Haruna Adamu - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Haruna Adamu

Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management, 2024

Landfill leachate, a contaminated liquid containing dissolved organic and inorganic matter, poses... more Landfill leachate, a contaminated liquid containing dissolved organic and inorganic matter, poses a significant environmental threat. This study investigated the interplay between leachate adsorption/desorption dynamics on dumpsites' soil properties and the consequent impact on environmental risk. The research focused on common cations and anions within the leachate composition and batch adsorption experiments was used to investigate the impact of leachate containing the ions on the key geotechnical soil properties like void ratio, porosity, degree of saturation, and dry density. Analysis of the leachate composition identified the presence of common cations (K + , Na + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+) and anions (SO4 2and Cl-). The dumpsites' soil samples were characterized by low affinity or adsorption coupled with high desorption rate of these ions, which demonstrably influenced the geotechnical properties and environmental risk of the soils of the dumpsites. The increased mobility of these ions within the dumpsites' soil systems is potentially leading to contamination of surrounding soil and water resources. Therefore, this knowledge can inform strategies for mitigating environmental risks associated with leachate migration. The findings can guide approaches for leachate treatment, landfill design, and the selection of suitable cover materials to minimize contaminant movement and ensure long-term environmental protection. Hence, to maintain a balanced ecosystem, the study emphasizes the need for engineered landfills with a higher capacity for ions adsorption.

Open Journal of Environmental Research, 2024

Understanding environmental factors that help to optimize the natural attenuation of atrazine in ... more Understanding environmental factors that help to optimize the natural attenuation of atrazine in agricultural soils is necessary to minimize contamination risks and human health risks, as well as support a healthy soil ecosystem. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of pH, temperature, soil organic matter content, often measured as total organic carbon (TOC), and moisture content on atrazine attenuation by soil microbes. Agricultural soil with a history of atrazine application was spiked with the herbicide. The effects of pH (3, 7, 10), moisture content (10%, 15%, 25%), total organic carbon (TOC, 2%, 3%, 4%), and temperature (15°C, 25°C, 45°C) on atrazine attenuation and bacterial count were evaluated at the interval of 30 days each for 60 days of incubation in nutrient agar. The residual concentrations of atrazine attenuation were determined using GC-MS analysis at the interval of 30 days each for 60 days of incubation. The results indicate that higher bacterial counts (Arthrobacter sp.) were observed at neutral pH (7.0) and moderate moisture (10%). At a neutral pH (7), only 52.1% of the initial atrazine concentration remained after 60 days due to attenuation processes. Also, Atrazine natural attenuation increased with increasing TOC where only 25.8% attenuation residual concentration was left at 4% TOC and reached a maximum of 15% moisture content with a residual concentration of 20.13% after 60 days. Similarly, the concentration of atrazine decreased as the temperature increased, with only 29.01% of the residual concentration remaining at 45ºC treatment after 60 days. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in natural attenuation between 30 and 60 days, but not after 30 days. These findings suggest that natural attenuation was favoured by higher organic matter content and moderate moisture levels, highlighting the importance of soil properties for atrazine fate in tropical soils and emphasizing the importance of studying natural attenuation processes as a viable strategy, particularly in tropical agricultural settings to minimize unnecessary contamination of soil to ensure a healthy and safe agricultural environment.

J. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage. , 2024

Soil contamination with heavy metals threatens ecosystems and human health. The objective of this... more Soil contamination with heavy metals threatens ecosystems and human health. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the remediation of heavy metals (Pb, Cr, Cd, and Zn) contaminated soil using biocharmodified kaolin for the stabilization of Pb, Cr, Cd, and Zn in soils. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to analyze surface morphologies and phase compositions of remediation materials. Stock solutions of different metals were spiked onto the pre-weighed soil with 1mg/kg Pb, 2mg/kg Cr, 1.5mg/kg Zn, and 1mg/kg Cd concentrations above standards, respectively. This was then allowed for 1month aging period for acclimatization. After the aging period, the spiked soil was then treated with kaolin, biochar and biochar-modified kaolin in a 45 mL polypropvlene centrifuge tube and left for a week period for the remediation process. The toxicity characteristics leachability procedure (TCLP) test was used to assess the leachability tendency of residual metals in the treated soil. Amongst the biochar-modified kaolin, the 7:3 (kaolin:biochar ratio in grams) was the most effective compared to raw kaolin and biochar alone in stabilizing the target metals in the treated soil. To optimize the whole process, pretesting of the composites was conducted under constant temperature, dosage, contact time and pH. The residual concentrations of the target metals after TCLP were 2.321%, 10.846%, 0.091%, 0.295% and 3.796%, 22.133%, 0.136%, 0.561% after 30 minutes and 1-hour extraction for Pb, Cr, Cd, and Zn, respectively. The research findings demonstrate that biochar modification enhances kaolin's ability to firmly adsorb the target metals. Thus, the research presents a promising approach for the cost-effective and sustainable remediation of heavy metals in contaminated soils.

Science Forum (Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences, 2023

Many farmers are using poultry litter as an organic fertilizer. Unfortunately, a significant por... more Many farmers are using poultry litter as an organic fertilizer. Unfortunately, a significant
portion of this litter comes from commercial broiler operations that use feeds containing
arsenic (As) as an additive to control parasites and increase poultry weight. Most of the
ingested arsenic does not accumulate in the poultry meat but is excreted by the poultry.
As a result, nearly 90% of arsenic feed to poultry ends up in their waste. The presence of
As in the poultry litter used as fertilizer potentially accumulated in soils and cause soil
contamination. In this study, five steps of Tessier method were adopted for the
geochemical partitioning of As to identify the fractional forms that are liable to leach from
the soil matrix amended with poultry litter. Also, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to
determine As association with soil components among the fractional forms. The results
observed indicated higher fractions of arsenic in the exchangeable phase for all the
samples when compared to the residual. This suggests As can be released or desorbed as
it was not tightly bound to the soil matrix and thus, could be a source of soil contamination.
Furthermore, the XRD results indicated that the bulk chemistry of the soil samples is
dominated by quartz followed by aluminosilicates (comprise of orthoclase, muscovite, and
clinochlore) all of which could be the sorption sites or sinks for As. However, As can be
released from such sorption sites by desorption and dissolution of Fe oxides in response
to changes in physicochemical conditions of the soil environment and thus, possibly
influence the As mobility. Accordingly, the use of poultry litter as a fertilizer and source of
organic matter needs to be monitored and regulated periodically, to safeguard soil health
quality and by extension prevent total environmental pollution through dispersion.

Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research, 2024

Biodiesel, a promising alternative biofuel derived from plant oils, suffers from a major drawback... more Biodiesel, a promising alternative biofuel derived from plant oils, suffers from a major drawbackpoor oxidative stability. This means it readily reacts with oxygen in the air, which can lead to several problems, such as increased viscosity (affecting its cool flow), formation of damaging sediments (resulting from oxidation reactions forming sludge and gums that clog fuel filters and injectors, damaging engines), and degradation of fuel properties (such as fuel's lubricity, cetane number-a measure of ignition quality). For these reasons, this study explores the potential of natural antioxidants derived from biomass peel wastes (banana and mango peels) for improving biodiesel stability. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) using CO2 was employed to isolate bioactive compounds from these readily available biomass resources. The extraction parameters, including temperature (40-80°C) and time (30-150 min), were optimized to maximize extract yield, with mango peels yielded the highest amount (1.95%). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) identified and quantified key antioxidant compounds like quercetin, gallic acid, and beta-carotene within the extracts. Hence, this research highlights the potential of repurposing biomass wastes as a sustainable and cost-effective source of natural antioxidants to enhance biodiesel oxidative stability.

Chemical Science International Journal, 2017

Cellulose fabrics were esterified by using varying volume of Balanites aegyptiaca seed oil. X-ray... more Cellulose fabrics were esterified by using varying volume of Balanites aegyptiaca seed oil. X-ray diffraction analysis was carried on the esterified fabrics and unesterified fabric. The crystallographs of all esterified fabrics gave almost the same profile different from that of control fabric. The control fabric gave a sharp single peak at 24.033º diffractometer angle. Esterified fabrics gave a slightly broad split peaks at lower diffractometer angles which ranged from 20.080-22.690º, suggesting that there was structural modification of cellulose. The inter-atomic distance (d-spacing) for control fabric was 3.7027 Å. There was increase in d-spacing which ranged from 3.9192-4.4216 Å for esterified fabric. The peak width increased from 1.5º (control) to range of 1.6-2.8º (esterified) fabrics. The peaks intensity increased from 5489 (control) to highest value (7798) for 30 cm 3 of oil esterified fabric. The crystallite size reduced from 9.9 nm (control) to a maximum value (9.2 nm) for Original Research Article

ATBU Journal of Science, Technology and Education, Jan 7, 2020

Termite mounds of Coptoterms acinaformis and Nasutiterms walker from two ecological zones (Bogoro... more Termite mounds of Coptoterms acinaformis and Nasutiterms walker from two ecological zones (Bogoro and Katagum) and adjacent soils (control) were sampled and analysed for their chemical compositions(oxides) using the X-ray florescence spectrophotometer. The results obtained for Na2O, MgO, Al2O3, SiO2, SO3, K2O, CaO and Fe2O3 for the Nausitetermes walkeri in Bogoro ranges from 0.07-72.66 % while for Coptotermes acinoformis, the range is 0.21-66.22 %. In Katagum, the percentage oxide composition range from 0.000-74.517% for Coptotermes acinoformis and from 0.000-78.877% for Nausitetermes walkeri. The percentage of the oxides studied in the mounds within these municipalities did not vary significantly at (p<0.05) from the surrounding soil (or control) sample and generally, the studied chemical composition of the termite mounds followed the order SiO2>Al2O3>Fe2O3 >K2O >CaO>MgO> SO3 >Na2O. Silicon and aluminium oxide are amongst the oxide needed in the production of cement, therefore these mounds can be mixed with sand and cement during construction of houses.

Energy Advances

With increased awareness of artificial intelligence-based algorithms coupled with the non-stop cr... more With increased awareness of artificial intelligence-based algorithms coupled with the non-stop creation of material databases, artificial intelligence (AI) can facilitate fast development of high-performance electrochemical energy storage systems (EESSs).

Materials for Renewable and Sustainable Energy

Because of the value of hydrogen as the future energy in no distant time, demand for efficient an... more Because of the value of hydrogen as the future energy in no distant time, demand for efficient and scalable hydrogen production via electrochemical water splitting process has recently attracted considerable attention from industrial and scientific communities. Yet, several challenges associated with production remain to be addressed. One of the overriding challenges is the sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which can have significant impact on the H2 production due to overpotential. To overcome this limitation, developing low-cost, robust and stable electrocatalysts very close to the same electrode activity as seen for iridium metal is crucial to solving the efficiency issue in the process. Therefore, timely review of progress in the field is vital to identify the electrocatalytic systems with the highest potential and, more importantly, to understand the factors which have positive contribution towards the electrocatalysts performance. We reviewed the progress m...

Journal of environmental analytical chemistry, 2021

THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, NIGERIA IN PARTIAL F... more THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, NIGERIA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, NIGERIA. AUGUST, 2008

Because of the pinch of air pollution on human health and its environment, it has become necessar... more Because of the pinch of air pollution on human health and its environment, it has become necessary to monitor and map out the peaks and lows threat places of air pollution in different land use across a city. In this regard, air pollution exposure mapping of Kano metropolis based on land use classifications namely industrial, residential, commercial and institutional was carried out for interpretive and assessment of health hazard associated with the selected pollutants. The observations for ambient air quality parameters (CO, SO2, H2S, NO2, and PM10) monitored with portable digital air pollution detecting devices for creation of data. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technique was applied to create spatial distribution maps of urban air quality of the metropolitan area. The results of pollution index map of ArcGIS extrapolation indicated that neighbourhoods in the vicinity of Bompai and Sabon Gari industrial and commercial zones, respectively were found to be highly exposed and...

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 2021

Abstract This work was aimed to utilise biocatalysts―enzymes derived from organic wastes mainly c... more Abstract This work was aimed to utilise biocatalysts―enzymes derived from organic wastes mainly comprised of fruit garbage for remediation of used motor oil-contaminated soils. The fruit garbage used were orange and watermelon peels, which were allowed to ferment for 90 days for the derivation of enzymes. The enzymes identified in the extract solutions of the fruit garbage were protease, catalase, lipase, and amylase. Soils collected from the uncontaminated field were amended with used motor-oil at 5 and 10% (w/w) contamination levels. The amended soils were allowed to homogenise for 2 weeks before the experiment. The enzyme working concentrations were derived from Design Expert 7.0.0. matrix for 5 and 10% used motor-oil contamination levels as 0, 1, 5.43, 7.75 and 10% for 5% used motor-oil contamination level and 0, 1, 3.28, 6.62, and 10% for 10% used motor-oil contamination level. The experiment was run for six weeks. The minimum and maximum of 47 and 58% removal of oil and grease by orange garbage enzymes were recorded at 5 and 10% contamination levels, respectively at the end of six weeks experiment. Similarly, 41 and 52% removal of oil and grease were achieved with watermelon garbage enzymes at 5 and 10% contamination levels, respectively. Also, 62 and 74% of oil was biocatalytically removed in terms of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) by orange garbage enzymes at 5 and 10% contamination levels, respectively. In contrast, watermelon garbage enzymes showed an overall TOC removal efficiency of 45 and 39% for oil contamination levels of 5 and 10%, respectively. The differences observed in the biocatalytic remediation activities of the applied fruit garbage enzymes might be due to the difference in composition of the garbage enzymes. However, despite the differences in their enzymatic compositions, it is evident that extract solutions of fruit garbage enzymes of both orange and watermelon have the potential to remove oil from soil and hence could be applied for biocatalytic remediation of oil-contaminated soils.

Journal of Applied Biology & Biotechnology, 2019

With the increase in anthropogenic activities, Heavy metal contamination of vegetables is inevita... more With the increase in anthropogenic activities, Heavy metal contamination of vegetables is inevitable as such it has become a course for concern due to food safety issues and potential health risk. This research is aimed at evaluating the phytoextraction efficiency of some vegetables and the potential health risk resulting from the consumption of vegetables that are grown in agricultural soil irrigated with Refinery wastewater. Wastewater was collected from the effluent point of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company from October 2016 to February 2018 and analyzed for the presence of heavy metals (Cd +2 , Hg +2 , Ag +2 and Pb +2 , Cr +3) before use for irrigation. Soil samples were collected from a farm located in Rigasa, Igabi Local Government of Kaduna State. The soil samples were digested and analyzed for heavy metal (Cd +2 , Hg +2 , Ag +2 and Pb +2 , Cr +3) and physicochemical parameter before and after the wastewater is the used for irrigation and treatment process. The seeds of the vegetables were planted in the botanical garden of the Biological Sciences Department of Kaduna State University and were constantly irrigated by a refinery wastewater throughout the period of the research. After germination the plants were harvested and separated into root/rhiziome and shoot, digested and analyzed heavy metals using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. Bioconcentration factor, Biotranslocation factor, Daily intake of metal (DIM) and Health risk index (HRI) were calculated. The result obtained showed high accumulation trend in the vegetable for Cd and Hg in Solanum melongena, Cucumis sativa, Phasaelus vulgaris, Spinacia Oleracea, Allium cepa, Lactuca sativa, Daucas carota, Lycopersican esculentum, Pipper nigrum above recommended standard. The high DIM and HRI value by all the vegetables that are above FAO/WHO recommended a limit for the heavy metals. These researches thereby discourage the use of refinery wastewater in irrigation farming of vegetables. It also recommends the need to stop all vegetable farming activities within the bank of Romi stream since refinery wastewater is constantly been released into the stream.

Journal of Electrochemical Science and Engineering

A substantial and steady decrease in the energy cost produced from renewable sources has revived ... more A substantial and steady decrease in the energy cost produced from renewable sources has revived interest in hydrogen production through water electrolysis. Deployment of electrolysis for H2 production is now closer to reality than ever before. Yet, several challenges associated with production cost, infrastructure, safety, storage, and so forth remain to be addressed. One of the overriding challenges is the production cost caused by a platinum electrode. To overcome such limitations, developing low-cost and stable electrocatalysts very close to the same electrode activity as platinum (Pt) metal is crucial to solving the efficiency issue in the process. Therefore, this review is in the direction of designing binary and ternary alloys of transition metal-based electrocatalysts anchored on carbon and focuses more on routes to enhance the performance of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The strategic routes to reduce overpotential and enhance electrocatalysts performance are dis...

Environmental characteristics, such as cleanliness of water supply, drainage system, waste manage... more Environmental characteristics, such as cleanliness of water supply, drainage system, waste management, toilet condition and dish-washing site, as well as environmental settings which encompasses population (congestion), vicinity of, dumpsite from source of water, residential premises from dumpsite, kitchen from dish-washing site and toilet from kitchen are determinants represented as more related proximately to spread of diseases. The study collected qualitative data using questionnaire and analysed respondents’ perception statistically on the correlation between the set environmental variables and spread of diseases in built environment. The respondents were sampled from among the residents of the areas investigated. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to explore the primary association between these environmental determinants and spread of diseases. A step-wise regression technique was used to fit the statistical models. The result indicates that the P-values correspond to t...

Titanium Dioxide [Working Title], 2021

TiO2 nanoparticles have been extensively investigated for environmental applications, particularl... more TiO2 nanoparticles have been extensively investigated for environmental applications, particularly in the photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants using solar energy. The TiO2-derived photocatalysts attract attention because of their photocatalytic efficiency and activity under a wide range of environmental conditions in response to superior structural and electronic properties. Consequently, TiO2 compares with other common semiconductors used for environmental photocatalytic applications, TiO2 is widely being considered close to an ideal semiconductor for photocatalysis. However, despite the impressive photocatalytic and material properties of titanium dioxide, TiO2 has not to this point been incorporated within commercial hub of oil spill remediation products. Therefore, this chapter covers the description of inevitable technical details required for unveiling the full potential of solar-driven photooxidation potency of TiO2, which have been the major challenges that hal...

Industrial and anthropogenic activities have resulted in high levels of metallic contaminants in ... more Industrial and anthropogenic activities have resulted in high levels of metallic contaminants in the environment, thus creating imbalance in the biotic and abiotic regimes of the ecosystem. This has remained as a stabbing problem in the mind of environmental and agricultural scientists, since metallic contaminants unlike biodegradable contaminants are persistent in affecting the biophysical population of our environment. This problem requires an insightful assessment before the best remediation option can be selected appropriately. In this paper, we present an overview of chemical speciation and its adaptations in environmental cleanup for achieving result oriented remediation technique.

Chemical and mineralogical evidence for solubility and mobility of lead from lead mine-affected s... more Chemical and mineralogical evidence for solubility and mobility of lead from lead mine-affected soils to aqueous environments