266 results match your criteria: "Vaal University of Technology[Affiliation]"

Due to incessant contamination of the groundwater system near the dumpsite in southwestern Nigeria Basement Complex, this study seeks to evaluate the impact of the Odogbo dumpsite on the local groundwater system by integrating geophysical and geochemical methodologies. Aeromagnetic data covering the study area was acquired, processed, and enhanced to delineate basement features that could potentially be passing plumes to the groundwater system. Concurrently, geoelectric methods using 2-D dipole-dipole imaging and vertical electrical sounding (VES) were utilized to characterize the vulnerability indices of the lithologies underlying the dumpsite.

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This Study focuses on the preparation of sustainable and efficient Chitosan catalyst for the removal of three organic pollutants, 17β-Estradiol (E2), 17α-ethynyl estradiol (EE2) and triclosan (TCS) from water. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized by different techniques which confirmed the presence of the key components Chitosan, Carica Papaya seed and Kaolinite. The optical characterization proved the nanocomposite is photoactive with a band gap of 1.

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Impact of a Nutrition Knowledge Intervention on Knowledge and Food Behaviour of Women Within a Rural Community.

Nutrients

November 2024

Department of Tourism & Integrated Communication, Faculty of Human Sciences, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark 1900, South Africa.

Introduction: The influence of women in shaping household dietary habits is undeniable, with their maternal nutritional knowledge significantly impacting the overall well-being of their families. The study objective was to evaluate the impact of maternal nutritional knowledge on household dietary habits, emphasising the improvement in women's nutrition knowledge and food-related behaviours.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the immediate and long-term effects of a nutrition education intervention on the nutrition knowledge and food-related behaviours of women.

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Modeling of the biomethane production from ultrasonic pretreated fruit and vegetable waste anaerobic digestion.

J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng

January 2025

Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.

The global dependency on the depleted fossil fuels has led to the quest for acquiring alternative energy sources. Different types of waste material are generated at a high rate and tapping into their use for greener, alternative energy production is an option. The mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion of fruit and vegetable waste and wastewater treatment plant sewage sludge experiments were conducted using ultrasonic pretreated substrates.

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Cadmium zirconium sulphide (CdZrS) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared using a sol-gel method. The effect of different annealing temperatures on the structural, morphological, optical, and compositional properties of CdZrS NPs was investigated. The structural investigation revealed that the CdZrS samples exhibit hexagonal and cubic structures in both the as-prepared and annealed samples.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pristine photocatalysts ZnO, MnO, and CuO were synthesized along with a polyvinyl alcohol-assisted MnO-ZnO-CuO nanocomposite using the sol-gel method, with a calcination temperature of 420 °C for optimal results.
  • The MZC nanocomposite showed significantly higher photocatalytic activity, achieving 93% degradation of methylene blue (MB) in 180 minutes, outperforming the individual components due to their synergistic effects.
  • Additionally, the MZC composite maintained consistent degradation performance across four recycling cycles, with extraction rates of 93% to 89%, and successfully worked in real textile wastewater, degrading 80% of pollutants.
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Kinetics and simulation of biodiesel production using a geopolymer heterogenous catalyst.

J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng

December 2024

Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.

Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on using blast furnace slag geopolymer as a catalyst for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil, evaluating its kinetic and simulation aspects.
  • It analyzes the effects of reaction temperature, time, and catalyst ratio on the reaction kinetics, finding that the pseudo-first-order model is the most favorable for this process.
  • The transesterification process achieved a high biodiesel conversion rate of 99.18% with the optimized catalyst ratio, highlighting the potential of this method as a cost-effective option for the biodiesel industry.
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Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This study correlated eight SNPs with the risk factors of CVD in a black elderly population. Genotyping was used to detect eight polymorphisms; rs675 (ApoA-IV), rs699 (Angiotensinogen (AGT)), rs247616 and rs1968905 (Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP)), rs1801278 (Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1)), rs1805087 (Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR)) and rs28362286 and rs67608943 (Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9)), as well as their genotypes in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extracted from peripheral blood.

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Functional ZnONPs-modified biochar derived from Funtumia elastica husk as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of sulfamethoxazole from wastewater.

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int

December 2024

Wastewater Treatment Research Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology and Chemistry, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, 1911, Gauteng, South Africa.

Funtumia elastica husk was employed as an efficient and economically viable adsorbent to supplement traditional treatment methods in the removal of sulfamethoxazole from wastewater by converting it into usable material. The purpose of this study was to make biochar (FHB) from Funtumia elastica husk through the pyrolysis process and further modify the biochar using zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) to a nanocomposite (FBZC). The antioxidant and antimicrobial characteristics as well as the potential of FBZC and FHB to sequester sulfamethoxazole from wastewater were investigated.

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The CMCs are viable materials for applications in industry and process innovation for removing heavy metal ions since they may be used in static and dynamic adsorption processes. It is necessary to develop simple, low-cost water treatment methods that use organic, biodegradable polymers such as nanomaterial-modified cellulose microcrystals. The column technique was used to investigate the effects of operational parameters such as pH, bed depth, concentration and flow rate.

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Removal of Methylene Blue dye from aqueous solution using Fenton-modified submerged aquatic plant Schoenoplectus species (Bulrush).

Heliyon

November 2024

Biosorption and Water Research Laboratory, Department of Natural Sciences, Vaal University of Technology, P. Bag X021, Vanderbijlpark, 1900, South Africa.

When dumping coloured effluent into the ecosystem, methylene blue dye contributes significantly to environmental health problems. In this investigation, Schoenoplectus species, commonly known as Bulrush, underwent modification using a Fenton reagent to enhance its effectiveness in adsorbing methylene blue (MB) from effluent. The Fenton-treated Bulrush was analysed using SEM, FTIR, BET, and TGA techniques, while various operational parameters were systematically explored to optimise the adsorbent.

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Hexavalent Chromium (Cr(VI)) is essential in many industrial processes. However, it finds its way into water bodies, posing health problems, including lung cancer and the inhibition of DNA and RNA in biological systems. Several chemical and traditional water purification methods have been developed in the past, but most are expensive, tedious and ineffective.

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Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their distribution in aquatic environments have been studied extensively, but more information is needed to link these occurrences to their physicochemical characteristics. Understanding how these parameters influence PFAS can help predict their fate, mobility, and occurrences in water. This study reviewed the influence of physicochemical parameters on the occurrences of PFAS in aquatic environment using the relevant keywords to retrieve articles from databases spanning mostly between 2017 and 2024.

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Plant-mediated synthesis of nanoparticles is a sustainable approach that has gained widespread scientific acceptance due to its numerous benefits and applications. In this study, a zinc oxide-doped activated carbon (ZAC) derived from palm kernel shells (PKS) was synthesized via a bioreduction route using a water-based extract of Nymphaea lotus leaves as a reducing agent. The synthesized ZAC nanocomposites were characterized using microscopic (TEM, SEM) and spectroscopic (FTIR, EDS, XRD, and UV-Vis) analyses.

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Background And Objectives: South Africa has a high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) and to a lesser extent human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV). Each of these agents is transfusion-transmissible (TT) but deciding whether to implement preventive screening depends upon knowledge of background prevalence in transfused patients. We determined the prevalence of HIV, HBV and HTLV I/II among blood transfusion recipients in South African hospitals.

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This research focus endeavour to compare the remediation of tetracycline (TC) through activated carbon (AC), crafted utilizing two distinct chemical activators: zinc chloride (ACZ), and potassium hydroxide (ACK), using pine cone biowaste as an effective carbon precursor, followed by microwave-assisted activation. The impact of TC removal by ACZ and ACK adsorbents was thoroughly examined. The influence of pH, adsorbent mass, adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and inclusive thermodynamics were studied.

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The pervasive presence of per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly referred to as "forever chemicals," in water systems poses a significant threat to both the environment and public health. PFAS are persistent organic pollutants that are incredibly resistant to degradation and have a tendency to accumulate in the environment, resulting in long-term contamination issues. This comprehensive review delves into the primary impacts of PFAS on both the environment and human health while also delving into advanced techniques aimed at addressing these concerns.

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In this work, trivalent Yttrium doped calcium aluminate (CaAlO:x% Y) were synthesized for the first time. Through Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE), CaAlO:0.1 % Y has demonstrated to be a potential high emitting phosphor material amongst other high concentration Y doped samples, emitting a vibrant blue - pink hue where others are emitting a transiting hue from blue to green within a white vertex region.

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In this study, chemically activated fat-free powdered Moringa oleifera seed biomass (MOSB) was synthesized, characterized, and utilized as a cost-effective biosorbent for the abstraction of progesterone (PGT) hormone from synthetic wastewater. Natural PGT is a human steroid hormone from the progestogen family. Synthetic PGT is approved for the regulation of the menstrual cycle, aiding contraception, and is administered as a hormone replacement therapy in menopausal and post-menopausal women.

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Extensive investigations have been carried out on spinel mixed transition metal oxide-based materials for high-performance electrochemical energy storage applications. In this study, mesoporous Mn-substituted MnZnCoO (ZMC) ternary oxide microspheres (x = 0, 0.3, 0.

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Large volumes of wastewater are generated during petroleum refining processes. Petroleum refinery wastewater (PRW) can contain highly toxic compounds that can harm the environment. These toxic compounds can be a challenge in biological treatment technologies due to the effects of these compounds on microorganisms.

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Mapping disability and climate change knowledge base in Scopus using bibliometric analysis.

Afr J Disabil

March 2024

Department of Tourism and Integrated Communication, Faculty of Human Sciences, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.

Background: Climate change and disability are rarely addressed by academic scholars within the spectrum of disabilities and as a single field of study. However, the intersectionality of disability exacerbates the vulnerability of people with disabilities to climate change as climate change frameworks in the Global North and South continue excluding them.

Objectives: This study aims to map the research-based knowledge housed in Scopus on disability and climate change.

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Cellulose was isolated from recycled pulp and paper sludge and used to synthesize cellulose nanocrystals. Response surface methodology and Box-Behnken design model were used to predict, improve, and optimize the cellulose isolation process. The optimal conditions were a reaction temperature of 87.

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Precision forecasting of spray-dry desulfurization using Gaussian noise data augmentation and k-fold cross-validation optimized neural computing.

J Environ Sci Health A Tox Hazard Subst Environ Eng

March 2024

Clean Technology and Applied Materials Research Group, Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, South Africa.

Perceptron models have become integral tools for pattern recognition and classification problems in engineering fields. This study envisioned implementing artificial neural networks to forecast the performance of a mini-spray dryer for desulfurization activities. This work adopted k-fold cross-validation, a rigorous technique that evaluates model performance across multiple data segments.

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Impact of artisanal refining activities on bacterial diversity in a Niger Delta fallow land.

Sci Rep

February 2024

Centre for Competence in Environmental Biotechnology, College of Animal and Environmental Science, University of South Africa, Florida Science Campus, Roodepoort, South Africa.

Hydrocarbon pollution is a major ecological problem facing oil-producing countries, especially in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In this study, a site that had been previously polluted by artisanal refining activity was investigated using 16S rRNA Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology and bioinformatics tools. These were used to investigate the bacterial diversity in soil with varying degrees of contamination, determined with a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID).

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