Michael Miyittah

• PhD.
• Associate Professor at University of Cape Coast

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...

Coastal marine waters in the Gulf of Guinea are severely affected by heavy metal pollution, particularly from small scale mining activities around major rivers feeding estuaries in the Region. However, the potential impact of these environmental stressor on the productivity of planktonic organisms remain unknown. We quantified survival, reproductio...

Mangrove complexity and cloud cover effects, among others, make it difficult to classify mangrove forests in tropical coastal zones using simply passive remote sensing techniques. The method described in this paper combines optical and radar data to overcome the difficulties of identifying mangrove stands in cloudy areas. Google Earth Engine geospa...

Cloud cover effects make it difficult to evaluate the mangrove ecosystem in tropical locations using solely optical satellite data. Therefore, it is essential to conduct a more precise evaluation using data from several sources and appropriate models in order to manage the mangrove ecosystem as effectively as feasible. In this study, the status of...

This study investigated seasonal variations in microbial contaminations of groundwater and associated health risks in four coastal communities (Essiama, Winneba, Accra, and Keta) in Ghana. Membrane filtration methods, sanitary risk inspection, and quantitative microbial risk assessment were employed, respectively, to (i) quantify bacteriological qu...

In this study, a qualitative research method using Driver Pressure State Impact Response (DPSIR) framework was employed to assess the drivers of environmental degradation and their implications on Anlo and Sanwoma coastal communities in the Western Region of Ghana. Pollution Index (PI) and Environmental Risk Factor (ERF) were estimated in Pra and A...

Rapid and onsite determination of the soil status and quality parameters holds a brighter potential for improving food security, and minimizing waste of the excessive application of soil amendments hence reducing environmental pollution. In this study, a pocket-sized shortwave NIR spectroscopy (740–1070 nm) and multivariate statistics were used to...

Background This study sought to investigate the association between urbanicity (rural-urban residency), the use of solid biomass cooking fuels and the risk of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) among children under the age of 5 in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods Cross-sectional data from the most recent surveys of the Demographic and Health Sur...

The poster presents the assessment of the contamination status of Pra and Ankobra estuaries and its implication on SDGs in the coastal communities of Ghana

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...

The classification of mangrove forests in tropical coastal zones, based only on passive remote sensing methods, is hampered by mangrove complexities, topographical considerations, and cloud cover effects, among others. This paper reports on a study that combines optical and radar data to address the challenges of distinguishing mangrove stands in c...

This study evaluated the water quality, pollution, and health risks associated with illegal gold mining activities in two estuaries (Pra and Ankobra) in the Southwestern region of Ghana. The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCME-WQI) used for the evaluation indicated that both estuaries were in the marginal wate...

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...

The present study assessed the pollution fingerprints of two estuaries (Pra and Ankobra) in the Southwestern region of Ghana. Contaminations of sediments in the two estuaries were evaluated for particle size distribution, total organic matter, microplastics, nitrate-nitrogen, phosphorous, and metals. The results revealed the mean concentration of m...

A survey was conducted to investigate farmers’ knowledge, attitudes towards pesticide use, storage/disposal, exposure risks and health symptoms in one of the eight cocoa growing regions in Ghana. A considerable proportion of the farmers (32%) used the bush as a storage facility for pesticides, 17% of the farmers stored chemicals in their living roo...

Water quality improvement, sanitation, and hygiene have been demonstrated to have positive impacts on health, social, and economic development. However, global understanding of water quality, sanitation, and hygiene is limited. The study extracted data from the Joint Monitoring Programme (WHO/UNICEF) and the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to...

Global response to climate‐sensitive infectious diseases has been uncertain and slow. The understanding of the underlying vulnerabilities which forms part of changes created by forces within the Earth system has never before been critical until the coronavirus disease 2019, “COVID‐19” pandemic with the initial developmental phase linked to weather...

Although the concurrent impacts of pollution and climate change on livelihoods of fishermen are well established, the mechanics within the livelihoods are less known. To understand the mechanics, this paper evaluates the responses of fishermen on the impact of pollution and climate change on livelihoods, using field surveys of 124 fishermen. The re...

Plant and/or crop growth rely on nutrient dynamics driven by specific soil biota in different environments. This mini-review aims to provide an overview of interactions between soil organisms, nutrient dynamics, and C sequestration. To this end, we investigated published results from three forest plantations (eucalyptus monocultures and mixed plant...

The needs of the growing population of our societies associated with the effects of climate change are increasingly threatening the environment (soil health, ecosystem biodiversity, and forest conservation) and human welfare (food security, agricultural sustainability, access to health and education, gender equity, among others) at the beginning of...

Mangrove Forest classification in tropical coastal zones based on only passive remote sensing methods is hampered by Mangrove complexities, topographic considerations and cloud cover effects among other things. This paper reports on a novel approach that combines Optical Satellite images and Synthetic Aperture Radar alongside their derived paramete...

This work presents an assessment of the chemico-physical and microbial quality of water samples from hand-dug wells in the shallow aquifer of three communities neighbouring the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Sanitary risk inspection was undertaken at each well location and the physical parameters including electrical conductivity, pH, Dissolved O...

Vegetables cultivated in soil irrigated with untreated groundwater and municipal-waste-dominated (MWD) stream can elevate the concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Fe, Zn, Hg, Cr, and Ni) in edible parts of the crop, affecting food safety and public health worldwide. This study assessed the quality, sources, and distribution of heavy metals in surface...

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...

Background The export drive for watermelon production is huge and so is pesticide usage. However, the health and safety of the farmers, as well as threat to the environment lie in the shadow. The purpose of the study is to evaluate watermelon farmers’ knowledge and application of pesticides in the Central region of Ghana, to ascertain factors assoc...

In this study biodiesel production by transesterificating Silybum marianum oil with methanol was done using KF-Atta-2M-5 catalyst prepared from low-cost attapulgite clay. This effective heterogeneous catalyst was prepared by dehydroxylating raw attapulgite at 130°C for 6 h and treating it with 1.5 M H2SO4. Following washing and drying, the acid-act...

Although terrestrial and aquatic environments are polluted with mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), much of the research efforts toward bioremediation of these toxic, mutagenic and/or carcinogenic pollutants have focused on individual compounds. The potential of laccase (E.C. 1.10.3.2) from Trametes versicolor immobilized on soil a...

Background Application of biochar has been suggested as a carbon (C) management strategy to sequester C and enhance soil quality. An incubation study was carried out to investigate the interactive effect of biochar and cattle manure application on mineralization of carbon (C) in a tropical coastal savanna sandy soil. Methods The soils were amended...

Radon is a globally present and known radioactive gas with its ability to cause lung cancer as its major health implication. Ghana currently lacks national policies on radon gas and substantive radon vulnerability map largely due to lack of adequate baseline radon concentration data for the entire country. LR115 type II detectors were deployed in 3...

The essential role of phosphorus (P) for agriculture and its impact on water quality has received decades of research attention. However, the benefits of sustainable P use and management for society due to its downstream impacts on multiple ecosystem services are rarely acknowledged. We propose a conceptual framework—the "phosphorus-ecosystem servi...

The Point of Zero Charge (PZC) of manganese oxide (MnO2), titanium dioxide (TiO2), aluminum (Al) laterite and ferruginous (Fe) laterite, aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and a commercial activated carbon sample (AC001) was determined using acid-base potentiometric (PT) and mass titration (MT). The mass titration technique has been used extensively for carbon...

Groundwater containing arsenic(V) (As(V)) from a contaminated site was used in this experiment. The study simulated As(V) dynamics under a control system of pH <5.0, aided by sorption mechanism in flow calorimetry. The control system is needed to understand the nature and behavior of As(V) dynamics and the removal process. Flow calorimetry provided...

A new speciation model developed and implemented in Polymath was found to be successful in predicting struvite precipitation in soils. Struvite (NH 4 MgPO 4) has been identified as a mineral for the recovery of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Predicting struvite precipitation potential in soil is important for optimal quantification of nutrient sp...

A new speciation model developed and implemented in Polymath was found to be successful in predicting struvite precipitation in soils. Struvite (NH4MgPO4) has been identified as a mineral for the recovery of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Predicting struvite precipitation potential in soil is important for optimal quantification of nutrient speci...

A remediation strategy called “co-blending” was developed for rapid phosphorus (P) immobilization. Immobilization was achieved through the combination of an Al-based water treatment residual (Al-WTR) with Ca-Mg-based materials (Slag and magnesium oxide) for use in incubation and leaching experiments. Al-WTR was co-blended with Slag and MgO as “Al-W...

Long-term depositions of animal manures affect P dynamics in soils and can pose environmental risks associated with P losses. Laboratory studies were done on P solubility characteristics in a manure-impacted Immokalee soil (sandy, siliceous, hyperthermic Arenic Alaquod) and the effectiveness of water treatment residual (WTR) in controlling P leachi...

A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the decomposition of various composts in soils by determining the C mineralization rate and microbial biomass level. The differences in the decomposition rate of the composts were examined. The composts used consisted of okara compost made from soymilk residues, cow manure, poultry manure, and sewag...

未分解有機物を土壌に施用する場合, 植物の発芽や生育が阻害される事例が報告されている.しかし分解程度を把握するための効果的な試験方法はなく試行錯誤の段階が続いている.本研究では豆乳残渣とオガクズから調製されたオカラコンポストの分解と代謝過程を把握し, 最適施用量を明らかにするため室内培養試験とポット試験を行った.未熟コンポストの水抽出液は完熟コンポストや蒸留水と比べて, ソルガムの発芽や根の伸長を阻害した.発芽指標(G. I.)と水抽出液の465nmと665nmにおける吸光度の比(E_4/E_6)を用いてコンポストの完熟化に要する時間を調べた.水抽出液のE_4/E_6比は一旦増加し, 約30日後, 減少に転じた.この減少は発芽阻害の解消と対応しており, 未熟コンポストの完熟化と安定化に関係し...