Modern Scientific Press

ABSTRACT: Domestic waste can be used to produce biogas due to its high biodegradability and calorific value, which will reduce reliance on fossil fuels. The physicochemical analysis of the domestic waste was determined. The biogas was collected with the aid of compressor into a tube for characterization using a Gas Chromatography with Headspace. The result of the physicochemical analysis of the domestic waste includes; % Moisture (59.2%), % TS (40.8%), % VS (77.3%) and % C (42.9%). The characterization of biogas reveal that it contains CH₄ (63%), CO₂ (31%), H2S (1%) with a calorific value of 24.10 MJ/ m³.

ABSTRACT: Gwoza Local Government Area (LGA) is one of the areas in North-Eastern Nigeria experiencing the debilitating insecurity challenges associated with the Boko Haram insurgence these last few years. The insecurity problem has affected local and regional food security through disruption of agricultural production, food trade, reduced investments, deterioration of land and infrastructure and displacement of large numbers of local dwellers as well as created a state of fear. This paper examines the impact of insecurity on settlements and agricultural land-use for a period of fifteen years using geospatial and participatory approach. Primary data was derived from the administration of well-structured questionnaire to Internal Displaced Persons (IDP’s) in three IDP Camps, while secondary data combined Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) to ascertain the rate of settlement and agricultural land-use change from 2002 to 2017 in Gwoza. Landsat ETM+ (2002) and Landsat OLI (2014 and 2017) images were acquired and resampled to 15m using the panchromatic band so as to identify agricultural lands more distinctly. Maximum likelihood classification algorithm in IDRISI was used to classify the image into six classes: agricultural land, built-up, rock outcrop, natural vegetation, bare ground and water body, based on Anderson classification scheme. Results reveal general decline in agricultural land and settlement areas with increasing vegetal cover. Change detection analysis showed that, vegetated area increased by more than 30% and agricultural land reduced by 33%. Perception from administered questionnaire show that communities most affected by the crises are; Ngwoshe (38%), Gwoza (12.8%) and Gava (12.8%), with the individual loss from the conflict estimated to be between five hundred thousand to over a million naira by 63.4% of respondents. This paper reveal that Gwoza area is still dealing with loss as a result of insecurity.

ABSTRACT: Electricity is an important social metric in the modern world. Power can be generated from renewable/sustainable sources, or non-renewable sources. Both sources of power are available in large quantities in Nigeria, but most of the country’s power supply is produced from non-renewable sources like oil and gas. There is the need to dip into the country’s vast renewable energy sources, like solar and wind energy, which has the potential to massively boost the amount of electricity being sent to the national grid. An important factor to consider in the exploration of renewable energy is location, as the location of renewable energy harnesses could be the difference between the failure or success of a renewable energy farm, system or set-up. To this end, this study used suitability analysis to examine the optimal locations of a potential large-scale solar installation by identifying and analyzing the positive and negative factors that dictate suitability. A framework that uses a multi-criteria decision method, known as Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP), was used to decipher optimal areas within the district of Osun East, Nigeria. Subsequent to analyzing the selected criteria, it was found that 2.6% of the total land mass of the study area would be excellent for siting of solar farms. This has the potential of adding almost 3500MW to the country’s power output. The rest of the moderately suitable areas (21% of the land mass) could yield an extra 28000MW. The results show a great potential in the study area.