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Item COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF NOVEL LOW-COST MOISTURE METERS SUITABLE FOR GRAIN MOISTURE MEASUREMENT(Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 2013) Ajao S.K.Monitoring grain quality is an importa. * postharvest activity which starts at harvest, continuing during stcage and up to the point of sale. High moisture in stored maize can be detrimental to food safety because of the likelihood of aflatoxin contamination and other forms of deterioration. Moisture meters are devices which provide real-time access to measuring moisture levels thereby allowing farmers .' m eet grain quality requirements. A newly developed low- co ^ moisture meter known as the Post-Harvest Loss (PHL) moisture meter is a device with potentials for massive deployment among smallholder farmers. This study was therefore set up to compare the efficiencies of some existing moisture meters co m’ ared with this newly developed device. Two commercially available moisture meters — Dickey john GAC 2100 and John Deere me ters were compared with the PHL moisture meter and oven- dried method (ASABE standards) used as control. Maize grains from a bagged storage experiment were used as samples over a 12- month period. Results showed that the moisture meters had a positive difference of <3% MCwb relative to oven-dried method. Average measurements showed variances of 2.34, 1.08 and 0.56% MCwb for John Deere, PHL and GAC 2100 meters respectively, when compared with the oven-dried method. Thus, it was concluded that the low cost PHL moisture meter may serve as an effective alternative to the more expensive types and may be relatively easy to adopt for laboratory and field use among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.Item MAIZE STORAGE IN TERMITE MOUND CLAY, CONCRETE, AND STEEL SILOS IN THE HUMID TROPICS: COMPARISON AND EFFECT ON BACTERIAL AND FUNGAL COUNTS(2015) Omobowale M.O.Considering the inadequacy of grain storage structures in Nigeria, which has been partly attributed to high cost and unavailability of construction materials, this study investigated the suitability of using readily available termite mound clay (TMC) for grain silo construction in comparison to conventional reinforced conczu (RC) and galvanized steel (GS) silos for maize storage in the humid tropics. The extent to which temperature and relative humidity affected the quality of stored grain during 8-month unaerated storage, covering both dry and rainy seasons, was evaluated using bacterial and fungal counts as performance parameters. The initial bacterial count of3500 colony forming units (CFU) per gram (CFU g-1) increased to 120000, 11000, and 8800 CFU g-1 for TMC, RC, and GS silos, respectively. There was no fungal activity at the beginning of storage, but fungal activity increased to 1500, 5500, and 350 CFU g-1 in TMC, RC, and GS silos, respectively. Fungal activity was noticed in the TMC silo in the fourth month of storage, which coincided with the start of the rainy season. Fungal counts exceeded the acceptable threshold of 1000 CFU g-1 in the TMC and RC silos. Relative humidity was of greater significance than temperature in affecting all. maize quality parameters considered. TMC was found suitable for constructing silos for short-term grain storage under unaerated conditions. Modification of the current TMC silo design to address permeability issues is expected to improve its performance for longer-term maize storage.Item Comparative Analysis Of Tomato Plant (Lycopersiconesculentum) And Stubborn Grass (Eleusineindica)In The Phyto-Remediation Of Soils Polluted With Heavy Metals(Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 2015) Omobowale M.O.Item An Investigation into the Thermal Properties of Termite Mound Clay Applicable to Grain Silo Construction(Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, 2015) Omobowale M.O.Provision of suitable grain silos in humid tropical climates has generated research interests on the possibility of using local materials for construction. Termite mound clay (TMC), a material available in abundance was investigated as a potential construction material. A major factor determining the suitability of construction materials for grain silos is its thermal properties. Therefore, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, thermal diffusivity and thermal mass of TMC were determined and compared with those of concrete and stainless steel which are commonly used for silo construction. TMC was collected, crushed and sieved using a 500pm sieve to remove coarse particles and foreign materials. The TMC powder obtained was mixed with water using volumetric ratio of 1:5 (i.e. water to clay) after which the thoroughly mixed clay was carefully fed into the mould and left to air-dry for 5 days. The samples were dried in the oven at 105oC for about 48 hours to remove all the moisture. Results revealed that thermal conductivity ranged from 0.17 to 0.24 W/(mK) with an average value of 0.21 compared to concrete and steel which range between 0.8 - 1.28 and 16.3 - 16.7 W/(mK) respectively. Specific heat capacity had an average value of 2576.94 J/(kgK) compared with concrete and steel which had values of 960 and 490 J/(kgK) respectively. Thermal diffusivity had a mean value of 1.47*10-8 m2/s in comparison to concrete and steel whose calculated values were 6.63 ><10-7 and 4.18 ><10-6 kJ/(m3 K) respectively while thermal mass had a mean value of 4723.5 kJ/(m3 K) compared to 2112.0 and 3831.8 kJ/(m3K) for concrete and steel respectively. It was concluded that TMC offers a thermally suitable alternative to these two for grain silo construction in the humid tropics.Item Determination of Some Physical and Mechanical Properties of Termite Mound Clay Relevant to Silo Construction(2013) Mijinyawa .Y.As a way of providing cheap and durable grain silos, experiments were co. dm ed to determine some physical and mechanical properties of termite mound clay (TMC) as a possible construction material. Standard methods were used to determine water absorption ratio, linear shrinkage, compressive and bond strengths, nd oven-dry density of TMC bricks. Results obtained showed that TMC has a water absorption ratio of 3.3%, linear , hrinkage of 3.6%, compressive strength of 5.8N/mm2, bond strength of 22kN/m2 and 1415.7 kg/m3. These results are within the range expected of structural materials commonly used for silo construction. Thus, TMC was found to have potentials as a construction material for grain silos especially in countries like Nigeria where it is available in abundance. Further studies were recommended to ascertain the effect of additives, firing temperatures and firing duration on the properties of TMC bricks.Item Problems facing Local Manufacturers in the Nigerian Agro-Allied Machine Fabrication Industry(Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria., 2010) Omobowale M.O.This study investigates the challenges and opportunities of the local industries involved in the fabrication of agrorelated machinery in Nigeria. With the aid of personal interviews, on-spot assessment/visual inspection, a number of problems confronting these local industries were recorded. These include erratic power supply, cost of raw materials, level of automation, noise pollution, occupational hazards, instability in government policies, marketability and a general bias for machines fabricated locally. The government is currently making efforts at reviving the economy, yet the priorities set in addressing the problems of the local economy may not be aligned with the actual priority problems that local companies face in their daily business. The paper makes suggestions on how th e government could better address the primary concerns of the industry in areas like power supply, raw material pro - essing and sensitization of the Nigeria populac, towards appreciating and procuring locally made machines.Item Design and fabrication of a hydrapulper for disintegrating disused tetra pak® beverage cartons(2015) Fatoki J.G.; Omoniyi T.E.; Onilude M.A.This study is aimed at producing paper from disused Tetra Pak® beverage cartons usually found in Nigerian landfills and dumpsites, creating environmental problems. Their use will reduce the overexploitation of trees in the forest for papermaking. A laboratory-scale hydrapulper of 80dm3 was designed and fabricated using locally sourced materials to make the disintegration process cost effective. The performance of the hydrapulper was evaluated at three carton slurry consistencies: low, medium and high consistencies where 3%, 8% and 13% of carton pieces were repulped in water respectively. The fabricated hydrapulper performed satisfactorily to disintegrate and separate the paper component of the cartons from its low density polyethylene and aluminum foil components. The highest average pulp yield of 60.57% was recorded at low consistency although there is no significant difference between the pulp yields at each consistency. It can be concluded that about 80% of the paper component of the carton can be recovered for papermaking.Item Experimental characterisation of bagasse biomass material for energy production(2014) Omoniyi T.E.//Olorunnisola A.O.A number of persistent problems have been associated with the supply of traditional domestic fuel products in Nigeria particularly in rural areas including deforestation, wood-fuel shortage and high cost of fossil fuel. The use of bio-fuels from agricultural waste biomass which are usually available in large quantities was advocated. This paper therefore presents the experimental determination of fuel performance parameters of sugarcane bagasse after two weeks of sun drying. Samples were prepared and analysed for bulk density, moisture content, ash content, volatile matter, chemical and calorific values. The results indicate that fuel performance properties are affected by moisture content. The bulk density and volatile matter decrease with decrease in moisture content. After 14 days of drying; the moisture content, bulk density and the volatile matter decreased from 30%; 320kg/m3 and 81.7% to 7%, 280kg/m3 and 69.4% respectively. The ash contents, carbon contents and the calorific values increased from 3.30%; 12%; and 5.57 MJ/kg to 7.21%, 16% and 14 MJ/kg respectively. The proximate analyses results and mineral elements in bagasse were in agreement with those found in wood-fuel. The results suggest that the disposed off bagasse could be developed as a source of energy for domestic and industrial purposes.Item Life cycle assessment of vegetable oil production: a case study of an oil mill in Ibadan, Nigeria(2014) Bamgbade O. A.; Omoniyi T. E.; Ewemoje T. A.The gate-to-gate study aimed to evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with the production of vegetable oil and to proffer ways of improving and reducing some of the environmental impacts associated with the production system. This study compared the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) of four scenarios; different transportation distances for palm kernel materials and different type of fuel used in the boiler. The LCIA was conducted using Gabi 6 and Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other Environmental Impacts (TRACI) methodology. Overall energy consumption in the crushing plant was 34,647.77 MJ and energy consumption in the refining plant was 23,371.65 MJ. Global Warming Potential (GWP) was from 0.0771 kg CO2-equiv., to 0.0763 kg CO2- equiv. for all scenarios. Acidification Potential (AP) values for the four scenarios were: 0.0493 kg H+, 0.0478 kg H+, 0.0476 kg H+ and 0.0492 kg H+ moles-equiv. Eutrophication Potentials (EP), were 6.796E-5 kg N-, 4.88E-5 N-,6.726E-5 N- and 4.905E-5 N-equiv. for scenarios 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Energy is consumed and expended more in the crushing plant than in the refinery plant. The best environment viable for vegetable oil production is to have a short distance as possible for raw materials and the use of diesel oil for firing boilers (scenario 2) as compared with Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO). It was recommended that study on environmental performance of vegetable oil production from different oil sources should be investigated in Nigeria, from cradle to grave.Item Challenges and prospects of selected controlled environment agriculture (cea) structures in ibadan metropolis(2014) Omoniyi T.E.; Akinyemi B. A.; Yussuff S.O.Over the years, the concepts of climate change and global warming has been continually studied and its expected effects have been well documented. These environmental issues have reduced the effectiveness of open field agriculture and as such other cultivation methods had to be devised; controlled environment agriculture is one of such methods. This survey was conducted in three selected controlled environment agriculture structures within Ibadan City to determine the challenges and some environmental factors affecting the use of controlled environment agriculture structures in this area. The research methodology used included visual inspection, field measurements and personal interviews. The results showed that that only a few of the factors that could be controlled were being controlled in all the locations visited and that controlled environment agriculture is still in the research stage in Ibadan particularly when talking about the crop cultivation aspect. Other challenges in its usage included inadequate water supply, epileptic power supply, lack of adequate ventilation, litter management, egg cannibalism, feed management and poor maintenance. It was suggested that the controlled environment agriculture structures management should provide alternative power and also introduce devices that will aid air and heat movement as well as temperature control. Reuse of litter for manure and proper maintenance were also recommended