THE ECONOMICS OF WATER SUPPLY MANAGEMENT IN OBANTOKO AREA, ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA

*Ufoegbune, G.C., *Orimoloye, A., *Eruola, A. O. and **Ogunyemi, I.O.

*Department of Water Resources Management and Agrometeorology, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta,

**Department of Chemical Science, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This paper examined the management of water supply in Obantoko area (a typical Nigerian settlement. Population of the area was determined using building count method and satellite imagery while results of geophysical surveys of the area gave the indication of wield of prospective boreholes in the area. These were used to determine the costs and locations of prospective boreholes that will help maximize the use groundwater supply which is the most prospective water supply source in the study area. A map showing locations of boreholes to be sited and the population they will serve was produced. The study determined that with a population of 57,750 a total volume of 4,025,500 litres of water per day is needed in the study area. This volume of water could be produced from the study area if careful management of the water resources is done, the study concluded.

Keywords: Management, bill of engineering measures, spatial distributions

WIND SPEED DISTRIBUTION, ESTIMATION OF THE WIND SHEAR EXPONENT AND THE ROUGHNESS PARAMETER FOR JUJA-KENYA

Saoke C^*1., Kamau J.N¹. and Kinyua R¹

Department of Physics

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi-Kenya

E-mail: winsaoke@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Wind is a source of clean and alternative form of power production. Juja area (1° 10′ S, 37° 7′ E) in Kenya is growing very fast and being a University town is likely to become one of the economic hubs of Kiambu County and the greater Nairobi metropolis. This area also experiences frequent blackouts due to over reliance on electricity from the nationally connected grid, this despite the fact that it is highly endowed with adequate wind flow which can be locally harnessed to supplement power production and reduce over reliance on generators as backups. In spite of this potential, the lack of adequate site specific data information that enables informed choice on site selection, turbine selection, expected power output and turbine design still remains a challenge to the exploitation of this wind resource. This research paper provides a to study the wind speed variation through statistical data description of the Juja wind speed and the Weibull distribution model developed from the measured wind speeds applied to estimate the wind power density of the site. The wind speeds were analyzed and the wind characterized based on short term (three months) measured hourly series data of daily wind speeds at 13 m and 20 m heights. Analysis of wind data included daily wind data which were calculated to represent; the mean wind speed, diurnal variations, daily variations as well as the monthly variations. The wind speed frequency distribution at the 20 m was determined and the mean wind speed found to be 5.04 m/s with a standard deviation of 2.59. The average wind speeds at the two heights (13 m and 20 m) were used to calculate the wind shear exponent and the roughness parameter for Juja; this was found to be 0.16 and 0.048 m respectively. Using the calculated shear exponent, an extrapolation of the speeds was done to higher heights of up to 150 m. Maximum speed obtained at the 150 m height was 8.4 m/s during the month of October, these results provides a clear understanding of Juja’s energy potential and the localized wind parameter characteristics which are necessary for matching the machine characteristics to the local wind regime.

Keywords: Wind speed, wind shear exponent, roughness parameter, wind speed distribution

FOSSIL FUEL – BIOFUEL: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS VERSUS COST

IMPLICATIONS

Akhihiero T. E. and Odisu, Teddy

¹Department of Chemical Engineering, Delta State University, Oleh Campus

²Department of Chemical Engineering, Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State

e-mail:teddyodi2002@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Population growth has resulted in ever increasing demand for energy usage. The traditional fossil fuels resources are depleting day by day. The world is confronted with the twin crises of fossil fuel depletion and environment degradation. The need for lower energy prices and environment security has prompted today scientists to look for alternative fuels which can be produced from materials that are widely available from a variety of sources. This paper reviews the various types of fossil fuels, Bio fuels and their feed stocks, and their environmental and cost implications. Thus, presenting the choices in a better perspective. Solutions to curbing the high cost of Bio fuel production are also highlighted in this paper.

Keywords: crude oil, fossil fuel, biofuel, renewable, biomass, feedstock.  

Seismic facies and depositional environment of clastic deposit offshore Niger Delta

Abraham Opatola

Department of Geology

University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

E-mail: a.opatola@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

The integration of three-dimensional seismic reflection data with well and paleobathymetry data in the eastern offshore Niger Delta reveal four seismic facies packages in the area study. The environments of deposition of the area consist of the shelf, slope and deepwater settings characterized by deposition within the inner neritic, middle neritic, outer neritic and upper bathyal paleowater depth. The interpreted environment are dominated by the submarine canyons and channel-levee systems which consist predominantly of turbidite, distributary channel complexes, hemipelagic and debris flow deposits which appears on seismic section as layered and chaotic facies. The depositional model of the area generated by integration of seismic, paleobathmetry, paleogeographic and well data shows that the deposition transect down the axis of fluvial depositional systems transporting sediment through submarine canyons into the base of slope and basin plain as fans. The complex fault pattern as well as the discontinous nature of sand bodies favours the formation of combined structural and stratigraphic traps in the area.

COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF MARKETED SANDCRETE BLOCKS PRODUCED IN YOLA, NIGERIA

  ^*1Hijab Mahmoud, ²Halilu A. Hamma  and ³Hadi A. Abba

*Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Yola, Nigeria

Works Department F.C.E. Yola, Adamawa State

Department of Civil Engineering, Kaduna Polytechnic, Nigeria

E-mail:hijabmahmoud@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Sandcrete blocks are widely used as walling units in Nigeria. This paper investigates the strength characteristics of sandcrete blocks in Yola (8⁰36’47” N 12⁰19’14” E) metropolis. Two sets(150mm and 225mm) of  Five Sandcrete blocks each were randomly selected from each manufacturer and soil samples were also obtained from source and transported to Civil engineering Laboratory, Federal University of Technology, Yola. Compressive strength test was carried out on the blocks at 28 days and sieve analysis was also carried out on the soil samples. The study confirmed that the quality of aggregates used is suitable for block making. The compressive strength of the Sandcrete blocks is below standard recommended by the Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) 87:2000. The compressive strength of individual blocks ranges from 0.12N/mm²   to 1.46 N/mm² for the 150mm (6” width) and for the 225mm (9” width) ranges from 0.31 N/mm² to 1.36 N/mm² . The average compressive strength for all the blocks varied from 0.18 N/mm² to 1.38 N/mm². Blocks produced were also found to be unsuitable for use as load bearing walls. Proper curing and quality control was suggested to improve on the quality.

Keywords: Compressive Strength; Aggregates; Sieve Analysis; Quality Control; Curing.