School of Biological Sciences

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Browsing School of Biological Sciences by Author "Ahumibe, N. C."

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    Efficiency of water-purifying devices used in homes and industries
    (U. P., 2013-12-28) Okereke, J. N.; Nnoli, M. C.; Okereke, C. B. N.; Ahumibe, N. C.
    The use of water-purifying devices are gaining popularity, as many homes and industries are using them to treat water for dinking. However, most of the users do not know much about the performance/efficiency of these devices, hence this investigation. Efficiency of water-purifying devices were evaluated to determine their efficiencies in treating water consumed by people. Raw water samples from groundwater source, borehole (a major source of drinking water) in Owerri, Nigeria were treated using commonly used water treatment devices: resin ion-exchanger, sand-bed filter, activated carbon filter, micron filter, reverse osmosis membrane filter, ozonator, and UV-sterilizer. The resulting purified water samples were labeled, and each were subjected to physical, chemical and bacteriological analyses using APHA (2006) water analysis method. Raw water (control) sample had pH value of 6.7 while the pH values of treated water samples fell within 6.9 – 7.1. Turbidity value of control sample was 6.0 NTU with other samples recording 4.0 NTU and below. Total heterotophic bacteria count and total coliforms counts of the raw water sample were 4.0 x 102 CFU/ml and 2.2 x 102 CFU/100ml respectively, but were below 2.5 x 102 CFU/ml and 1.9 x 102 CFU/100ml respectively in some of the treated samples, and nil in others. The overall efficiency of the treatment devices were of the order: Reverse osmosis membrane filter (76.25%) > UV-sterilizer (72.24%) > micron filter (65.85%) > Ozonator (62.97%) > Activated carbon filter (51.86%) > Resin ion-exchanger (46.67%) > Sand-bed filter (43.55%). This implies that not all water treatment devices used in homes and indutries are efficient enough to yield qualitative drinking water for unsuspecting users.
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    Studies on the effects of burnt naira ash on soil properties
    (U. P., 2013-08-29) Okereke, J. N.; Obasi, K. O.; Udensi, J. U.; Ahumibe, N. C.
    Studies on the effects of burnt naira ash on soil properties was carried out using samples collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria dump site and the adjoining environment. The samples were subjected to microbial, physical and chemical analyses. Concentrations of heavy metals (Ni, As, Cd, and Hg) were also determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Microbial counts ranged from 60 CFU/g to 205 CFU/g with the isolation of the following bacteria species: Acetobacter sp, Epulopiscium sp, Shigella sp, Staphylococcus sp and Fusobacterium sp. The fungal isolates were Penicillium sp, Rhizopus sp and Aspergillus sp. The soil physical and chemical parameters analyzed, showed relative increase in comparison with the sample from the adjoining environment. While the pH of the control sample tended to be acidic, the samples from the dump site tended to be basic. The Chi-Square value of a = 0.05 for total microbial count was significant. Also, at a =0.05, the heavy metal concentration values showed significant difference while chemical and physical properties of the samples were however insignificant at a = 0.05. Burnt Naira ash affected the microbial, some physical and chemical properties of the polluted soil.