ABSTRACT Conversion of lignocellulosic biomass from bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris) to butanol is an important alternative energy source. In this work, bamboo was used as biomass feedstock for the production of butanol by the fermentation of sugars. Mechanical grinding was carried out, followed by pre-treatment with dilute sulfuric acid concentration of 0.5 and 1.0 (%v/v). This was done at temperatures of 25, 110, 120, 150 and 2000C at time intervals of 2 and 4 hours. Prehydrolysate was later anal...
ABSTRACT The use of Magnesium oxide (MgO) cement as a full replacement and viable alternative for Ordinary Portland Cement was studied. Rice husk, an agricultural waste, was calcined and synthesised to be used as a source of silica and a pozzolan in the production of this cement. Rice husk ash (RHA) of various particle sizes (45, 106 and 150 μms) was used and varying dosages of superplasticiser were also used to alter the water to cement (w/c) ratio of the cement. The MgO/SiO2 ratio at 60% ...
ABSTRACT The Luteinizing Hormone-releasing Hormone (LHRH); also known as a GonadotropinReleasing Hormone can be utilized for targeted therapy with cytotoxic analogs, in which prodigiosin is linked to the [D-Lys6] LHRH. Our studies demonstrate receptor-mediated actions of the cytotoxic LHRH analog in LHRH receptor positive breast cancer cells. Chemotherapy today is the only systematic therapy for patients with triple negative breast cancer cells. About 50% to 64% of human breast cancer expres...
ABSTRACT In the past years, several researches have been done on gas-condensate reservoir recovery performance using fully compositional simulators. Fully compositional simulators are more expensive, time consuming and have complex data requirement as compared to limited compositional reservoir simulators. An alternative method of evaluating gas condensate reservoir recovery has been considered in this research; it is four-component limited compositional reservoir simulator. The limited comp...
ABSTRACT Wellbore instabilities are responsible for 10-20% of the total drilling cost. It has been estimated that wellbore instability causes an annual economic loss of US$ 500 - 1000 million in the oil industry across the world. Hence, the maintenance of wellbore stability is of major concern to drilling engineers in the oil and gas industry. Hence, several models have been developed for the assessment or prediction of wellbore instabilities. However, these models do have some limitations. ...
ABSTRACT This study presents the results of a combined experimental and theoretical study of the strength, fracture toughness and interfacial properties of natural fiber-reinforced earth-based composite materials. The composites, which consist of mixtures of laterite, clay and straw, are stabilized with controlled levels of Portland cement. The compositional dependence of compressive, flexural/bend strength and fracture toughness are explored for different proportions of the constituent mate...
ABSTRACT This paper presents the use of multilayered chitosan films incorporated with antimicrobial agent, potassium sorbate to enhance effective food packaging. In this study, potassium sorbate was incorporated into multilayer chitosan films for antimicrobial food packaging applications. The effectiveness of the films was tested through measurement of release kinetics and antimicrobial activity on a selected microorganism, Aspergillus niger. All the films prepared with potassium sorbate sho...
ABSTRACT Chemical and physical methods for the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles for cancer detection and treatment often involve toxic chemicals, high cost and the formation of non-stable nanoparticles. This prompted the development of fundamental understanding of the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles, which are biocompatible, cost effective, stable, localized and environmentally friendly in the presence of magnetotactic bacteria. In this work, fundamental understanding of the underlyin...
Abstract This dissertation shows the use of material science and engineering approaches in developing solutions to problems in the life science with focus in nano and micro-particles for the detection and treatment of cancer. It presents the results of experimental and theoretical studies of magnetite, gold nanoparticles and injectable multi-functional biodegradable polymer-loaded microparticles. Biocompatible magnetite nanoparticles (BMNPs) were produced from Magnetospirillum magneticum (M....
ABSTRACT Every simulation study is a unique process, starting from the geological model and reservoir description to the final analysis of recovery factor optimizations. In petroleum engineering area, numerical reservoir simulators are often employed to obtained meaningful and reliable solutions for most actual cases due to extreme complexity of reservoir systems. In this work, a three-dimensional numerical reservoir simulator is developed for expansiondrive reservoirs. The governing equatio...
ABSTRACT The scope of this work was to make detailed analysis of phase distribution in a horizontal pipe. This detailed analysis has been successfully carried out. Data obtained from wire mesh sensor (WMS) were used for the analyses. The operating fluid considered was an air/silicone oil mixture within a 6 m horizontal pipe with internal diameter of 0.067 m. The gas superficial velocities considered spans from 0.047 to 4.727 m/s, whilst liquid superficial velocities ranged from 0.047 to 0.47...
ABSTRACT Oil deposits are often found in association with a communicating gas or water zone. The production of the oil often leads to the coning of water or gas. This dynamic interaction can be captured by a properly detailed reservoir simulation, which unfortunately may not always be practical. To brigde the gap, researchers over the years have developed both analytical and empirical methods of modelling gas and water coning in oil reservoir. The fundamental questions have always been: what...
ABSTRACT One of the major challenges in reservoir engineering is the accurate description of the reservoir. This description is essential in all aspects of petroleum engineering, and is typically achieved through reservoir characterization by integrating various kinds of information obtained from the reservoir. One reliable source of reservoir information is well testing. Analysis of well tests, especially interference tests in horizontal wells could be very complex but effective in that roc...
ABSTRACT One of the unintended impacts of crude oil exploration is the pollution of agricultural land and aquatic resources when there is accidental oil spillage. The environmental effect of this has resulted in untold hardship to communities within oil producing regions all over the world and has been the main reason for conflicts in the regions. Nigerian Niger Delta region has been devastated by oil pollution and gas flaring, and both the government of Nigeria and the multinational oil pro...
ABSTRACT Laterite is an eco-friendly construction material that has the ability of being re-cycled indefinitely. The research is aimed at achieving the effective utilization of laterite as a sustainable construction material by attempting to identify the best percentage of the soil stabilizers needed to improve the laterite. In this study, hydrated lime and bone ash were used as soil stabilizers to improve the strength of Nigerian laterite (obtained from Gosa and Sauka in Abuja, Nigeria). Co...