Browsing by Author "Joel, Ogbonna Friday"

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    Adsorption of Heavy Metals Contaminants in Used Lubricating Oil Using Palm Kernel and Coconut Shells Activated Carbons
    (Science Publishing Group, 2020-03-10) Boadu, Kwasi Opoku; Joel, Ogbonna Friday; Essumang, David Kofi
    This research work investigated the adsorption of some heavy metals contaminants in used lubricating oil using chemically activated carbon adsorbents produced from palm kernel and coconut shells. The adsorption mechanism was able to remove some heavy metals such as zinc, chromium, cadmium and magnesium contaminants from the used lubricating oil to appreciable levels. For instance, zinc from initial concentrations of 16.475±0.950 ppm before to 10.375±0.171 ppm after filtration processes for used lubricating oil sample A. Also, for coconut shell from an initial concentration of 14.575±0.272 ppm to 5.450±0.3000 ppm after filtration processes. It was observed that the coconut shell activated carbons was effective in the removal of lead metals while palm kernel cannot. However, the activated carbons produced from palm kernel and coconut shells are not suitable for the removal of both copper and iron metals. For example, after the filtration process with the palm kernel shell activated carbon, the mean concentration of copper metal increases for virgin (C) 0.001± 0.000 to 0.075±0.013 ppm and used lubricating oil samples (A&B) from 0.150±0.008 to 0.400±0.018 ppm and from 0.220±0.096 to 0.230±0.008 ppm respectively. Also, in the case of the coconut shell activated carbon, the mean concentration of copper in virgin lubricating oil remains the same 0.001±0.000 whereas for used lubricating oils samples (i.e. A&B) it increases from 0.150±0.008 to 0.780±0.014 and from 0.220±0.096 to 0.790±0.026 respectively. Also, the equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed using the Langmuir isotherm model. The fit of this isotherm model to the equilibrium adsorption data was determined, using the linear coefficient of correlation (R 2 ). The following R2 values were obtained; Copper (0.8185), Cadmium (0.8347), Lead (0.9349), Chromium (0.9378), Iron (0.9927), Zinc (0.9953), and Magnesium (0.9997) respectively. From the results obtained and statistics point of view, it can be concluded that the Langmuir model shows a better fit due to the high coefficient of correlation(R 2≈ 1). The recovered oil could be also re-used
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    Possible Synergistic Toxicity of Oxygen Scavenger and Defoamer on the Niger Delta Freshwater Tilapia guineensis 
    (Scientific Research, 2021-01) Anyanwu, Ikechukwu Kingsley; Joel, Ogbonna Friday; Georgewill, Owunari Abraham
    Globally, the generation of produced water keeps increasing due to depleting wells and about 40% of this wastewater is disposed of into the environment. Produced water is made up of several components that are toxic in nature, like production chemicals that are used for oil and gas production activities. Oxygen scavenger and defoamer are commonly used for corrosion prevention as both are applied at different stages of corrosion prevention. Evaluation of the possible synergistic toxicity contribution of oxygen scavenger and defoamer formed the basis of this research and was conducted using the Tilapia guineensis as bio-indicator. The toxicity test was carried out using the ELIMINOX (oxygen scavenger) and EC9017A (defoamer) individually and both chemicals were combined together. The choice of these chemicals was premised on previous researches that have confirmed that they are toxic individually, without further research on how they interact when they are combined. These chemicals and freshwater were used to generate produced water samples in the laboratory. The experiment was set up by adding ten fishes into each of the glass containers, containing the produced water samples at different concentrations and a control sample without the chemicals. The rate of mortality of the fish for the individual chemicals ranged from 100% to 10% for the different percentage concentrations. While on the other hand, a combination of the two chemicals had more survival than mortality, the percentage survival rate ranged from 100% to 90% across all the percentage concentrations. The lethal concentration also showed that the oxygen scavenger was more toxic than the defoamer, however, when they were combined; they showed an antagonistic relationship as the toxicity of the oxygen scavenger drastically reduced. The research findings intend to create awareness of the possible interaction of production chemicals when they are used for oil and gas activities and their combined toxicity contribution to produced water. This will in turn aid government regulators in their decision-making for disposal of produced water.