This paper studied the fire resistance of rice husk ash concrete. An experimental method was adopted as the research design in this work, which produced one hundred and eighty four (184) concrete specimens with the addition of rice husk ash in weighted percentages of 5%, 10% and 15% respectively. They were cured and tested at 7 days, 28 days, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 120 days, 150 days and 200 days. After the targeted curing days, the specimen were exposed to temperatures of 100 °C, 200 °C, 300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C, 600 °C and 700 °C for 2 hours in a muffle electric furnace.The results show that the pozzolanic concrete and control concrete fire resistance ranged between (60%-96%) for (200 °C-400 °C), (41%-55%) at 500 °C, and (13%-26%) for (600 °C-700 °C). It is concluded that 5% weighted RHA concrete performs better in fire than others.
Biogas production rate was investigated from the co-digestion of 39 kg each of food waste, cow dung and water; 39 kg each of food waste, poultry droppings and water as well as 39 kg each of food waste, fruit waste and water in 43 litres plastic digester setup. Although organic waste mix ratios with higher moisture content can influence decomposition rate, HRT and biogas yield, 1:1:1 mix ratio was used in this investigation. The total rate of biogas produced from the codigestion of food waste with poultry droppings and water (39 kg) in the ratio of 1:1:1 was 4120 g of raw biogas and 3700 g of purified biogas within with Hydraulic Retention Time 32 days, whereas, the co-digestion of food waste with cow dung and water (39 kg) in the same 1:1:1 ratio yielded a total raw biogas of 5830 g and 4920 g of purified biogas with HRT of 35 days. However, co-digestion of food waste with fruit waster and water (39 kg) in the same ratio yielded a total raw biogas of 5010 g and purified biogas 4330 g with HRT of 33 days. Raw biogas produced from each organic feedstock was channelled through a scrubbing unit comprising distilled water and Type B silica gel. After the raw biogas had passed through the distilled water stream, its pH dropped drastically from neutral range to ultra-acidic range (7-3.2), while it also had milky color and sour taste, indicating the presence of carbonic acid (H2CO3) as a result of carbon dioxide (content in the raw biogas) dissolution in the distilled water. Color of the Type B silica gel changed from crystal pink to crystal blue, indicating the absorption of water content in the biogas by silica gel particles. Organic waste is a renewable energy resource that can offset Nigeria's increasing demand for energy if harnessed and processed into cooking gas and organic fertilizers before disposal, in which case can also prevent Green House Gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere.
Water scarcity is still a major problem in many rural communities in Nigeria. In this study, a rain water harvesting system was designed for Ogbekpen, a rural community in Edo state, Nigeria. A conceptual model for rainwater harvesting was developed using the storm water management model (SWMM), Arcmap 10.1 software and daily rainfall data (2000-2016) obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET). Runoff, rainfall intensity and change in elevation of three designated catchment zones were taken into consideration. The results revealed that the total amount of rainwater that could be harvested annually (water supply) was 14,314,351.70 L (14,314 m3) from an overall effective rooftop area of 6025.9 m2. This was three times the annual water demand (4,317,965.60 L (4318 m3)), thus demonstrating the capability of the system to meet annual water demand. The required tank capacities for zones 1, 2 and 3 were 870,412.76 L (870 m3), 955,319.4 5L (955 m3) and 788,629.88 L (789 m3) respectively. Comparative physicochemical and microbial analysis of water from rooftops in the three zones and an existing storage well showed that the latter did not comply with drinking water quality guidelines, thus highlighting the importance of a proper conveyance and storage system to improve water quality and availability in the area.
This paper studied the evaluation of the compressive strength of the binary blend of groundnut shell ash concrete and curing period. The purpose of the study was to source for local materials like agricultural waste that could replace some percentages of cement in order to make it more economical in concrete in order to ascertain its usefulness in the construction industry. An experimental (quantitative) method was adopted as the research design in this work. The total concrete specimens of size 100mm x100mm produced in the laboratory were one hundred and twenty (120). The groundnut shells were completely burnt in an electric furnace to obtain the ash and 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% of the ashes were used to replace cement for a designed mix of concrete strength of 20N/mm2 at w/c ratio of 0.6, after varying the w/c ratios from 0.4 to 1.0, according to basic guidelines stated in Department of Environment method. They were cured at 7 days, 28 days, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 120 days, 150 days and 200 days. The concrete cubes were taken to the compression machine for compression test. The result shows that compressive strength of the groundnut shell ash concrete increases as the curing period increases and there was decrease in the compressive strength of the pozzolanic concrete as the percentages of groundnut shell ash increases in the concrete. The binary blend of groundnut shell ash at 5% replacement had the maximum compressive strength of 23.3N/mm2 at 200 days while the control concrete compressive strength was 22.0N/mm2. This represents an increment of 1.06% of compressive strength over the control at 200 days.
The study investigated the earthquake potential in Niger Delta region of Nigeria. A series of resonant column and bender element test was performed on compacted clay soil samples across the investigated Niger Delta States, which showed the influence of confinement on frequency, shear modulus, shear velocity and damping ratio. The confinement in clay was high. The frequency response increases with pressure increase. Also, the resonance column test at various confinements revealed changes in shear modulus, accelerometer output and damping ratio. Thus, there was high variation in the test parameters as confinement pressure was increased. Similarly, the bender element tests also showed that pressure has effect on shear wave-velocity, shear modulus and damping ratio confinement. Although, unlike Resonance Column tests, the shear modulus and shear wave-velocity generally increased as confinement pressure was increased, while for damping ratio it decreases as confinement pressure was increased. The variations in resonance column/binder element test parameters showed that the Niger Delta region, as an oil and gas area, is susceptible to earthquake. Therefore, continuous monitoring of oil exploration activities must be put in place.
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