Faculty of Engineering

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Now showing 1 - 13 of 13
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    Design and Fabrication of Fluidized-Bed Reactor
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2013-05-11) Yunusa, Suleiman; Ibrahim, H.; Anyakora, N.V.; Mohammed, F.; Abubakar, A.; Aderemi, B.O.; Okonkwo, P. C.
    A fluidized-bed reactor was designed and constructed for practical demonstration of the fluidization of solid particles at different fluid flow rates. The bed of this reactor was sand particles of average size 1800 μm ,weighed 0.6 N and the fluidizing fluidwas air. Alternatively, the fluidizing fluid can be substituted for any given gas by connecting the desired gas cylinder to the blower. The height of the bed was 25 mm on a mesh of 1230 μm. An air blower was designed to supply air from the room to fluidize the bed.The shaftand discharge powers of the blower were18.8kW and its efficiency was 70%. The minimum and maximum operating pressures were 0.1133 and 24.5262 mH2O and their corresponding velocities were 0.64 and 245.86 m/s respectively.This project was found suitable for undergraduates of Chemical Engineering and related studies for improved knowledge and practical skill required for effective and optimal performance in meeting industrial needs towards improved service delivery.
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    Comparative Studies on Phosphate and Non-phosphate Biodegradable Synthetic Detergent from Lokoja Quartzite
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2015-06-11) Yunusa, Suleiman; Mohammed-Dabo, I. A; Ahmed, A. S
    Surfactants and builders are the two most important ingredients in laundry, household and personal- care cleaning products. Based on the environmental consideration various detergent builders ranging from inorganic, organic and polymeric types have been developed Sodium metasilicate an inorganic builder is an effective and quick-dissolving non-phosphate builder in detergent formulation that can replace the sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) which is not environmentally friendly because phosphates are excellent fertilizer for algae, bacteria, and other flora and fauna in rivers, lakes and oceans, making them bloom at very rapid rates, exhausting the oxygen supply both in the surface and in the bottom layers of water bodies, and killing fish. This phenomenon is called eutrophication. In this studies sodium metasilicate produced from Lokoja quartzite was used as a non- phosphate builder in the formulation of detergents which comprised of a mixture of 20 wt.% surface active agent (LABS) was formulated using 50 wt.% and 80 wt.% sodium meatasilicate (builder) separately, and the results of the properties of phosphate and non-phosphate detergents were compared
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    Preparation of High Grade Silica from Rice Husk for Zeolite Synthesis
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2016-06-04) Yunusa, Suleiman; Ahmed, A.S; Bawa, S.G.; Iyun, J.F.; Dauda, M.
    Silica powder with approximately 96% purity was extracted from rice husk (RH) and used as a silica source for the synthesis of zeolite Y by hydrothermal process. The effect of synthesis parameters such as pH, temperature of burning the rice husk, acid leaching prior to formation of rice husk ash (RHA) on the properties of final product were studied. The acid-leached rice husk calcined at 650 °C for 6 h produced rough powder of rice husk silica, light brown in colour. The silica purity of the rice husk ash (RHA) calcined at 400, 450 and 500 0C were 95.6wt%, 96.1wt% and 95.89 wt% respectively. The X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) pattern of the silica obtained show that the silica was amorphous with traces of crystalline phase. The amorphous nature of the RHA and the relatively high purity of silica content in it make it a suitable source of silica for zeolite synthesis.
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    Preparation of High Grade Silica from Rice Husk for Zeolite Synthesis
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2016-06-08) Yunusa, Suleiman; Ahmed, A.S.; Bawa, S.G.; Iyun, J.F.; Dauda, M.
    Silica powder with approximately 96% purity was extracted from rice husk (RH) and used as a silica source for the synthesis of zeolite Y by hydrothermal process. The effect of synthesis parameters such as pH, temperature of burning the rice husk, acid leaching prior to formation of rice husk ash (RHA) on the properties of final product were studied. The acid-leached rice husk calcined at 650 °C for 6 h produced rough powder of rice husk silica, light brown in colour. The silica purity of the rice husk ash (RHA) calcined at 400, 450 and 5000C were 95.6wt%, 96.1wt% and 95.89 wt% respectively. The X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) pattern of the silica obtained show that the silica was amorphous with traces of crystalline phase. The amorphous nature of the RHA and the relatively high purity of silica content in it make it a suitable source of silica for zeolite synthesis.|
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    Formulation of Critical Micellar Concentration of Non- Phosphate Detergents by Surface Tension Measurement
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2017-06-07) Yunusa, Suleiman; Mohammed-Dabo, I. A.; Ahmed, A. S.
    Non-phosphate builders which are environmentally friendly are required for use in detergent formulation to replace the sodium tri-poly phosphate (STPP). Phosphates are excellent fertilizer for algae, bacteria, and other flora and fauna in rivers, lakes and oceans, making them bloom at very rapid rates. This exhausts the oxygen supply both in the surface and in the bottom layers of water bodies, and leading the death of fishes. Sodium metasilicate a non-phosphate builder from Lokoja Quartzite was used to formulate a non-phosphate biodegradable synthetic detergent using 25%, 50% and 75% sodium hydroxide concentrations. The critical micellar concentration (CMC) of a non-phosphate detergent was determined via measurement of surface tension. This method is rapid, reliable and cheap compared to the fluorescence polarization method which required a sophiscated materials such as 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene as fluorescence probe. The detergents formulated with 75% and 50% sodium hydroxide concentrations have CMC values of 8.6685 mM and 6.9348 mM respectively. From this study, a non phosphate builder synthesized from Lokoja Quartzite has potential of protecting aquatic animals when compared with the conventional STPP currently used in our detergent formulation. Also, the simple and economical approach for determination of detergent’s CMC has demonstrated it’s potentials. These values agree well with the literature value ranges between 7 to 10 mM.
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    Extraction of Essential Oil From Clove's Buds Using an Ultrasonic-Assisted Method
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2017-08-01) Yunusa, Suleiman; Umar, M.Y.; Ibrahim, H.
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    Application of Potassium Impregnated Calcium Oxide/Magnesium Oxide Catalyst for Transesterification of Jatropha Curcas Oil with Methanol
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2018-11-16) Ibrahim, Haruna; Hayatudeen, Aminu; Yunusa, Suleiman
    Biodiesel production using homogenous catalysts associates with high energy consumption and production cost due to the complicated separation and purification of the products. In this investigation, a solid base catalyst, 10%K-CaO/MgO was synthesized, analyzed and used to produce biodiesel from Jatropha curcas oil with methanol. The catalyst loading was 0.4 % mass of the oil while the transesterification times were 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 minutes at 60°C. The methyl esters yields were 94.20, 92.00, 82.13, 82.81 and 82.09 % respectively. There was no glycerol in any of the five products.
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    Comparison of Essential Oils of Clove Buds Extracted Using Soxhlet and Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction Methods (SHORT COMMUNICATION)
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2019-01-04) Yunusa, Suleiman; Yusuf, U.M.; Haruna, I.
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    Comparison of Essential Oils of Clove Buds Extracted Using Soxhlet and Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction Methods (SHORT COMMUNICATION)
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University Kefffi, 2019-01-11) Yunusa, Suleiman; Yusuf, U.M.; Haruna, I
    Cloves ( are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtacae. Clove's essential oil is widely used as aromatherapy and for toothache treatment. Development of extraction technology that could increase oil yield from clove would thus significantly enhance the profitability of the clove's oil and reduce processing costs significantly. In this research work an essential oil was obtained from using Sohxlet and an ultrasonic-assisted extraction methods with n-hexane as extraction solvent. The oil extract was analyzed for its chemical composition using gas chromatography/mass spectrometric (GC-MS). The results of analysis show that the essential oil yield were found to be 54.70% and 71.55% while the eugenyl acetate in extracts obtained were found to be 5.72% and 9.24% for sohxlet and ultrasonic-assisted extraction methods respectively. Sohxlet extraction; Essential oil; Clove bud; Ultrasonic-assisted; Eugenyl acetate
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    Preparation of a high siliceous ZSM-5 from renewable silica source
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2019-03-06) Yunusa, Suleiman; Yusuf, Mustapha; Bawa, Solomon Gajere; Abubakar, Maryam
    In this study, a highly siliceous ZSM-5 zeolite of elemental silicon to aluminum ratio of 365 was synthesized using rice husk ash (RHA) as a renewable source. The RHA was used to produce silica sol which, with the organic template tetrapropyl ammonium bromide as the structure directing agent, went through hydrothermal reaction at low temperature and under atmospheric pressure in alkaline medium to form ZSM-5. The synthesized ZSM-5 was characterized using a variety of analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy N2 adsorption, and X-ray fluorescence. The specific surface area was measured by the Brunauer, Emmet, and Teller (BET), Langmuir, and density functional theory (DFT) methods. Furthermore, the pore volume and pore sizes were determined using Horvath–Kawazoe, Saito Foley, Dubinin–Radushkevich, and DFT methods and the results of these analyses compared well with the referenced ZSM-5.
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    Effect of alumina support on cow bone-based catalyst in one-step transesterification of neem seed oil
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, 2021-06-08) Evangnum, Nelson Jack; Yunusa, Suleiman; Abubakar, Abdulkareem; Ibrahim, Haruna
    Alumina supported heterogenous base catalyst (CaO/alumina) was developed from cow bone via wet impregnation method and used with Ferric sulphate for one step transesterification of neem seed oil. Effect of alumina support on cow bone ash was studied for transesterification process and was compared with cow bone ash without alumina support. Transesterification of the neem seed oil was done at 120 minutes for 3 %w/w, 4 %w/w, 5 %w/w and 6 %w/w catalyst loading at 60 0C temperature and 15:1 methanol to oil ratio. Optimum conversion of biodiesel was at 2 hours reaction time and 5 wt % catalyst loading, 4:1 Ferric sulphate to cow bone ash ratio, 60 0C temperature and 15:1 methanol to oil ratio for cow bone ash supported with alumina. The synthesized catalyst was characterised using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The transesterified oil was analysed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis. GCMS analysis gave a conversion of 96.53% for cow bone ash/Al2O3 and 76.33% for cow bone without support. The oil was also characterised for physicochemical properties which meets ASTM standard. Result showed that synthesized catalyst using alumina support enhanced production of high yield biodiesel in 2 hours reaction time.
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    Investigation into the production of biodiesel from Jatropha oil using ZSM-5 as a heterogeneous catalyst
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2021-11-12) Yunusa, Suleiman; Yohana, Gad Yero; Balarabe, Mohammed Ibrahim
    This study aimed at producing biodiesel from Jatropha oil using Zeolite Socony Mobil-5 (ZSM-5) as a heterogeneous catalyst at different temperatures of 70°C, 80°C, 90°C, 100°C, and 110°C. The transesterification was carried out maintaining a butanol to oil ratio of 6:1, a reaction time of 2 hours, a catalyst loading of 0.5 g ZSM-5, and a settling time of 24 hours. An optimum yield of 56% was obtained at 110°C—the highest temperature under consideration. This gives a biodiesel which meets the EN14214 and ASTM D6751 stan- dards with the following properties: acid value of 0.486 mg KOH/g, density of 0.8485 g/ ml, cloud point of 14°C, and a flash point of 145°C. The average yield may be attributed to the reaction parameters that were kept constant.
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    Optimization of Process Parameters for Catalytic Pyrolysis of Waste Tyre using Reactivated Fluid Catalytic Cracking Catalyst
    (Department of Chemical Engineering, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2023-05-11) Obi, M. Bisong; Abubakar, A.; Yunusa, Suleiman; Mohammed, F.
    This work investigated the optimization of process parameters for catalytic pyrolysis of waste tyre using reactivated spent Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst. The waste tyre pyrolysis used design expert software as the optimization tool for this study. A 3-factor level CCD with 20 experimental runs was used with temperature, time and catalyst as the input parameters while oil yield, density and viscosity were the output variables. Thereafter, an experimental validation of the optimized parameters, which were not among the original experimental runs, was carried out. Pyrolysis was also carried out at the optimized conditions with un-reactivated catalyst and without catalyst to ascertain the contributions of the catalyst and its reactivation. Based on the optimum parameters, 48.5 wt. % oil (0.79 g/ml and 2.05 cSt) was produced with the reactivated catalyst, 43.4 wt. % (0.86 g/ml and 3.52 cSt) was produced with spent catalyst, and 51 wt. % oil (0.95 g/ml and 4.24 cSt) was produced without catalyst. The oil yield without catalyst was higher than with reactivated catalyst (R-CAT); but it however had the lowest fuel qualities while oil produced with catalyst in turn had higher quantity and quality compared to oil produced with catalyst. Therefore, the incorporation of density and viscosity of the oil in the optimization of the catalytic pyrolysis of waste tyre enhanced the improvement of yield and quality of the oil produced.