REDUCING UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA – THE ROLE OF TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN THE ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERING GRADUATES

In Nigeria, the number of unemployed persons in recent times increased to 23,187,000 in the fourth quarter of 2020 from 21,765,000 in the second quarter of 2020, hence this paper is an exposition on the role of tertiary institutions in the entrepreneurial development of engineering graduates most of whom are unemployed. A brief discuss on the need for engineering-based entrepreneurship is presented. The key challenges hindering engineering entrepreneurship in Nigeria are highlighted. Some of the roles and strategies which the tertiary institutions in Nigeria can deploy to foster entrepreneurship amongst engineering graduates are presented and include; highly functional and strategic entrepreneurship development centers with think tanks, funding support for the most promising business ideas of students, business and entrepreneurship-motivated research, engaging with government and policymakers to make entrepreneurship fostering policies and minimize bottlenecks to business amongst others. Edo State University Uzairue is presented as a case study of a tertiary institution in Nigeria that has taken some steps in the right direction as regards entrepreneurial development. It is concluded that all stakeholders such as the government, industry, NGOs, and the students/graduates must partner with the tertiary institutions to achieve commendable results on the uphill task under consideration. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, tertiary institutions, engineering, unemployment, development, Nigeria.

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS OF TAYLOR BUBBLE RISE IN FLOWING LIQUIDS

Systematic analysis of the effect of gravitational, interfacial, viscous and inertia forces acting on a Taylor bubble rising in flowing liquids characterised by the dimensionless Froude (Uc), inverse viscosity (Nf ) and Eötvös numbers (Eo) is carried out using computational fluid dynamic finite element method. Particular attention is paid to cocurrent (i.e upward) liquid flow and the influence of the characterising dimensionless parameters on the bubble rise velocity and morphology analysed for Nf, Eo and Uc ranging between [40, 100], [20, 300] and [−0.20, 0.20], respectively. Analysis of the results of the numerical simulations showed that the existing theoretical model for the prediction of Taylor bubble rise velocity in upward flowing liquids could be modified to accurately predict the rise velocity in liquids with high viscous and surface tension effects. Furthermore, the mechanism governing the change in morphology of the bubble in flowing liquids was shown to be the interplay between the viscous stress and total curvature stress at the interface. Keywords: Taylor bubble, finite element, slug flow, CFD, rise velocity

TECHNOECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF REFINING NIGERIAN LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS CONDENSATE

Condensate refining is among the strategies proposed to solve the light oil glut around the globe. The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), which is the Nigerian government’s best performing investment in the natural gas value chain, produces plant condensate as a by-product. In this paper, the economics of a refinery designed to use NLNG plant condensate is evaluated under an optimistic oil price forecast and a pessimistic oil price trend. A gasoline producing refinery configuration was chosen for this study, and it comprises of a naphtha splitter, a Penex isomerisation unit and a Continuous Catalytic Reforming (CCR) unit. The product yields and plant costs were determined by established correlations and industry estimates. The proposed refinery will convert 40,000 bpd plant condensate into 96% gasoline, 3% LPG and 1% hydrogen, and economic indicators such as Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Profitability Index (PI) were used to assess the economic viability of the refinery. The optimistic scenario of oil price forecast resulted in an NPV of $ 531.90 million, an IRR of 20.09% and a PI of 3.16, while the pessimistic scenario gave an NPV of $16.26 million, an IRR of 11.16% and a PI of 1.07. These results prove that a condensate refinery with the proposed configuration is economically feasible and interested investors in Nigeria’s refining space should explore this possibility.

THERMAL AND EMISSION CHARACTERISTICS OF CARBONISED AND UNCARBONISED RICE HUSK BRIQUETTE, A COMPARATIVE APPROACH

Production of briquettes from carbonized and uncarbonized rice husk using a locally fabricated hydraulic press was studied. Proximate and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses, thermal characteristics, and emission properties of the briquettes were determined. Thermal and emission characteristics were determined in real-time measurements during Water Boiling Test (WBT) using Laboratory Emissions Monitoring System (LEMS) equipment. The burning rates of the uncarbonized and carbonized briquettes were 14.35541g/min and 6.478456g/min respectively. The specific fuel consumptions of the briquettes were 96.5502g/L and 80.12107g/L for uncarbonized and carbonized respectively.The energy consumption rate of uncarbonized briquette was 203.4046KJ/min while that of carbonized was 157.6007KJ/min. It took uncarbonized sample average cooking power of 1.598235KW and 0.543518KW for thecarbonized briquette. High power particulate matter of uncarbonized briquette was 13.20391mg/MJ while that of carbonized was 0.510256mg/MJ. High power carbonmonoxide of uncarbonized and carbonized briquette were 0.443276g/MJ and -0.00964g/MJ respectively. Both briquettes were categorized as tier four in line with the International Workshop Agreement (IWA), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard specification for stove testing. Keywords: Briquette, Carbon Monoxide, Carbonization, Cassava Starch, Rice Husk

OVAT DEGRADATION ANALYSIS OF METHYLENE BLUE USING RICE HUSK ASH (AGRO-WASTE) BASED CATALYST IN SOLAR IRRADIATION

This study investigated the degradation of methylene blue dye with ZnO-CuO/RHA, a synthesised agro waste-based photocatalyst under solar irradiation at ambient temperature. Preliminary screening of the methylene blue degradation facilitated the selection of the best ZnO-CuO/RHA combination. The photocatalytic degradation was done by taking varying weights of catalyst in 100 mL of dissolved 10-30 ppm MB solutions. The sample was magnetically stirred at 500 rpm in darkness before being exposed to sunlight irradiation. The suspension was magnetically stirred continuously and 5 ml was withdrawn intermittently, centrifuged and analysed with UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The effect of catalyst dosage, initial concentration and irradiation time on the photodegradation were studied using the one-variable-at-a-time method. The result showed that the degradation percentages of the catalyst with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 wt. % of RHA were 80.31%, 88.23%, 99.94%, 91.06 % and 81.12% respectively after 180 minutes. These results showed that degradation percentage was directly proportional to the irradiation time up to 3 wt. % thereafter, there was a decline in the percentage degradation. Hence, as the irradiation time increases, there was a significant increase in the degradation of methylene blue dye. ZnO-CuO/RHA catalyst was found to possess a higher photocatalytic activity in the presence of sunlight in comparison to bare ZnO-CuO since using RHA as a base for ZnO-CuO increased the surface area resulting in more active sites under visible light irradiation. ZnO-CuO/RHA may serve as an efficient-photocatalyst for industrial applications with excellent prospects. Keywords: Photocatalytic degradation, Sunlight irradiation, One-variable-at-a-time

STATISTICAL MODELLING AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE CONCENTRATION OF BIO-ETHANOL FROM WASTE PEELS OF MANIHOTESCULENTA CRANTZ USING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY

In this study, the optimization of the concentration of bio-ethanol from waste peels of Manihotesculenta Crantz (cassava) was carried out. The acid hydrolysis process was optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Central Composite Design (CCD) was employed to study the effect of hydrolysis temperature, pH, and acid concentration and also, for optimization of the bio-ethanol concentration from the peels of Manihotesculenta C. The anaerobic fermentation process was carried at room temperature (≈300C) for four days. Prior to this, the fermentation media was prepared by culturing yeast to ferment the sugar rich liquid. A quadratic statistical model was developed for the acid hydrolysis process and then validated. The model gave a significant p-value < 0.05 and also showed an insignificant lack of fit. The model predicted that at optimum acid concentration of 1.2 % v/v, temperature of 131.8 0C and pH of 5.3, a maximum bio-ethanol concentration of 24.48 g/L should be obtained. The prediction of the model was validated by a triplicate set of experiments carried out at the predicted optimum parameters which yielded an average value of 24.41 g/L for the bio-ethanol concentration. The results obtained indicate the viability of Manihotesculenta Crantz peels as a bio-fuel feedstock and corroborates the efficiency of CCD in determining the optimum values of the process parameters for the acid hydrolysis step of the bio-ethanol production process. Keywords: Hydrolysis, bio-ethanol, optimization, Response Surface Methodology, model

INVESTIGATION OF QUALITATIVE PARAMETERS IN SOAP PRODUCED FROM BLEND OF NEEM AND CASTOR OIL

Soap is a chemical compound formed by interaction of fatty acids and metal radicals. Different types of vegetable oils have been found to be good candidates for soap production due to their saponifiable nature. However, edible oils are often expensive to use for soap production due to competing demand between commercial and domestic buyers. So, in this work, blend of nonedible neem and castor oils were used at different proportions to produce various soap samples. The foregoing was achieved via the two well-known processes of soap production, that is; the hot and cold processes. The work investigated the parameters that influence the quality of soap and determined their optimum values using various blends of the oils. Six samples were produced, and their properties analyzed and compared with two commercial samples to determine a blend with the most desirable qualities. The yield, foamability, pH, hardness and cleansing power of the produced soap samples were determined. It was found that the blend of 60 ml neem oil and 40 ml castor oil was the best with a yield of 70.4%, foamability of 11.8 cm, pH of 10.42 and a high cleansing power. The results were found to be consistent with those of the two commercial samples used as controls. Keywords: Castor, cleansing power, foamability, hardness, neem, oil, soap samples

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NEEM-BASED ZINC OXIDE PHOTOCATALYST

The use of chemicals for the synthesis of photocatalyts poses threat to the environment. In this study, an active photocatalyst, Dalbejiya Dongoyaro (Azadirachta indica)-based zinc oxide (ZnO) was biosynthesized from zinc acetate dihydrate using sol gel and precipitation methods. The synthesized samples were characterized using Fourier Transfer InfraRed (FTIR), X-Ray Diffractometry (XRD), Brunauer Emmet Teller (BET), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) characterization techniques. The XRD and SEM analysis of the green synthesized and non-green synthesized ZnO demonstrated the formation of hexagonal wurtzite crystalline structure and agglomerated morphology. EDX analysis demonstrated the existence of Zn and O as the major constituents of the as-synthesized nanoparticles with traces of carbon which could be attributed to the carbon tape of the sample holder. The BET analysis displayed that the surface area of the ZnO nanoparticles increased from 23.75 to 97.08 cm3/g after the green synthesis. Based on the surface area values, it can be derived that neem leaf extract enhanced the surface area of the green synthesized sample. Green synthesis is a promising route for the synthesis of photocatalyst nanoparticle which is environmentally friendly and sustainable method. Keywords: Zinc oxide, Neem leaf extract, Photocatalyt, Degradation, Bio-synthesis

POWER RATE LAW BASED CHEMICAL KINETICS AND THERMODYNAMIC MODELING OF AFRICAN PEAR SEED OIL CONSECUTIVE IRREVERSIBLE BASE METHANOLYSIS FOR BIODIESEL PRODUCTION

Currently the major challenge of biodiesel application as a replacement to petrodiesel is its industrial production sustainability.Consequently, the successful scale-up of laboratory results in transesterification requires so much information obtained through chemical kinetics.This paper presents the kinetics and thermodynamic study of alkali-homogeneous irreversible methanolysis of seed oil derived from African pear. The transesterification process was carried out from 0-100 minutes at temperature range of 55-65°C. The reaction mixture compositions were ascertained using gas chromatography- flame ionization detector (GC-FID) technique. Rate constants of the triglyceride (Tg), diglycerides (Dg) and monoglycerides(Mg) hydrolysis were in the range of 0.0140- 0.07810 wt%/min and increased with increase in temperature. The rate of reaction was found to increase with increase in temperature. Activation energies were found to be 6.14, 20.01 and 28.5kcal/mol at 55, 60 and 65oC respectively. Tg hydrolysis to Dg was observed asthe rate determining step while the reaction agreed with second order principles. A biodiesel yield of 93.02% was obtained with cloud point of 10°C , flash point of 125°C , pour point of 4°C , calorific value of 34.4MJ/kg, and cetane number of 54.90 which satisfy EN14214 and ASTM D 6751 standards. Results presented in this report would serve as idealized conditions for industrial scale up of biodiesel production from African pear seed oil. Keywords:Kinetics; methanolysis; rate constants; activation energy; African pear seed oil; biodiesel

AN OVERVIEW OF HYDROGEN FUEL FROM BIOMASS GASIFICATION - COST EFFECTIVE ENERGY FOR DEVELOPING ECONOMY

Hydrogen has the potential to be a clean and sustainable alternative to fossil fuel especially if it is produced from renewable sources such as biomass. Gasification is the thermochemical conversion of biomass to a mixture of gases including hydrogen. The percentage yield of each constituent of the mixture is a function of some factors. This article highlights various parameters such as operating conditions; gasifier type; biomass type and composition; and gasification agents that influence the yield of hydrogen in the product gas. Economic evaluation of hydrogen from different sources was also presented. The hydrogen production from gasification process appears to be the most economic process amongst other hydrogen production processes considered. The process has the potential to be developed as an alternative to the conventional hydrogen production process.