a pH and rheological parameters enhancer.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTELLIGENT WEB BASED DYNAMIC NEWS AGGREGATOR INTEGRATING INFOSPIDER AND INCREMENTAL WEB CRAWLING TECHNOLOGY

O. E. Aru — 2021-04-26

The World Wide Web is a rapidly growing and changing information source. This reality is gradually replacing the traditional way users obtain news or information. Traditionally, individuals get their news or information from print media, such as newspapers and magazines. Although, the advent of the internet has made things a lot easier by making this digitalized news accessible from anywhere in the world, either through news websites or dedicated applications. However, the growth and change rates make the task of finding relevant and recent information harder. Users are still faced with the challenges of visiting numerous websites just to get updated or informed on a specific type of news. This creates a problem as users have to always memorize different URLs and visit numerous websites just to view a specific type of news. Therefore, the need to develop an intelligent web based dynamic news aggregator that will provide a digital platform for individuals to easily find news pertaining to a particular topic in real time becomes imperative. It crawls the web, searches for news agencies and return a specific news of interest to the user. To address the shortcomings of existing news aggregators, this work was implemented by integrating the intelligent web based dynamic news aggregator, into an infospider web crawling technology. This is achieved applying a stochastic selector and incremental web crawling technology that crawls the entire seed urls. This system was implemented with the PHP scripting language developed to access the PHP-crawler using Aptana Studio as the Integrated Development Environment (IDE), Bootsrap3 and jQuery were used to provide a set of style sheets and JavaScript libraries to simplify the client-side scripting. The application was deployed and tested using the apache web server and a personal computer.

EXPLOITING GENETIC ALGORITHM IN STRING CASH DISPENSE DISPUTE

O. E. Aru — 2021-04-26

The cash transaction dispense dispute seems to be an ugly daily experience to bank customers. Most times the customers’ debited funds would not be auto reversed within the 24 hours given by inter-switch. At this point, customers have to report officially to their banks to get the problem sorted out manually by filling the dispute form. In some cases, after filling the form, they have to wait for at least seven business working days before the un-dispensed debited funds are reversed. This might be very excruciating on the customer, especially when un-dispensed cash is the only money on him/her. In this paper, our core interest is to solve the problem of delay in reversing debited funds using a genetic algorithm approach based on numerical integration. The result of the new system revealed how dispensed disputes are resolved within seconds without delay using the optimal fitness function values of the genetic algorithm that validates the customers’ claims and makes refunds. The system is independent of inter-switch and its flexibility allows customers to report their dispensed dispute online, especially when it is not reversed within allotted seconds. The research paper data set and the results were tested and analyzed using MATLAB software application.

SIZE AND SHAPE CHARACTERISATION OF TACCA INVOLUCRATA TUBERS

B. O. Oyefeso — 2021-04-26

Physical properties of crops are useful for proper design of processing machines and handling equipment. This study was designed to determine selected size and shape characteristics of tacca tubers using standard procedures. The physical characteristics determined include geometrical attributes, gravimetric properties and shape indicators. Length, width, thickness, Arithmetic Mean Diameter, Geometric Mean Diameter and Equivalent Mean Diameter of tacca tubers ranged from 34.81-114.24, 20.05-94.58, 22.48-87.81, 29.72-97.92, 28.82-97.36 and 29.51-97.38 mm, respectively. Projected areas along the three mutually-perpendicular axes ranged from 6.03-80.35, 5.89-61.48 and 8.40-82.79 cm2 respectively. Surface area and criterion area ranged from 26.10-297.88 and 6.77-74.87 cm2 respectively. Mass, volume and density ranged from 14.80-566.40 g, 13.00-460.00 cm3 and 915.15-2,625.00 kg/m3 respectively. Shape characteristics namely sphericity, aspect ratio, shape index, eccentricity and elongation ratio ranged from 60.32-99.03%, 0.52-0.99, 1.01-2.47, 0.11-0.85 and 1.01-1.91 respectively. Volume of the assumed ellipsoid shape was closer to the actual volume, indicating that tacca tubers are closer to being ellipsoidal in shape. The study has provided information that could serve as a guide in the design of systems for sorting, processing and handling tacca tubers.

CHEMICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF LOW CARBON STEEL: INSIGHT FROM PROCESS PARAMETERS

S. G. Borisade — 2021-04-26

The ability of steel bar to function well in structural applications is a function of its mechanical properties. Many factors account for the variations in the mechanical properties of low carbon steel. Therefore, understanding the influence of Physical and chemical compositions on their mechanical properties is essential for material development and applications. This study therefore, explored the effects of the section sizes ranging from 10mm - 16 mm in diameters. Chemical compositions of the steel samples were carried out using XRF. Tests samples were machined using lathe machine and their tensile, hardness and impact properties were determined. Results showed that their carbon contents ranged from 0.01% to 0.25% and the ultimate tensile strength and the yield strength properties decreased with increase in sample diameter. Hence, the diameters of the rods have great influence on the mechanical properties of the materials. The results of this study are relevant to steel industries that produce low carbon steel and structural engineers that make use of this steel in construction.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF LOCALLY MADE PARABOLIC TROUGH SOLAR THERMAL COLLECTOR UNIT

K. D. Erinosho — 2021-04-26

The design and analysis of Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Collector (PTSTC) system used to generate hot/steam water for domestic and industrial purposes were carried out. The parametric studies were also conducted on the collector, study the effectiveness of hot water production for potential applications. The PTSC was designed with Parabolic Software version 2.0. The fabrication and design were done with a combination of reflector surface, reflector support, absorber pipe and wooden stand. The absorber pipe was painted in black colour while the trough was manually operated. The flow of water in the system follows the recycling process repeated during data acquisition. The ambient temperature, the inlet and outlet temperature of the receiver and total solar radiation on the PTSC were recorded. Different flow rate of the Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) was tested at 0.021, 0.022, 0.023 and 0.024 kg/s respectively. Collected data showed the maximum outlet water temperature attained as 72oC. The average outlet temperature increased from 36oC at 10:30 hour to 69.84oC at 16:00 hour. The average beam radiation during the collection period was 699 W/m2. Different flow rates show that the lower the flow rate, the higher the efficiency of the system. The study revealed that the developed parabolic trough solar collector is viable for the production of sterilized water and low stage steam for domestic and industrial purposes.

ADSORPTION ISOTHERM, KINETIC AND THERMODYNAMIC STUDIES FOR REMOVAL OF TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLID FROM PAINT WASTEWATER USING ACID MODIFIED MUCUNA SHELL

B. I. Okolo — 2021-04-26

Present study was conducted to investigate the removal of total dissolved solid (TDS) from paint wastewater (PW) by using eco-friendly biomass of phosphoric acid modified mucuna shell (MSA). Characterization of MSA is done by (i) proximate analysis (ii) surface chemistry by FTIR (iii) surface physical morphology by SEM technique (iv) structural analysis using X-ray diffractometer. Batch experiment was carried out to determine effect of parameters such as pH, biosorbent dose, contact time and temperature. Adsorption capacity of the experimental results was fitted into four isotherm model; Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich, but the Freundlich isotherm model was found to have higher correlation coefficient, implying MSA had heterogeneous surface. The adsorption kinetic has been described by pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Elovich and intra-particle diffusion model. It was observed that the rate of TDS adsorption follow pseudo-second-order model. Free energy of adsorption (∆G^o), enthalpy (∆H^o) and entropy (∆S^o) changes are calculated to know the nature of adsorption. The calculated value of ∆G^o at 303K-323K indicates that the adsorption process is spontaneous. From the calculation, values of ∆H^o and ∆S^oshows positive sign, which indicates that the adsorption process is endothermic in nature and the positive,∆S^osuggested increased randomness at the solid/interface.

EXERGY PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION OF TURMERIC RHIZOME SLICES DRYING USING NEURO-FUZZY, NEURAL-NETWORK AND REGRESSION TECHNIQUES

E. O. Oke — 2021-04-26

This study presents exergy parametric analysis and prediction of turmeric rhizome drying using first and second law of thermodynamics as well as soft-computing techniques. The drying experiments were conducted at inlet drying temperature: (40-650C), air velocity (1.5-3m/s), drying time: (30-240 minutes) and sample thickness: (2-5mm). The Neuro-Fuzzy Exhaustive Search (NFES) parametric analysis results revealed that drying time (RMSE=0.0031), temperature (RMSE=0.096), temperature (RMSE=0.046) and sample thickness (RMSE=0.748) are the most single relevant parameters for Exergy Loss (EL), Exergy Efficiency (EE), Exergetic Improvement Potential (EIP) and Sustainability Index (SI) respectively. Whereas temperature-time (RMSE=0.0031), temperature-velocity (RMSE=0.0945), temperature-time (RMSE=0.046) and time-thickness (RMSE=0.7534) are the most important two-input combinations for EL, EE, EIP and SI correspondingly. NFES also revealed that time-temperature-velocity (RMSE=0.004), temperature-velocity-thickness (RMSE=0.082), time-temperature-velocity (RMSE=0.0436) and time-temperature-thickness (RMSE=0.758) are the three-input significant combination for EL, EE, EIP and SI respectively. The ANN results show that two-input combination architectures gave the highest R2 with minimum RMSE for the exergy-sustainability indicators. Therefore, this study shows that NFES and ANN are reliable tools for the analyses of turmeric rhizome drying thermo-sustainability indicators.

OPTIMIZED PRODUCTION OF BIOETHANOL BY FERMENTATION OF ACID HYDROLYZED-CORN STOVER EMPLOYING SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE YEAST STRAIN

F. A. Aderibigbe — 2021-04-26

In this study, corn stover was converted into ethanol using a locally-fabricated bioreactor and process conditions were optimized. The corn stover biomass used as substrate was milled, screened to 200 μm and hydrolyzed with between 0.1-0.5 M HCl. The hydrolysis experiment was carried out for substrate concentrations of 20, 25, and 30% (w/v) of milled bagasse prepared in a 1000 mL glass jar containing distilled water. For each substrate concentration, the time, temperature, and acid concentration were varied between 10 – 60 min., 80 – 97 °C, and 0.1 – 0.5 M, respectively to find the optimum glucose yield. Glucose concentration in the optimum hydrolysate sample was determined using glucose oxidase method. Fermentation experiment was conducted in the bioreactor using 700 ml of the hydrolysate and Saccharomyces cerevisiae supplemented with minerals to yield ethanol of 21.47 g/L after 48 hours. A linear regression model developed after analysis of variance was able to predict the concentration of glucose produced during the acid hydrolysis, and the optimum ethanol yield of 21.47 g/L compares well with previous reported yield values found in literature.

EFFECT OF PULSED ELECTRIC FIELD ON STRUCTURAL MODIFICATION AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF STARCH-BASED EDIBLE FILMS

K. P. Alabi — 2021-04-26

Starch-based edible film is a novel packaging material that has gained much recognition and attention in the food industry. Its remarkable functional property like microbial deactivation without posing harmful effect on food materials is remarkable. The application of pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment to starch-based edible film is fundamental to ensuring physicochemical changes and structural modifications of films for the purpose of food safety and handling. However, the effectiveness of PEF is affected by process and product parameters, thus information on the effects of PEF treatment on structural modifications and physicochemical properties of starch-based edible film is useful to the food industry.
This review provided an overview of the effects of PEF treatment on structural modifications and physicochemical properties such as density, solubility, water activity (aw) and stability of starch-based edible films. The significance of starch-based edible films to the food industry with a focus on potato, cassava, yam and taro starch sources is summarized. The PEF treatment and factors related to process and product parameters affecting its performance and its effects on structural and physicochemical properties of starch-based edible films were succinctly discussed.
PEF treatment can cause microbial deactivation, influence the structural and physicochemical properties and produce edible films with much functionality. The future trends of PEF treatment on starch-based edible films should mainly focus on combining other physical treatment as an integrated way of improving the potentials of PEF towards development of a wider range of functionalized films.

REMOVAL OF PHENOL FROM PHARMACEUTICAL EFFLUENTS USING LOCUST BEAN POD AND BENTONITE CLAY

F. A. Aderibigbe — 2021-04-26

The pharmaceutical industry uses large volumes of fresh water in the process of producing pharmaceutical products and this leads to the generation of large volumes of wastewater. This wastewater is usually profiled for contaminants such as hydrocarbons, dissolved solids and aromatic alcohols such as phenolic compounds which are hazardous to humans. Previous investigations have revealed that the wastewater could be treated by either conventional treatment technologies or biomass treatment systems. However, most of these conventional treatment technologies have higher energy consumption and capital requirement compared to the use of biomass treatment systems. Hence, the current study has employed the use of adsorbents derived from the hybridization of locust bean pod represented as category A, and clay represented as category B for the reduction of phenol from pharmaceutical industry wastewater. The best adsorbent (A3:B3) combination in ratio 1:1, reduced the phenol content to a permissible concentration level of 0.2662 mg/L. This was subjected to an optimization process using Box-Behnken of RSM and lower phenolic concentration of 0.211 mg/L was attained at operating conditions of 45 ºC of temperature, 70 min of contact time, and adsorbent loading of 0.1 g. This study has established that the combination of locust bean pod and clay adsorbent is promising for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.