A reaction mechanism is proposed for hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane on a Pt/CNT catalyst. A combination of thermodynamic analysis and FTIR measurement reveals that B‐containing byproducts are mainly in the form of an NH4B(OH)4‐B(OH)3 mixture rather than NH4BO2 reported previously. The revised main reaction is , involving the B–H, B–N, and O–H bond cleavages. Isotopic experiments using D2O instead of H2O as reactant or introducing D2 into the reaction atmosphere suggest the O–H bond cleavage being in the rate‐determining step, and an unfavorable occurrence of the chemisorbed H2O dissociation (i.e., the direct O–H bond cleavage), respectively. Different reaction pathways with indirect O–H bond cleavages are analyzed, and then is suggested as the rate‐determining step. Subsequently, a Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetic model is developed, which fits well with the experimental data. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 60–65, 2017

BackgroundIn Ghana, fire incidents have become a regular occurrence, with thousands of lives and millions of dollars lost every year. Hardly a day passes without news of a fire outbreak in some part of Ghana, causing fear and panic among the people. This generates much discussion centering on rumors relating to politics, sabotage, misfortune, religious differences, etc. This article seeks to discuss the trend of fire incidents occurring in Ghana from 2000 to 2013 and the different ways to prevent these incidents.MethodsThe pattern of fire incidence in Ghana as a whole as well as in each region is discussed. The study took into consideration the causes, mechanisms, as well as preventive measures against the fire menace. Data were obtained from the head office of Ghana's national fire service.ResultsIt was noticed that in general the rate of fire incidence increased each year. This increase was attributed to several factors: rate of population growth and industrialization, unstable electricity, urbanization, negligence, illegal electrical connection, etc. The cause of fire was categorized into domestic, industrial, vehicular, institutional, electrical, commercial, bush, and others. Among these causes, domestic fire accounted for 41% of the total number of fire incidents in the country.ConclusionFinally, this study presents several recommendations to help prevent and mitigate fire incidents in Ghana.

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Utilization of sustainable biomass to produce jet fuel range hydrocarbons is imperatively needed to mitigate CO2 emissions and to liberate the over-reliance on fossil resources. Using propanal as the feedstock, an excellent jet fuel range hydrocarbon yield (81.7%), high conversion (ca. 100%), and purity (85%) were achieved over a novel dual-bed Cu/SiO2–TiO2||Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst at low temperature and pressure in only one reactor. The intrinsic active site requirement was further investigated by multitechniques including density functional theory calculation, quantitative CO2/NH3-temperature-programmed desorption/diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis–mass spectrometry. Results showed that for the upstream bed catalyst (Cu/SiO2–TiO2), the Ti–O site pair and Ti Lewis acid site were crucial for enolate formation, carbon-chain growth, and ring closure reactions, which can be altered by the calcination temperature. The synergy between the site strength and number led to a volcanic relationship between acidity/basicity and the intermediate yield. In addition, the downstream bed Ni/HZSM-5 catalyst promoted the hydrodeoxygenation reaction toward hydrocarbon formation.

Background A woman’s ability to achieve her preferred family size is critical in addressing issues of high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. The socio-cultural context in sub-Saharan Africa presents some difficulty for the attainment of preferred fertility for many women. Few studies in sub-Saharan Africa have examined the extent to which women are unable to achieve their preferred family sizes. This study, therefore, examines the factors that are associated with the non-attainment of women’s preferred fertility by the end of their reproductive years. Data and methods The study analyzed pooled cross-sectional data with a sub-sample of 1,888 currently married women aged 45–49 years from five rounds of the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, 1993 to 2014. Test of associations and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used to examine the predictors of underachieved and overachieved fertility relative to achieved fertility. Results The results indicate that 44 per cent of the women recorded overachieved fertility while about 36 per cent underachieved their fertility. Partner wants more, experiencing child loss and married more than once were significantly associated with overachieved fertility. Nonetheless, increased years of a woman’s education and delaying her at first birth were negatively associated with overachieved fertility. On the other hand, underachieved fertility was significantly associated with having a partner with fewer fertility preference, being of the Islamic faith and ever use of modern contraception. Conclusion Partner’s fertility preference, child loss experience, marrying more than once and ever use of modern contraception were important predictors of a woman’s inability to achieve her fertility preference. Policies to regulate men’s fertility behaviour, delaying age at first birth, use of modern contraception, encouraging longer years of education, and reducing infant and child mortality are important strategies to achieve fertility preference in Ghana.

Background Multiple sexual partnership (MSP) is a major cause of HIV/AIDS epidemic and unplanned pregnancies in sub-Saharan Africa. We investigate how individual, household, interpersonal, community and structural factors correlate with multiple sexual partnership of adolescent boys and young men in Ghana. Methods We pooled secondary data from the 2003, 2008 and 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys (GDHS). Analytic sample of 1422 males aged 15–24 years who are sexually active and never married were used for the study. The outcome variable for the study was two or more sexual partners in the last 12 months preceding the survey. Five models were fitted using multilevel mixed effects logistic regression to identify predictors of multiple sexual partners. Results were presented using adjusted odds ratios (ORadj) with its corresponding 95% confidence interval. Results The pooled data prevalence of multiple sexual partnership was 28.1%, with 18.7%, 30.0% and 33.3% of adolescent boys and young men involved in multiple sexual partnerships in 2003, 2008 and 2014, respectively. Results of the study showed that young men aged 20–24 years [ORadj = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.01–1.91], being from household with richest wealth index [ORadj = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.01–3.06] and those with secondary/higher education [ORadj = 2.94, 95% CI = 1.44–6.06] were more likely to have multiple sexual partners. On the other hand, those who delayed their first sex [ORadj = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.29–0.70] and those currently using modern contraceptive methods [ORadj = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.28–0.50] were less likely to have multiple sexual partners. Conclusion The findings provide support for the social ecological argument that sexual health behaviours are influenced by individual, interpersonal, community and contextual characteristics. Future policies and interventions seeking to address the increasing prevalence of multiple sexual partnerships among adolescent boys and young men should take into consideration family planning programmes and sexual education in affluent communities, secondary and higher institutions.

Climate variability and change presents enormous risk to agricultural production globally due to the impacts on yields. While global scholarship on climate change impacts and adaptation measures on agriculture has been well-documented, little is known about climate and pineapple production. This study examined smallholder pineapple farmers experiences of climate variability and change on production, as well as ranked adaptation options using data from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data consisted of survey and focus group discussions in four major pineapple growing districts in Ghana. The analysis revealed that pineapple farmers experience climate variability and change evidenced mainly through irregular rainfall patterns and rising temperatures. These changes cause reduction in fruit size and yield, change in colour and taste, and consequently, reduction in income from pineapple production. Although diverisification of livelihood away from pineapple cultivation emerged as the main adaptation option employed by smallholder pineapple farmers studied, it has the potential to reduce pineapple production in Ghana. For improvement and sustainability of the pineapple industry in Ghana, future studies should investigate the vulnerability of the production system to changing climate to effectively identify exposure and sensitivity of pineapple production to climatic changes. This will in effect, enhance identification of measures that will improve production as well as promote adaptation of the smallholder production systems to climate variability and change.

This chapter presents a literature review of the evolution of sustainable transportation in Western Europe. It examines the historical development in sustainable transportation and the way forward for future sustainable transportation models and strategies. It reviews the sustainable practices of 12 Western European nations and their contributions to reducing the impact of global environmental degradation. The choice of these 12 nations is based on sustainable progress in enhancing environmentally friendly means of mobility. The literature reveals that the emphasis on sustainable transportation system in Western European nations is worthy of discussion primarily because of the dramatic improvement attained in reducing emission of carbon dioxide. This chapter also aims to identify some of the applied policy instruments and the monitoring processes enacted in several of these European nations.