Chemical Engineering
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Chemical Engineering
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Item Characterization of Kaolin Clay from Kutigi and Its De-Aluminated form for Catalysts Development towards Economic growth of Nigeria(APWEN International conference (a division of NSE) Kano, 2017-09) Omale, Friday David; Eterigho Elizabeth J.; Baaki, Monica AlueshimaKaolin, a product of natural hydrated aluminium silicate which has undergone refinement is a type of clay material which is usually in powder form and is whitish in colour. It is a soft sedimentary rock which has light weight and a chalk-like appearance. The chemical analysis of the kaolin obtained from Kutigi in Niger State by X-ray fluorescence shows that the clay is mainly composed of silica and alumina which are 50.94% and 32.93% respectively. The de-alumination of the clay by action of H2SO4 shows that a large percentage of the silica in the clay was removed. X-ray fluorescence of the de-aluminated clay shows a higher alumina content (76.236%) and silica (1.095%) indicating its removal.Item Production and Characterization of Biodegradable Plastic from Nigeria Cassava Starch(International Conference on Engineering, Science and Applications (ICESA, 2017), Toshi Center, Tokyo, Japan, 2017-08) Eterigho, E. J.; Farrow, T. S.; Ejejigbe, Silver E; Onaivia, Ene C.The use of synthetic polymer in the industries and household packaging for various purposes has increased, however, it possesses environmental challenge due to its nondegradability. This research therefore focused on the production of a biodegradable plastic by blending various composition of poly vinyl alcohol (PVA), additives and cassava starch. The product produced (plastic) were extruded, analysed and tested for biodegradability under natural conditions. The results obtained were compared with the conventional polymer. The density of the produced plastic was 0.83 Kg/m3, melting temperature was 200oC and its water adsorption rate was 1.3% per day. The tensile strength was 23.63N/mm2 compared to 10.86N/mm2 and 8.29N/mm2 for polyethene and paper respectively. The results showed excellent retention of physical, thermal, structural and mechanical property required in plastics. Thus, indicating the possibility of universal application of Nigeria cassava starch as a source of biodegradable agent in plastic films productionItem Catalytic Degradation of Polyethylene to Gas Oil using Synthesized Clay Based Copper Modified Catalyst(Nigeria Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences (NJEAS), 2015-04) Babatunde, E. O.; David, I.; Olutoye, M. A.; Akpan U. G.; Eterigho Elizabeth JumokeIn this study local clay was pretreated, characterized, modified and used as catalyst for the degradation of low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The raw clay was thermally treated at 800 °C for 4 h in a furnace which was later modified by incorporating copper into it through impregnation method. The functionalities of the catalyst were determined based on their characterization. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscope, X-Ray Florescence and surface area determination were done for both the raw clay and modified catalysts. Characterization of the catalysts revealed that the interaction between CuO/clay formed a synergetic mixed oxides and this is an important factor to its catalytic activity. The product obtained was analysed using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and the product was mainly composed of hydrocarbons in the carbon range of C- C, which is the hydrocarbon range of gas oil (diesel) fraction. Also, the data obtained showed that at catalyst loading of 1.0 g, 5.0 g of polyethylene feedstock and reaction temperature of 250 °C, the yield of gas oil was 50.22%. The catalyst easily separates from the product mixture.Item Effect of Modification on Conventional Preparation Method for Sulphated Zirconia on the Production of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester(Asian Journal of Engineering and Technology, 2014-06) Eterigho, Elizabeth Jumoke; Farrow, T. Salome; Ogbuka, P. ChidiSulphated zirconia was synthesized using different volume of sulphating agent in order to optimize its catalytic property: (1) in the first case the “conventional” 15 ml H2SO4 to 1g of Zr(OH)4 for impregnation was used in wet-precipitation method and the catalyst designated ‘wp’ and (2) same procedure but with modification in volume of acid; 2 ml of H2SO4 was used for 1g of Zr(OH)4, ‘mwp’. The properties of the uncalcined and calcined catalysts were examined by various techniques: EDX, XPS, XRDP, Py-DRIFTS and BET nitrogen adsorption techniques. The sulphur content in the uncalcined (‘mwp’ and ‘wp’) catalysts was the same; 0.07 mol each whereas the calcined catalysts were 0.07 mol and 0.05 mol for ‘mwp’ and ‘wp’ respectively. BET surface area was determined to be 65.0 m2/g for wp and 101m2/g for ‘mwp’. The effect of the variation of sulphating agent on the catalyst activity was investigated in catalytic cracking of triglycerides for fatty acid methyl esters. Sulphated zirconia from the modified conventional method was found to perform better than the conventional wet-precipitated sulphated zirconia. Furthermore, ‘mwp’ retained approximately 74 % of its sulphur content after 3 h reaction whereas ‘wp’ catalyst lost 100% during the reaction as indicated by SEM-EDX. Interestingly, the results show variation in characterization and in their selectivity to different types of fatty acid methyl esters under the same reaction conditions. The ‘mwp’ catalyst showed higher catalytic activity for methyl ester yield of 40 % as well as higher selectivity for saturated methyl estersItem Synthesis, Characterization and Evaluation of two Forms of Sulphated Zirconia for Biofuel Production by Triglyceride Cracking(Bioenergy III Conference: Present and New Perspectives on Biorefineries Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, 2011-05-22) Eterigho, E. J.; Lee, J. G. M.; Harvey, A. P.Catalyst technology has a substantial impact on the sustainability of industrial processes, products, environment, the economics and quality of life of any country. Currently the world is becoming increasingly, environmentally aware and renewable transport fuels such as biodiesel are becoming increasingly prevalent. Currently, the major technical challenges in conventional biodiesel production (by transesterification with methanol) are: unwanted side reactions, difficult downstream separations, and ensuring sustainability l"?. Catalysis can make a significant contribution to improving this process, as the load on downstream processes would be greatly reduced, and the flow sheet greatly simplified, thereby reducing capital cost. However, another catalytic-based solution is heterogeneously catalysed vegetable oil cracking 2) This would remove the dependence on methanol, which is seldom produced. sustainably and is a significant process cost. Current challenges to catalysis of this reaction include maximizing efficiency and ensuring that the catalyst is chemically and thermally stable, and can be regenerated Catalytic properties are strongly affected by preparation method 3). Hence it is necessary for researchers to investigate different methods of preparation in order to optimise catalyst performance. Sulphated zirconia is a super-acid catalyst, used for many organic reactions. However, it has been found to be susceptible to leaching, rapid deactivation during catalytic reactions and a relatively small surface area when prepared through the conventional method.