ABU Zaria develops mini refinery

NaijaAgroNet:

The Vice Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Prof. Ibrahim Garba, has disclosed that the institutions Chemical department has developed a mini refinery, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Speaking at the wake of the 38^th convocation ceremony of ABU slated for Friday, 29 and Saturday 30, Prof. Garba said the prototype refinery was built to function at 'one barrel per day production capacity' as a model which can be developed to function in higher capacity.

"Our chemical department has established a mini refinery that can produce relatively small quantity of petroleum products, and that process has gone far. Related to that, there is a sponsored research by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) to develop some kinds of material called Zeolite. It is a mineral component that is Aused in refining crude oil to create Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Diesel, Kerosene and other petroleum products. It will interest you to know that Nigeria imports that material with a lot of billions of dollars for our refineries that are even working in half capacity.

"We are challenged with that project, and so far, the university has succeeded in developing a locally- produced zeolite from locally- sourced choline material. This has received, already, a parted certificate from the Federal Government and the PTDF has the property right and the project is going into the next development of testing again to meet international standard."

Also, Prof. Garba revealed that the Mechanical and Engineering Department has produced a prototype car which has even won an award in South Africa and Netherlands.

The business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, he said, would deliver the 38th convocation lecture on Friday at the Samaru main campus of the institution, while the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, will be the chairman of the occasion.

An estimated 13,149 students, he said, would participate in the convocation while 4,598 postgraduate students will get higher degrees. 

Isaac Oyimah/GEE
 

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

Bird flu virus rises in Plateau State

NaijaAgroNet:

The Avian Influenza (bird flu virus) has risen in Plateau State, spreading from the hitherto nine infected farms to 17, whereas estimated 58,000 birds have been depopulated, according to government sources, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The depopulation, ChannelTv News monitored by NaijaAgroNet reports, was carried out by the Avian Influenza Control Unit Department of the Ministry of Agriculture in the state.

Updating newsmen on the influenza, Tuesday, the Desk Officer of the project unit, Ayuba Haruna, said that four local government areas comprising Jos East, Jos North, Jos South and Bassa, all in the northern zone of the state, were affected in latest attack of the bird flu virus.

The monitoring teams, Haruna said, were still on the field in search of affected farms for depopulation of birds as well as fumigation of the premises in efforts to reduce the spread.

It was also gathered that on January 20, the Director of Veterinary Services, Plateau State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Doris Bitrus, confirmed the resurgence of avian influenza.
The affected firms, Dr. Bitrus said, had been depopulated and decontaminated to forestall the spread of the disease to other farms in the state.

The fresh cases of the disease were first reported to the Ministry on January 8, 2016, which prompted the Ministry to embark on inspection of the affected farms, as well as sensitisation of poultry farmers on steps to take on noticing symptoms of the disease.

Isaac Oyimah with additional report from Channels Tv/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology

War against hunger: Africa inaugurates Centre for Agric Innovation

NaijaAgroNet:

Hunger and poverty may soon be a thing of history in Africa, courtesy the Green Innovation Center, which was inaugurated at AfricaRice in Benin early this month; NaijaAgroNet reports.

The centre aims to boost agricultural productivity, increase the incomes of smallholder farmers and create job opportunities, particularly for youth and women in African countries namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, Tunisia and Zambia.

The Green Innovation Center is supported by the Federal German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in partnership with other institutions such as Benin Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, and AfricaRice.

BMZ has given 2.7 million euros (almost US$3 million) to AfricaRice to implement the centre’s activities in 2016 and 2017, according to Bernard Marc Winfried, a knowledge management specialist at AfricaRice.

He also said that in Benin the initiative would facilitate the exchange of knowledge and interaction between researchers and development experts in 17 communities, stressing that the centre will strengthen the agricultural innovation system by promoting partnerships and developing an operational framework for innovation.

Minister for BMZ Gerd Müller, said during the inauguration that agriculture does not only need water and fertiliser but also needs knowledge and innovation. 

Banji Boye/ED ops

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology
pix; center plague

Rotation speed, bad news for Red Planet pioneers

NaijaAgroNet:

A team of scientists from Holland, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK’s) University of Manchester have revealed the importance of a circadian body clock that matches the rotational speed of the earth in a new study, reports NaijaAgroNet.

According to the Media Relations Officer, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Mr. Mike Addelman, these group of scientists studied animals in which variation in a single gene dramatically speeds up the natural circadian cycle from 24 to 20 hours.

“It is the first study to demonstrate of the value of having an internal body clock which beats in tune with the speed of the earth’s rotation,” he said.

The researchers, Addelman said, released animals with 24 hour or 20 hour clocks into outdoor pens, with free access to food, and studied how the proportion of animals with fast clocks changed in the population over a period of 14 months.

This, he said, allowed the team to study the impact of clock-speed in context of the “real-world” rather than indoors.

Mice with fast-running clock, experts said, gradually become less common with successive generations, so that by the end of the study, the population was dominated by animals with “normal” 24h clocks.

The research has potentially important implications for human health:  clock-disruption associated with abnormal work and lighting conditions, such as night shift work leads to health problems, such as increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.

The scientists pointed out that these studies now extended to the potential implications of space travel in the future, citing for instance, that the Martian day is 37 minutes longer than that on earth.

Professor Andrew Loudon, from The University of Manchester said the rotation speed of Mars may be within the limits of some people’s internal clock, but people with short running clocks, such as extreme morning types, are likely to face serious intractable long-term problems, and would perhaps be excluded from any plans National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has to send humans to Mars.

“The prospect of settling on Mars is a somewhat distant prospect. But if we ever do get to the Red Planet, I suspect we will be faced with body clock problems; those people with abnormally slow body clocks would be best suited to living there,” Prof. Loudon said.

Correctly, he pointed out that ticking body clock is essential for normal survival in the wild, and this has to be in phase with the rotation speed of the earth.

“Animals with clocks that do not run in synchrony with earth are selected against. Thus, the body clock has evolved as an essential survival component for life on earth,” he explained.

 Isaac Oyimah/GEE

... Linking agrobiz, sustainable environs, people & technology