Edward Hingha Foday Jr

Bauxite residue, often referred to as red mud, is the main waste product of alkaline alumina extraction from bauxite that includes high concentrations of heavy metals. The ecosystems, plants, animals, and human health are all at risk from these heavy metals. The removal of heavy metals (As, Ni, Cr, and Fe) from bauxite residue using Gracilaria sp. is the main topic of this article. By employing the oil spherification process, gracilaria sp. was used to create alginate beads that effectively removed heavy metals from bauxite waste. The contaminated bauxite residue was cleaned up using these beads as adsorbents. According to the findings, gracilaria sp. were successful in eliminating Cr, As, Ni, and Fe. The best concentration for removing iron (Fe) from 30 millilitres of bauxite residue solution at 25 oC was 1g of alginate beads. The optimal concentrations for removing chromium (Cr) were 2g and 3g, whereas 3g of gracilaria sp adsorbents at a constant temperature of 25 oC were ideal for removing arsenic (As) and nickel (Ni).

We investigate the extent and nature of productivity growth in Sub-Saharan African countries using non-parametric frontier techniques. In this work, we examine agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) change in 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), covering a period of fifty-nine (59) years (1961–2019). We make use of data drawn from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Due to the non-availability of reliable input price data, the study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) to derive Malmquist productivity indices. The results demonstrate a decline in agricultural TFP growth in the region from 1961 to 2019. This notwithstanding, a general average growth was seen in some of the conventional inputs measured (land, labour, capital, and fertilizer) which are the main drivers of growth in the region. This finding implies that the increase in agricultural output over the past five decades in SSA is mainly due to an increased use of conventional inputs over time, including land, and not due to an increase in the ratio of output over inputs. As a generally acceptable and preferred indicator of technical and efficiency changes, we use TFP to calculate the Malmquist productivity index (MPI).

The prevalence of street trading both at the national and international level has become a global concern and thus undermined economic development. School-going girls in Sierra Leone are the most vulnerable and their involvement in street trading cannot be over-emphasized. Street trading is the selling of goods or food items along the road, footway, or area without legal authority and it is normally associated with parents sending children of school age to trade as a way of boosting family income. This study investigates the effects of street trading on girls-child education in Kenema City. Similarly, challenges associated with street trading, its impact on girls-child education, and possible recommendations for curbing street trading were pinpointed. Sixty (60) respondents were interviewed in all, 50 school-going girls within the age bracket of 5-18 years and 10 parents (26 years and above). The findings of the study will be useful to the Government of Sierra Leone, Non-governmental organizations, policy-making institutions, and the general public. This study will also provide an insight on the causes of the street trade by school-going girls and suggest recommendations to curb this activity in Kenema city, Sierra Leone.

Water is one of the most important and crucial indicators of sustainable development goals (SDGs) for humans and other living organisms. Water demand has outstripped supply, resulting in shortage on a worldwide scale, particularly in arid regions. This water scarcity has impeded agricultural productivity and other developmental projects with the ongoing global warming and other anthropogenic activities making it more complicated. To address the worldwide water crisis, it is worthwhile to convert atmospheric air to drinking water. Sequel to that, a hydrophobic surface was designed using facile lithography to compare its water harvesting efficiency with a hydrophilic surface at different orientation angles. For the research, the hydrophobic designed surface is called biodesigned material, while the hydrophilic natural surface is a Mangifera indica leaf (MIL). It is against this background that we seek to investigate the most suitable orientation angle good for efficient water harvesting. To that end, a 60° inclination angle is the most efficacious orientation for water collection as it outperformed the 30 and 45° orientation angles. To minimize re-evaporation, absorption, suction, and other environmental challenges that impede efficient collection, atmospheric moisture should be collected immediately from functional surfaces.

Water shortage has become a global crisis that has posed and still poses a serious threat to the human race, especially in developing countries. Harvesting moisture from the atmosphere is a viable approach to easing the world water crisis due to its ubiquitous nature. Inspired by nature, biotemplate surfaces have been given considerable attention in recent years though these surfaces still suffer from intrinsic trade-offs making replication more challenging. In the design of artificial surfaces, maximizing their full potential and benefits as that of the natural surface is difficult. Here, we conveniently made use of Mangifera indica leaf (MIL) and its replicated surfaces (RMIL) to collect atmosphere water. This research provides a novel insight into the facile replication mechanism of a wettable surface made of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which has proven useful in collecting atmospheric water. This comparative study shows that biotemplate surfaces (RMIL) with hydrophobic characteristics outperform natural hydrophilic surfaces (DMIL and FMIL) in droplet termination and water collection abilities. Water collection efficiency from the Replicated Mangifera indica leaf (RMIL) surface was shown to be superior to that of the Dry Mangifera indica leaf (DMIL) and Fresh Mangifera indica leaf (FMIL) surfaces. Furthermore, the wettability of the DMIL, FMIL, and RMIL was thoroughly investigated, with the apices playing an important role in droplet roll-off.

Here, Mangifera indica leaves (MILs) have been used to collect atmospheric water for the first time. This novel material has been viewed by mankind as environmental waste and is mostly discarded or incinerated, causing environmental pollution. By turning waste into wealth, MILs have proven resourceful and can help ameliorate the water crisis, especially in tropical countries. The unprecedented water collection result is enough to describe MILs as an ideal material for atmospheric water collection when compared to other natural plants. Both the physical and chemical surface morphologies were extensively characterized. This comparative study shows that MIL surface droplet termination and hydrophilic nature differ from those of other materials, with the apex playing a key role in the roll-off of the droplet. The surface wettability and its interaction with the droplet are of keen interest in this study.

Heavy metal contamination affects lives with concomitant environmental pollution, and seaweed has emerged as a remedy with the ability to save the ecosystem, due to its eco-friendliness, affordability, availability, and effective metal ion removal rate. Heavy metals are intrinsic toxicants that are known to induce damage to multiple organs, especially when subjected to excess exposure. With respect to these growing concerns, this review presents the preferred sorption material among the many natural sorption materials. The use of seaweeds to treat contaminated solutions has demonstrated outstanding results when compared to other materials. The sorption of metal ions using dead seaweed biomass offers a comparative advantage over other natural sorption materials. This article summarizes the impact of heavy metals on the environment, and why dead seaweed biomass is regarded as the leading remediation material among the available materials. This article also showcases the biosorption mechanism of dead seaweed biomass and its effectiveness as a useful, cheap, and affordable bioremediation material.