Ceramic Properties of Three Specimens of Alluvial Clays Used in Local Constructions from Mbouda Clay Deposit, West Cameroon

The Mbouda alluvial deposit is located at the foot of the Bamboutos mountains (West Cameroon) where three types of clayey materials are widespread. The populations collect these clays in their natural state in view of constructions using fired bricks or compressed blocks. Unfortunately, these buildings are not strong. This study investigates the causes of the strengthlessness of buildings and suggests solutions to overcome the difficulty. The research content includes field and laboratory studies. The methodology consists of sampling black (AN), white (AB) and red (AR) clays specimens identified in the study area and analysing them simultaneously at MIPROMALO (Cameroon) and at ACME LAB in Vancouver (Canada). The results obtained show a high sand content in the samples AN (64%), AB (55.2%), AR (30.9%). The compressive strength of the built specimens is low at 900˚C considered as the traditional firing temperature AN (0.94 MPa), AB (5.25 MPa), AR (2.18 MPa). The mineralogical series are identically made by kaolinite, chlorite, gibbsite, quartz, muscovite, biotite, goethite, magnetite and hematite. Silica (SiO2) presents higher contents AN (52.87%), AB (48.02%), AR (47.68%) followed by alumina (Al2O3) AN (29.96%), AB (28.13%), AR (24.72%). The other elements are poorly represented.

Removal of Dyes in Aqueous Media with Hydrochar Base of Solid Tanneries Waste: Optimization Process and Application

The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to optimise the conditions of preparation of activated hydrochar from tannery solid waste by hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC). The main factors such as residence time, moisture content and final carbonisation temperature were investigated during the optimisation of hydrochar preparation conditions. The three responses investigated are hydrochar yield, iodine and methylene blue indices. The results of experimental analyses showed that the yield of hydrochar decreases with increasing final temperature, leading to the formation of micropores inside the carbonaceous solid. The optimum conditions for preparing the following hydrochar were obtained: 83.10%, 390.44 mg∙g−1 and 259.63 mg∙g−1 respectively for the hydrochar yield, the iodine and methylene blue indices. The specific surface area of prepared hydrochar is 849.160 m2/g, SEM micrographs showed a porous heterogeneous surface and particularly, the hydrochar surface also revealed external pores on the hydrochar surface which acted as a pathway to the micropores. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), however, showed a predominance of acid functions on the surface of the carbonaceous solids. Tests were carried out to eliminate indigo carmine in aqueous media. Activated hydrochar showed a high level of activity, with the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms giving an adsorption quantity of 354.610 mol/g and a KF constant of 468.2489, respectively. The findings of the research revealed that hydrochar produced is well adapted for dyes removal.

A Novel Hybrid MPPT for Wind Energy Conversion Systems Operating under Low Variations in Wind Speed

This manuscript presents a new approach MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) for improving and optimizing the performance of a Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) operating for small variations in wind speed by combining sliding mode control and fuzzy logic control. The proposed method consists of optimizing the sliding mode controller by the fuzzy controller. The main purpose of the Sliding Mode control-Fuzzy Logic controller (SM-FL) is to ensure the robustness (by eliminating certain disadvantages of the sliding mode control such as the phenomenon of chattering) and the stability of the control system in the case of small variations in conditions atmospheric (here variation of the wind). Our system consists of a wind turbine, a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) and a DC-DC boost converter connected to a continuous load. The performances of the method suggested are compared with those of fuzzy logic and fuzzy-Proportional Integral (FL-PI) in term speed of convergence, of tracking time and tracking efficiency. The results of numerical simulation of our system confirmed the best performance of this method.

Investigation of the Antioxidant and UV Absorption Properties of 2-(2’-hydroxy-5’-methylphenyl)-benzotriazole and Its Ortho-Substituted Derivatives via DFT/TD-DFT

The demand and pursuit of chemical entities with UV filtration and antioxidant properties for enhanced photoprotection have been driven in recent times by acute exposure of humans to solar ultraviolet radiations. The structural, electronic, antioxidant and UV absorption properties of drometrizole (PBT) and designed ortho-substituted derivatives are reported via DFT and TD-DFT in the gas and aqueous phases. DFT and TD-DFT computations were performed at the M062x-D3Zero/6-311++G(d,p)//B97-3c and PBE0-D3(BJ)/def2-TZVP levels of theory respectively. Reaction enthalpies related to hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), single-electron transfer followed by proton transfer (SET-PT), and sequential proton loss electron transfer (SPLET) mechanisms were computed and compared with those of phenol. Results show that the presence of -NH2 substituent reduces the O-H bond dissociation enthalpy and ionization potential, while that of -CN increases the proton affinity. The HAT and SPLET mechanisms are the most plausible in the gas and aqueous phases respectively. The molecule with the -NH2 substituent (PBT1) was identified to be the compound with the highest antioxidant activity. The UV spectra of the studied compounds are characterized by two bands in the 280 - 400 nm regions. Results from this study provide a better comprehension antioxidant mechanism of drometrizole and present a new perspective for the design of electron-donor antioxidant molecules with enhanced antioxidant-photoprotective efficiencies for applications in commercial sunscreens.

Bioefficacy of Plectranthus kirbii Powder and Extracts on Stored Cowpea Pest Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Cowpea seed constitutes an important source of proteins for populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. But this food resource is heavily damaged by cowpea beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. The control of that pest is mainly carried out by using synthetic insecticides. Despite the efficacy of this method, it caused environmental and health problems. Therefore, the search for alternative methods is vivaciously needed. In this issue, the bio-efficacy of Plectranthus kirbii extracts was assessed on C. maculatus regarding adult mortality, suppression of population and grain damage as well as seed viability preservation and repellency. The leaf powder and aqueous extracts of the plant were tested at 2, 4, 8 and 16 g/kg on bruchid adult for toxicity and damage bioassays. Repellency test was carried out using the plant aqueous, methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts at 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 mg/cm2. The seed viability was evaluated using seeds preserved for three months at the single concentration of 16 g/kg of each plant extract. Significant mortality of cowpea beetle was induced by the plant aqueous extract and leaf powder. LC50 values decreased with the increasing exposure period, and aqueous extract and leaf powder recorded 33.42 and 9.48 g/kg respectively within 3 days whereas within 5 days, the same extracts in the same order recorded LC50 of 1.31 and 8.73 g/kg respectively. These extracts significantly reduced damage by suppressing almost completely the bruchid population growth. The non-infested grain preserved recorded high grain viability compared to the infested ones. The non-treated infested recorded the lowest germination rate (11.33%). The repellency rate ranged from 38.75% to 83.75%. Ethyl acetate and methanolic extracts were classified as the class III repellent product, while aqueous extract ranged as class IV in repellency. Considering these findings, the extracts of P. kirbii could favourably replace the synthetic insecticides used in the cowpea protection during storage.

Mining Implication in the Geochemical Exploration of Fluvial Sediments of the East Nyambaka Volcanic Zone (Adamawa-Cameroon)

Geochemical characterization in stream sediments from Nyambaka locality was carried out on ten samples collected from the study area watershed. The distribution of trace metals in the sediments showed that some lithophiles (Be, Sc, V, Cr, Sr, Th, U), chalcophiles (Cu, Zn, Ga, As) and siderophiles (Mn, Co, Ni, Mo) have high average contents in the sediments compared to their average concentration in the upper crust. From the factorial analysis of the components, the total variance explained made it possible to represent and capture the main information on the data and to represent them in a graphical frame. Thus, using this graphical frame, the trace elements were divided into four groups opposed to each other. They show an enrichment of stream sediments in group 1 (Cr, Cu, Mn, Be, Ni, Co, Zr, Sr, Ba, Mg) and group 2 (Mo, As, Hg, V, Ag) elements more than group 3 (Ga, Sc, U) and group 4 (Au, Th). Rare earth analysis indicates a high abundance of Lanthanide (28.1 ppm to 42.4 ppm), a high concentration of light rare earth (LREE), and depletion of heavy rare earth (HREE). The variable LREE/HREE (7.24 LREE/ HREE 12.22) and (La/Yb)N (6.70 (La/Yb)N 11.72) ratios suggest an effect of heterogeneous sorting of heavy minerals with variable enrichment of dense and resistant minerals.