The ash content formed after burning of materials in indoor may be harmful to environment on dumping due to high ionic and metallic concentration. Therefore, the chemical composition of various indoor ash residues derived from burning of the biomass (BM), coal (C), cow dung (CD), incense (IS) and mosquito coil (MC) materials is described in this study. Three samples each of BM, coal, CD, IS and MC materials were burnt. The ash residues were collected and sieved out the particles of mesh size£0.1 mm size. The Cl-, NO3-, SO42-, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ content (n=15) was ranged from 0.12-8.27, 0.01-0.64, 0.74-12.53, 0.06-4.47, 0.29-15.45, 0.30-2.51 and 0.68-19.05% with mean value of 1.81±1.18, 0.10±0.08, 3.31±1.66, 1.05±0.70, 4.92±2.04, 1.27±0.36 and 7.68±2.94%, respectively. The composition of metals, that is, Fe, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb (n=15) was ranged from 1100-24, 600, 12-211, 109-1102, 5-142, 21-145, 25-244 and 5-42 mg/kg with mean value of 95±31, 474±152, 43±23, 75±23, 107±32 and 16±6 mg/kg, respectively. The enrichment and fluxes of ions and metals of indoor ash residues are described.

Background: The objective of this study was to determine the residual concentrations of ethion and imidacloprid in cucumbers grown in greenhouse. The effect of some simple processing procedures on both ethion and imidacloprid residues were also studied.Methods: Ten active greenhouses that produce cucumber were randomly selected. Ethion and imidacloprid as the most widely used pesticides were measured in cucumber samples of studied greenhouses. Moreover, the effect of stor-ing, washing, and peeling as simple processing procedures on both ethion and imidacloprid residues were investigated.Results: One hour after pesticide application; the maximum residue levels (MRLs) of ethion and imidacloprid were higher than that of Codex standard level. One day after pesticide application, the levels of pesticides were decreased about 35 and 31% for ethion and imidacloprid, respectively, which still were higher than the MRL. Washing procedure led to about 51 and 42.5% loss in ethion and imidacloprid residues, respectively. Peeling procedure also led to highest loss of 93.4 and 63.7% in ethion and imidacloprid residues, respectively. The recovery for both target analytes was in the range between 88 and 102%.Conclusion: The residue values in collected samples one hour after pesticides application were higher than standard value. The storing, washing, and peeling procedures lead to the decrease of pesticide residues in greenhouse cucumb-ers. Among them, the peeling procedure has the greatest impact on residual reduction. Therefore, these procedures can be used as simple and effective processing techniques for reducing and removing pesticides from greenhouse products before their consumption.

Concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (Lindane, Aldrin, Dieldrin, Endosulfan, DDT and DDE) residues in beef samples from the Kumasi and Buoho abattoirs in Ghana were determined using gas chromatography. Organochlorine residues were found in all the samples. The average concentration of lindane in beef fat samples from Kumasi was 4.03  mg/kg and 1.79 mg/kg in beef fat from Buoho. The average levels of lindane were 2.07 mg/kg for lean meat samples from Kumasi abattoir and 0.60 mg/kg in lean meat samples from Buoho. Endosulfan concentration in meat samples from Buoho was 2.28 mg/kg in the fat and 0.59 mg/kg in the lean beef. 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(pdichlorodiphenyl) ethylene (DDE) recorded mean concentrations of 118.45 mg/kg in beef fat and 42.93 mg/kg in lean beef samples from Kumasi abattoir. Beef samples from Buoho had DDE concentration of 31.89 mg/kg in the fat and 5.86 mg/ kg in the lean beef. 1, 1, 1-trichloro-2, 2-bis-(4'-chlorophenyl) ethane (DDT) recorded an average concentration of 545.22 mg/kg in beef fat and 18.85 mg/kg in lean beef samples from Kumasi abattoir. The average concentration of DDT in beef fat from Buoho was 403.82mg/kg but lean meat samples from the same sampling site recorded mean concentration of 10.82 mg/kg for DDT. Although, most of the organochlorine residues detected were below the maximum limits set by the FAO/WHO, bioaccumulation of these residues is likely to pose health problems in higher organisms like human beings.

Introduction: Total coffee production in the world in 2013 was 8.7 million Mg of coffee beans. Coffee must be processed after harvest to separate beans from the husk, and the post-harvest process can generate different types of residues. Knowing that 50 % of the harvested coffee is husk, it is important to consider that these by-products can contribute to environmental problems if not disposed of properly. There is a need to find alternatives to the piling of coffee husk as a means of disposal at coffee farms. The objectives in this experiment were to characterize five types of coffee processing residues and assess their value as potassium (K) fertilizer by examining K release.Results: Chemical characteristics of coffee residues varied with processing method, such as wet and dry processes.Application of residues to soil columns followed by 40 weeks of simulated leaching increased total K content in the soil for all treatments based on application rate, except for enriched and three-year composted coffee husk (3ycomp). Coffee processing residues had higher concentrations of K leached compared with the control with no K application, but only 3ycomp was higher than other coffee processing residues. Total K released from coffee residues increased linearly with application rate, but the decomposition of the coffee residues was low, which suggest that K release from coffee processing residues is not related to decomposition.Conclusion: Post-harvest coffee processes impacted concentrations of K, nitrogen, carbon, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, phenol, pH, and electrical conductivity among the coffee processing residues. The K release was high (over 90 %), but it did not depend on the type of coffee processing residue, and thus, the residues can be a substitute for a mineral source of K applied to soils. The use of coffee processing residues as source of K did not prevent K losses by leaching. Some coffee residues resulted in greater K leaching than mineral KCl applied at the same rate.

An analysis of the experimental characterization of the three agricultural residues redgram stalk, soyabean stalk, and chilli stalk (biomass) was carried out and the higher heating values (HHV) were determined using the available correlations from the literature. The selected agricultural residues proximate analysis results show moisture about 4.2 to 7.4%, the volatile matter about 79.3 to 85.8%, fixed carbon about 4 to 8.94%, and ash about 2.5 to 5.5%. The ultimate analysis results present elemental compositions such as carbon about 46 to 49%, hydrogen about 5%, oxygen about 30%, and the nitrogen about 3.1 to 3.7% with very low sulfur content. The HHV of agricultural residues varies from 14MJ kg-1 to 19MJ kg-1. The design of the downdraft gasifier to accommodate agricultural residues was carried out taking into account the characteristics of the agricultural residues and the specifications of the internal combustion (IC) engine. The characteristics of the agricultural residues depict that the three agricultural residues are suitable for gasification and can be used in a single gasifier.