Termites build their habitat in the form of anthills or termitaria or termite mounds which are characterised by soil of clayey texture. This paper investigated the relative grain size from the base, middle and near th...Termites build their habitat in the form of anthills or termitaria or termite mounds which are characterised by soil of clayey texture. This paper investigated the relative grain size from the base, middle and near the peak of three anthills located 20 km west of Winneba near the Apam-Winneba highway in Ghana and also correlated their elemental compositions. The results showed significant grain size gradation of soils which range from 2O3 (22.18 - 28.88), MnO (0.08 - 0.09), and K2O (0.4 - 0.61). However, as K2O decreased with height on anthill, SiO2, total FeO and Al2O3 increased. Probably soils used to construct these anthills were derived from different rock types and/or the termites were selective in the use of soils rich in silica or iron oxide.展开更多
The anthill soil is used by hypertensive elderly and teenagers from Oshikoto region (Namibia) and many of them testified stabilization of their blood pressure to normal after consuming the anthill soil-derived aqueous...The anthill soil is used by hypertensive elderly and teenagers from Oshikoto region (Namibia) and many of them testified stabilization of their blood pressure to normal after consuming the anthill soil-derived aqueous extracts. This study therefore investigated and/or assessed the physicochemical parameters, the contents of some metal(loid)s (and their associated potential health risks) and the qualitative composition of bioactive compounds of this anthill soil. The homogenous soil sample collected from various anthill soils in the Oshikoto region was used to obtain the measurements of physiochemical parameters. The elemental contents were determined (using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrophotometer) after acid digestion in accordance with the EPA method 350B and their potential health risk assessments were performed. Methanol, aqueous methanol, and aqueous-based extracts were generated via maceration extraction process prior to the screening of bioactive compounds using standard diagnostic assays. The oxidation reduction potential (164.4 ± 16.6 mV) was the only physicochemical parameter whose value was within the World Health Organization limits for drinking water whereas, total dissolved solids (23 ± 5.5 mg/L), electrical conductivity (44 ± 10.1 uS/cm) and pH (5.35 ± 0.33) were out of specifications. Phenolic compounds, flavonoids, terpenoids, and cardiac glycosides were present in anthill soil (with respect to the extractants used) to which its antihypertensive properties can be attributed in addition to some of the studied mineral components. With respect to the pH, TDS and EC, and the contents of most metal(loid)s in relation to their health risk assessment values, the results suggest that aqueous extracts derived from this anthill soil can be deemed unsuitable for human consumption.展开更多
The primary goal of this study is to develop a composite material from the anthill and chicken eggshell and to use it as a catalyst for the synthesis of biodiesel from virgin and waste vegetable oils.The anthill-eggsh...The primary goal of this study is to develop a composite material from the anthill and chicken eggshell and to use it as a catalyst for the synthesis of biodiesel from virgin and waste vegetable oils.The anthill-eggshell composite(AEC)catalyst was prepared using an incipient wetness impregnation method.Central composite design(CCD)was applied to investigate the effects of catalyst preparation parameters(calcination temperature,calcination time,and anthill proportion in the AEC)on the yields of biodiesel from the two oils.Based on the CCD,two quadratic models were developed to correlate the AEC preparation parameters to the two responses.Analysis of variance(ANOVA)was performed to verify the reliability of the models and also,identify the factor that mostly affects the experimental design responses.Optimization results showed that the predicted values of biodiesel yield from the models for the two oils agreed reasonably well with the experimental values.The optimum conditions for the preparation of AEC catalyst for the transesterification process were calcination temperature of 1000℃,calcination time of 4 h,and anthill proportion of 20% to achieve 97.13%yield of biodiesel from virgin vegetable oil.At the same optimum parameters,the yield of biodiesel from waste vegetable oil was found to be 70.92%.展开更多
文摘Termites build their habitat in the form of anthills or termitaria or termite mounds which are characterised by soil of clayey texture. This paper investigated the relative grain size from the base, middle and near the peak of three anthills located 20 km west of Winneba near the Apam-Winneba highway in Ghana and also correlated their elemental compositions. The results showed significant grain size gradation of soils which range from 2O3 (22.18 - 28.88), MnO (0.08 - 0.09), and K2O (0.4 - 0.61). However, as K2O decreased with height on anthill, SiO2, total FeO and Al2O3 increased. Probably soils used to construct these anthills were derived from different rock types and/or the termites were selective in the use of soils rich in silica or iron oxide.
文摘The anthill soil is used by hypertensive elderly and teenagers from Oshikoto region (Namibia) and many of them testified stabilization of their blood pressure to normal after consuming the anthill soil-derived aqueous extracts. This study therefore investigated and/or assessed the physicochemical parameters, the contents of some metal(loid)s (and their associated potential health risks) and the qualitative composition of bioactive compounds of this anthill soil. The homogenous soil sample collected from various anthill soils in the Oshikoto region was used to obtain the measurements of physiochemical parameters. The elemental contents were determined (using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrophotometer) after acid digestion in accordance with the EPA method 350B and their potential health risk assessments were performed. Methanol, aqueous methanol, and aqueous-based extracts were generated via maceration extraction process prior to the screening of bioactive compounds using standard diagnostic assays. The oxidation reduction potential (164.4 ± 16.6 mV) was the only physicochemical parameter whose value was within the World Health Organization limits for drinking water whereas, total dissolved solids (23 ± 5.5 mg/L), electrical conductivity (44 ± 10.1 uS/cm) and pH (5.35 ± 0.33) were out of specifications. Phenolic compounds, flavonoids, terpenoids, and cardiac glycosides were present in anthill soil (with respect to the extractants used) to which its antihypertensive properties can be attributed in addition to some of the studied mineral components. With respect to the pH, TDS and EC, and the contents of most metal(loid)s in relation to their health risk assessment values, the results suggest that aqueous extracts derived from this anthill soil can be deemed unsuitable for human consumption.
文摘The primary goal of this study is to develop a composite material from the anthill and chicken eggshell and to use it as a catalyst for the synthesis of biodiesel from virgin and waste vegetable oils.The anthill-eggshell composite(AEC)catalyst was prepared using an incipient wetness impregnation method.Central composite design(CCD)was applied to investigate the effects of catalyst preparation parameters(calcination temperature,calcination time,and anthill proportion in the AEC)on the yields of biodiesel from the two oils.Based on the CCD,two quadratic models were developed to correlate the AEC preparation parameters to the two responses.Analysis of variance(ANOVA)was performed to verify the reliability of the models and also,identify the factor that mostly affects the experimental design responses.Optimization results showed that the predicted values of biodiesel yield from the models for the two oils agreed reasonably well with the experimental values.The optimum conditions for the preparation of AEC catalyst for the transesterification process were calcination temperature of 1000℃,calcination time of 4 h,and anthill proportion of 20% to achieve 97.13%yield of biodiesel from virgin vegetable oil.At the same optimum parameters,the yield of biodiesel from waste vegetable oil was found to be 70.92%.
