Ing. Samuel Kofi Tulashie

University of Cape Coast | UCC · Department of Chemistry

Solvent extraction is the most efficient technique for extracting oils of higher quality for prospective industrial and commercial applications. Here, we present a protocol for extracting oil from Ghana shea nuts using this technique. We describe steps for drying and milling kernels; oil extraction, including the kinetic and thermodynamic processes...

Biodiesel is mainly produced from various bio-based sources, including vegetable oils, waste cooking oil, and more, by esterification and transesterification processes using a suitable catalyst – preferably a heterogeneous catalyst as it is more beneficial in terms of reusability, recovery, product purity, and production cost. Different feedstocks...

This study underlines all the techniques adopted to extract and define the oil that was extracted from cashew kernels and also to figure out if it fits the bill for applications in industrial operations. Using the solvent extraction method, the oil was obtained at different extraction times and temperatures. At the maximum temperature 333 K, the...

Though little research has been done, shea nut oil (Shea Butter), is a promising shea product with great potential for use in industrial shea product manufacture. To assess the oil obtained from the shea nuts for personal, commercial, and industrial use, this study focuses on the extraction process, the optimal solvent for extraction, thermodynamic...

For several years, fish smoking has been the widely adopted processing method among artisanal fish smokers located along the coastal zones in many parts of West Africa including Ghana. However, several issues pertaining to biochemical and microbiological contaminants still remain, mainly because of the suboptimal, unhygienic fish handling during th...

This paper reports on using waste polyethylene to form plastic-bonded sand interlocking blocks for wall construction. The production process, mechanical properties, and failure mechanisms of three different interlocking block wall systems are reported. Plastic-bonded composite blocks were formed by mixing sand into waste polyethylene in a high-temp...

Microplastics (MPs, <5 mm) accumulate in marine environments, impacting marine organism health. This study examined MPs in sediment and two pelagic fish species (S. maderensis and I. africana) in Ghana's Gulf of Guinea. The study found an average concentration of 0.144 ± 0.061 items/g (dry weight) in the sediment, with pellets and transparent parti...

This study characterizes and evaluates the constituents of produced water at production wells and dumping sites. The study examined the impact of offshore petroleum mining activities on aquatic systems for regulatory compliance and the selection of management and disposal options. The physicochemical analyses of produced water from the three study...

This study examined the potential for green microalgae to produce lipid that could be used for biodiesel production from wastewater substrate. Green microalgae has the potential to be used in the production of biodiesel because it accumulates 5.3211 g of lipid in 39.2246 g of centrifuged and oven-dried algae biomass, accounting for 13.57% of its dr...

In this study, extracts obtained from ginger rhizomes (Zingiber officinale) and chewing sponge-''Sawere'' (Acacia kamerunensis) by cold maceration were used in the production of mouthwash solutions at the following concentrations: 10 mg/mL, 20 mg/mL, 50 mg/mL, and 75 mg/mL for ginger extract and 10 mg/mL only for ''Sawere'' extract. The solutions w...

The objective of this study is to assess the adoption of alternative pest management methods as a mean to reduce risks among cocoa farmers in the Volta region. Cultural control methods found to be the most practiced alternative pest management, especially in the Ho West district where majority of the farmers were more knowledgeable of alternative p...

In this research, the evaluation of Ghana’s wave energy potential was presented based on the ERA5 monthly averaged data on single levels from 1979 to 2020 from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). The data obtained which was the Significant Wave Height and Wave Period were used to calculate the Average Wave Power and Energy. T...

The production and transport of sand from oil and gas wells into production and transport facilities results in flow assurance and structural problems. A critical operational issue is the erosion of oil and gas facilities by the suspended sand particles, particularly around flow diversions. This study investigated the effects of four key parameters...

We assess the adsorption capacity of bamboo and calabash biochar (BB and CB). Using 10–50 mg/L Reactive Violet 5 Azo dye (V5R) adsorbate, the kinetics, and adsorption isotherms are investigated. We pyrolyzed the bamboo, and calabash biomass at 500 °C, washed, and oven dried at 120 °C for 48 h. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method indicates that...

When vegetable oils are released from the manufacturers or oil producers, they customarily meet the standard and regulations to ensure that they do not pose any future threat to consumers or users. However, their inappropriate handling and storage at the marketplace during commercialisation could introduce new compounds that could threaten consumer...

Cocoa bean (Theobroma cacao) oil is a promising intermediate cocoa product with few research demonstrating its potential for the direct production of industrial cocoa products. The liquefied form could be utilised as an intermediate cocoa bean product to manufacture industrial cocoa products with a controllable yield and low cost. This study highli...

Almost everywhere in the marine ecosystem contains microplastics. Although their environmental contamination is a global problem, relatively little is known about their distribution and abundance in the Gulf of Guinea. This study looked at the spatial dynamics of microplastics in the sea surface water off the coast of Ghana. Four chosen areas were...

Traditional methods of disposing and storing plastic waste in Ghana, such as at damping sites and landfills, have put the environment and human life at risk for years. A sustainable and efficient solution is to shift to a circular economy by recycling plastic waste into alternative fuels. Therefore, this study segregate plastic waste and converts i...

Plastic pollution and high cement costs for pavement brick construction are two major issues in Ghana. This study proposes a dual solution to these problems by using plastic waste (PW) as a binder in constructing sustainable and decorative pavement bricks. Plastic pavement bricks were produced by melting and mixing waste polyethylene [low-density p...

This study conducts postmarketing surveillance for the photosensitised oxidation of vegetable oils (VOs) stored in different conditions in the marketplace during commercialisation. Coconut oil, palm kernel oil, soybean oil and sunflower oil were exposed to direct sunlight and kept in the dark for six weeks. The results showed a significant (p < 0.0...

This study aims at the production of coconut milk as a substitute for milk from cows (dairy milk) using mature coconut. The purpose of this milk is to address the challenges associated with allergies, lactose intolerance, and the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia. The milk was obtained from coconut by wet extraction. The matured coconut fruit was...

Many studies have been conducted to evaluate the quality of repeatedly heated oils (RHO) used in deep-frying French potatoes fries, but little is known about the quality of RHO used for deep-frying yam fries. Therefore, this study investigated the quality of RHO used for deep-frying yam fries, focusing on coconut oil (CNO), sunflower oil (SFO), and...

Cocoa bean (Theobroma cacao L.) oil is a promising intermediate cocoa product with few research demonstrating its potential for the direct production of industrial cocoa products. This study highlights the extraction and characterisations of oil obtained from the Ghana cocoa bean crop to evaluate its suitability for industrial applications. A solve...

The growing concern and limitations for existing lubricants have driven the need for biolubricants, extensively proposed as the most suitable and sustainable lubricating oils. Biolubricants are generally synthesized from various bio-based sources, including vegetable oils, microbially derived oils, waste cooking oil, etc. They are promising commodi...

This paper presents the formulation of anti-mosquito soap from indigenous lye prepared from plantain peels ash. Neem oil is employed as the key repellent in this formulation. The study investigates the mosquito repelling power of the formulated soaps. The plantain peels ash was found to contain 9.72% of sodium and 76.93% of potassium, indicating it...

In this investigation, Palm Fiber Ash (PFA) produced from the controlled heating of palm fiber is assessed for its aptness as partial cement replacement in conventional concrete. In effect, the physical, and chemical properties of PFA, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) 42.5R, Pit and Standard sand are presented and analyzed. The compressive strength o...

This paper presents a novel two-dimensional (2D) computational modeling of the retinal oxygen delivery, transport, and consumption analysis. The 2D modeling allows the division of the retina into four layers to address different flow profiles. The retina domain was meshed using the ICEM CFD mesher, while the ANSYS Fluent was used to calculate the t...

This study characterized and assessed the toxicity of neem extracts obtained by two different methods to manage fall armyworm (FAW) invasion. The extracts, neem seed oil extract (NSOE) and methanolic neem leaf extract (MNLE), were obtained from neem seeds and leaves by Soxhlet extraction and cold maceration respectively. The yields after extraction...

A large amount of sawdust is generated as municipal waste in Ghana. The poor disposal of sawdust has led to high levels of contamination in the environment. In light of this, the study at hand focuses on the upcycling of sawdust waste (biomass) into bioethanol. The study framework followed three steps which include pretreatment and acid hydrolysis...

This study assessed heavy metal contamination of fish and its associated health risk to communities around the Ankobra River in the Western Region of Ghana. Species of fish randomly collected from different sections of the river were analyzed for Cd, Ni, Zn, Pb, Mn, Hg, As, Co and Cr using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Three commonly consume...

This study aims to investigate the influence of high‐intensity sunlight radiation on the photooxidation of tropical oils (TO). Coconut oil (CNO), palm oil (PO), and palm kernel oil (PKO) were chosen for determining the indicators of photooxidation when exposed to and in the absence of sunlight for 7 weeks. The results showed a significant (P < 0.05...

This study investigates the compressive strengths of mortar prisms of Portland pozzolana cement (PPC) samples prepared with 6.67-20.00% compositions of rice husk ash (RHA) as the pozzolanic constituents. CEN standard sand–cement, and pit sand-cement mortar prisms were separately prepared using cement-sand blend ratio 1:3. The optimum strength of th...

This study aims to investigate the influence of sunlight on the photooxidation of tropical oils (TOs). Coconut oil (CNO), palm oil (PO), and palm kernel oil (PKO) were chosen for determining the indicators of photooxidation when exposed to and in the absence of sunlight for seven weeks. The results showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase in free f...

Prionace glauca, blue shark is a cosmopolitan species. Together with Carcharhinus falciformis, it co-dominated the landings of carcharhinidae sharks at the Artisanal Fishing Port of Cotonou. The objective of this study is to determine the demographic parameters of the blue shark in Gulf of Guinea marine waters. The different routines of the FISAT I...

The pollution status of the Tendo Lagoon, the upstream section of the Aby Lagoon System, was investigated. The water temperature, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen (DO), electrical conductivity (EC), nitrates (NO3⁻), and phosphate (PO4³⁻) levels were evaluated using samples taken during the wet and dry seasons to assess the variabilities in water qua...

This study focused on the chemical modification and the formulation of bio-based lubricants from castor, palm kernel, and coconut oils via transesterification and special additives addition. The bio-based lubricants physical-chemical properties were investigated and compared to SAE 40. At 40 °C and 100 °C, the kinematic viscosities of the modified...

This study explored the conversion of plastic wastes into pavement blocks in Ghana. The physical and chemical properties of the pit sand, sea sand, plastic wastes, and pavement block were determined. The FTIR identified Quartz and Kaoline minerals as the main components of the sand samples, whereas those of the plastic wastes were polyethylene and...

Shea nuts are dominantly grown in the Northern region of Ghana. Studies have shown that shea nuts undergo hydrolytic destruction during traditional post- harvest processing and storage. Due to poor infrastructure, local women in the area go through extreme measures of stress to process shea nuts into shea butter coupled with their inability to cont...

This study investigates the compressive strengths of mortar prisms of Portland pozzolana cement (PPC) samples prepared with 6.67–20.00% compositions of rice husk ash (RHA) as the pozzolanic constituents. CEN standard sand–cement, and pit sand-cement mortar prisms were separately prepared using cement-sand blend ratio 1:3. The optimum strength of th...

Moringa oleifera produces oil which can be extracted and converted to biodiesel. However, the kin-etics and thermodynamics of this viable fuel have been seldomly investigated. We examine the kinetics and thermodynamics of the oil extraction for biodiesel production. The biodiesel kinematic viscosity (3.75 ± 0.04 mm 2 /s), cetane number (67.12), oxi...

A large number of biofuels have been made currently to overcome the challenges related with the depletion of fossil fuels and environmental pollution. Importantly, major breakthroughs with respect to feedstocks, synthesis, properties and applications of the high-quality biofuels have been achieved. Though many challenges exist till date which hinde...

This work focused on transesterification of shea butter into biodiesel via double stage acid-alkaline catalysis. It outlined the use of shea butter biodiesel as a substitute for premix fuel for fishing. Upon using 0.8–1.4 wt% KOH catalyst per shea butter weight, a methanol/oil ratio of 4:5 and 2 mL of 95% H2SO4 at 65 °C, the optimum biodiesel yield...

In this study, the effect of roasting and boiling on the yield and oxidative stability of soya bean oil was investigated. The oil was soxhlet extracted and the oxidative stability was determined by the free fatty acid value, acid value and peroxide value. The results showed that the oil yield, free fatty acid value, acid value and peroxide value we...

The need for simple, cheaper and high performance hospital effluent treatment system in Kete-Krachi District which is adjacent to the Lake Volta has necessitated this study. This study focuses on assessing, and treating Kete-Krachi District Hospital effluent using packed granular (GAC) and smooth activated carbon (SAC). The use of activated carbon...

The need for simple, cheaper and high performance hospital effluent treatment system in Kete-Krachi District which is adjacent to the Lake Volta has necessitated this study. This study focuses on assessing, and treating Kete-Krachi District Hospital effluent using packed granular (GAC) and smooth activated carbon (SAC). The use of activated carbon...

This study investigates the compressive strength of ordinary Portland cement mortar prisms with rice husk ash (RHA). Pit sand–cement, and sea sand-cement mortar prisms were separately prepared using cement-sand mix ratio 1:3, and RHA composition of 0–44.44%. The optimum strength of the pit sand-cement mortar prisms after 1, 2, 7, and 28 days was re...

Background It is believed that higher methanol content may be present in some alcoholic drinks produced by traditional distilleries or some alcohol brewing companies. As a result of this, there could be a higher risk of methanol concentration in products. Therefore, this research focused on quantifying the amount of methanol in some fermented foods...

This work involves the study of the potential production of biodiesel from green microalgae. The green microalgae were cultured and treated with different nutrient concentrations of 0, 0.175, 0.35, 2 and 4 g in the laboratory where they were later centrifuged. The 4 g treatment had the highest growth of 0.186 cell/h, followed by the 2 g treatment o...

Starch is a polysaccharide that can be hydrolyzed by enzymes and fermented into bioethanol. It is commonly found in Ghana as the effluent during cassava-gari processing. The copious amount and its related stench in the environment as effluent have necessitated its conversion into ethanol. This present study investigated bioethanol production by enz...

This work involves the study of the solid-phase and solution crystallization behavior of the N-methylephedrine enantiomers. A systematic investigation of the melt phase diagram of the enantiomeric N-methylephedrine system was performed considering polymorphism. Two monotropically related modifications of the enantiomer were found. Solubilities and...

Background In Ghana, fire incidents have become a regular occurrence, with thousands of lives and millions of dollars lost every year. Hardly a day passes without news of a fire outbreak in some part of Ghana, causing fear and panic among the people. This generates much discussion centering on rumors relating to politics, sabotage, misfortune, reli...

“Occupational Safety and Health” is a broad field of professional practice which involves specialists from different disciplines including but not limited to Engineers, Occupational Health Physicians, Physical and Biological Scientists, Economists, and Statisticians. The preventive systems required to ensure workers are protected from injuries and...

A comparative study of the super cooling and carbonization processes of the gibbsitic Ghanaian Bauxite was investigated. Carbonization of the sodium aluminate solution (NaAl(OH)4 was carried out by introducing CO2 at atmospheric pressure into the solution to obtain aluminate trihydrate gel precipitate which was calcined at a temperature of 550 °C t...

The synthesis and application of enantiopure short-chain mandelic acid esters as chiral task-specific solvents were investigated for the determination of hetereochiral interactions between chiral solutes and chiral solvents. Because of specific chiral interactions between the mandelic acid enantiomers as solutes and the S-configured solvents for th...

The neem plant (Azadirachta indica) was used in this research to ascertain its effectiveness in controlling insects and pests. The leaves of the plant were applied. The neem plant has an active insecticidal ingredient, Azadirachtin (C 35 H 44 O 16). The active ingredient in the leaf was extracted for the toxicological analysis in rabbits. The extra...

Solubility equilibria of the chiral N-methylephedrine species in three chiral solvents, (S)-methyl lactate, (S)-propyl lactate, and (S)-butyl lactate, have systematically been studied. Solubility measurements were performed for enantiomeric compositions ranging from 1:1 mixtures to the pure enantiomer and at temperatures between (273 and 298) K. Th...

A systematic study of the ternary solubility phase diagrams of chiral mandelic acid species in the chiral solvents (S)-methyl lactate, (S)-propyl lactate, and (S)-butyl lactate has been carried out. Solubility measurements were performed for different enantiomeric compositions in a temperature range between (273 and 318) K. Experimental results ind...

Ternary solubility phase diagrams of mandelic acid and N-methylephedrine species in chiral solvents, (S)-methyl lactate, (S)-propyl lactate, and (S)-butyl lactate, have been determined. Solubility measurements were performed for enantiomeric compositions ranging from 50:50 mixtures to the pure enantiomers and temperatures ranging from 0 to 35 °C fo...