LAUTECH Journal of Engineering and Technology (LAUJET)
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DEPLETION OF LEAD IN THE SOIL OF A BATTERY FACTORY
No full textLead pollution in soil of a battery making factory at two separate times was studied and reported in this work. Significant changes were noticed in the level of lead in the soil samples between the time of active production and the downtime. This reflects the important of follow period in phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soil as a method of environmental clean-up. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) was employed in the estimation of lead content in the soil samples for the two periods.
A chemical fractionation of the metal in the soil samples were compared for necessary evaluation. Excessive total concentration of Pb ranging from 15293.12-16295.3748/8 was generally recorded in the first study while a remarkable low level of total Pb concentration ranging from 21.11-54.81 (below the critical concentration established by federal environmental protection agent (FEPA) was recorded for the downtime. At first, solid phase speciation of the soils using tessier procedure showed that the Pb was distributed in the order: organic bound ? inorganic bound ? residual ? occluded by free oxide ? exchangeable which at later study showed redistribution in the order: organic bound ? inorganic bound ? residual ? exchangeable ? occluded by free oxide
THE IMPACT OF MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON VALUE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS IN NIGERIAN BANKS
No full textThe broad objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of management practices on value of information technology (IT) investments in banking operations in the South West Nigeria. In order to analyze the effect the maintenance of existing systems versus the development of new IT systems, the study used data collected over a five year period (2001 -2005) on technology expenditure of ten selected banks. The technology expenditures were categorized into: i. Maintenance and ii. Development. A simple correlation between maintenance and development ratio and firm performance was measured from the Cobb-Douglas production function using the net income as output. The results showed that for every management improvement on maintenance of IT system, positive net income increased by 0.030 and was significant (p<0.001). The conclusion drawn from the study was that, development of new IT systems had a significant effect on net income and banks net income will improve if their respective management improve on development of new IT system
ENGINEERING FABRICATION IN NIGERIAN RURAL MEDICAL PRACTICE-THE ERUWA EXPERIENCE
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IMPACT OF WASTE DUMP AND INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENTS ON GROUNDWATER QUALITY AT OLUYOLE INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, BEERE AND BODIJA ESTATE AREA OF IBADAN METROPOLIS
No full textThe quality assessment of groundwater in some selected areas in Ibadan metropolis was investigated in this study to evaluate the impact of waste dump and industrial effluents on the groundwater resources and its suitability for domestic uses. In order to achieve the said objectives, six sampling stations were randomly selected which served as representative samples for industrial, commercial and residentia
REVIEW OF OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ITS POTENTIAL APPLICATION IN FOOD PROCESSING IN NIGERIA
No full textTraditional sun and hot air drying appear to be the major preservation methods employed in Nigeria owing to poor energy system and slow advancement in technological development. Excessive dependence of traditional sun drying on climatic conditions has made the method inadequate as an effective response to recurrent post-harvest losses encountered yearly in the country. Besides, evidence abounds to the effect that conventional drying of fruits and vegetables affects their physical and biochemical status leading to shrinkage and alterations in nutritional and organoleptic properties.
The relationship between consumption of fruits, vegetables and health necessitated the need for particular attention not only to be focused on their nutritional composition but also on the continual development of technological processes that are more effective for preserving these products in a form most acceptable to consumers.
Osmotic dehydration is a process which partially removes water from cellular materials. This method has recently been receiving increased attention as a potential pretreatment to conventional processes such as terminal drying for quality improvement of fruit products and for energy consumption reduction in such processes. In particular, the effectiveness of the osmotic drying process at ambient temperature may, from the point of view minimizing energy demand, be one of the most powerful indications of its appropriateness in food processing Nigeria.
In this paper, the potentials of incorporating osmotic dehydration as a complimentary processing step in the processing of foods in Nigeria are explored
ONE ROUTE MARGINAL COST (ORMC) MODEL FOR ROAD TRANSPORTATION IN OYO STATE
No full textDetermination of transportation cost is important to ensure that the price paid by transportation users correctly reflects the true costs of providing transportation services. This study proposes one route transportation cost model. The model was developed in terms of operating cost: infrastructure cost: accident and congestion cost: and contingency cost;
In the application, data were collected from 200 auto vehicle users: oyo state ministry of works and transport and through review of previous works on: road maintenance and improvement works in oyo sate between 2000 and 2001: traffic count along Ibadan – Ilorin road: rates, dues, levels etc by auto users and fuel consumption, maintenance and parking data. The operation, infrastructure, contingency costs parameters were estimated using the data collected while the accident and congestion cost parameters were adapted from literature. The cost of transportation for mini buses and cars (passengers) per trip along Ibadan – Ilorin route was estimated as N426.00 and N585.00 per passenger per trip, respectively, with vehicle operating cost being major contributor.
Keywords: accident and congestion, contingency, infrastructure, auto transport users, transportation cost parameters
EFFECT OF DEWATERING METHOD ON SELECTED PROPERTIES OF GARI
No full textTwo of the most important steps in the ‘gari’ production process are the fermentation and dewatering steps during which the highest cyanide reduction occurs. ‘Gari’ samples were produced by dewatering the cassava mash during fermentation and after fermentation.
The samples were analyzed for their proximate composition, cyanide content and functional properties. The moisture content, bulk density and cyanide were higher than that of the dewatering during fermentation method. Recorded functional properties suggest that the sample from dewatering after fermentation will take a longer time to cook and that the paste obtained from cooked ‘gari’ samples from the dewatering during fermentation method is firmer
THE DEFECTS IN THATCHED RHOMBU GRAIN STORAGE SYSTEMS IN SUDAN SAVANNAH OF NIGERIA
No full textThe common gain storage structures existing in Nigeria sudan savannah zone are the mud rhombus, thatched rhombus, underground pit, earthen pot and warehouse storage. The gains which are usually stored in unthreshed forms include millet, sorghum, maize and cowpea. The most popular of these structures is the thatched rhombus, probably due to the availability of the availability of the materials and low cost of construction. Preliminary survey was carried out on the structure to evaluate the defects of this popular storage structure with the view to provide possible solution to on –farm storage of grains. Results show that the construction of the structure is completed within three to four days. The defects are observed in virtually all parts of the structure that is the roof, walls, foundation and the supports. This is basically due to the poor strength of the construction materials which invariably leads to huge losses of stored products. The structure is not moisture proof, rodent proof, alright, not resistant to insect/pest infestation and it is highly flammable. Therefore the use of this type of indigenous structure should be modified and other structures such as the use of small metal storage bins are suggested
PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS FOR THE PREDICTION OF MEAN RESERVOIR INFLOW AT HYDROPOWER DAMS IN NIGERIA
No full textFour methods of probability distribution analysis were evaluated for the prediction of mean reservoir inflow at hydropower dams in Nigeria; the hydropower dams include Kainji, Shiroro and Jebba dams. The reservoir inflow data were subjected to probability distribution analysis such as Gumbel (EVI), Normal (N), Log-Pearson type III (LP3) and Log-Normal (LN), the selection of the appropriate probability distribution model for each hydropower dam was based on the result from the goodness of fit tests performed on the various probability distribution models under consideration. The goodness of fit tests considered include: Chi-square, Correlation coefficient, Coefficient of determination and Standard error of estimate. However, for both Kainji and Shiroro hydropower dams the model evaluated to the best fit was Log-Pearson type III, this is an indication that the reservoir inflow at both dams are skewed. While at the Jebba hydropower dam the best fit model was evaluated to be Log-Norma
EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF INVESTMENTS IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) ON PRODUCTIVITY OF NIGERIAN BANKS
No full textThe broad objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of investments in information technology (IT) on Nigerian banks while the specific objective was to evaluate the effects of investments in IT on overall productivity of Nigerian banks. The data for the study were sourced from the financial reports of some selected banks over a five year period (2000-2004). The statistical analysis tools used for the determination of the main objective of the study (i.e determination of the relationship between investments in IT and productivity) were: two stage least squares, ordinary least square and analysis of variance (ANOVA). When the loans, deposits and net income were taken as measures of output, R2 were 0.959 and 0.837; adjusted R2 were 0.955 and 0.8222 and were both significant (p<0.001). The conclusion drawn from the study was that investments in IT made positive contributions on overall output and it was an indication that, such investments can enhance efficient performance of workers in the banking sector