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Chemical characterization of Harmattan dust across Oyo and Minna, Nigeria
Joint Authors
Aweda, Francis Olatunbosun
Falaiye, Oluwasesan Adeniran
Source
Issue
Vol. 13, Issue 1 (30 Apr. 2020), pp.17-28, 12 p.
Publisher
Yarmouk University Deanship of Research and Graduate Studies
Publication Date
2020-04-30
Country of Publication
Jordan
No. of Pages
12
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Harmattan dust haze in Nigeria is due to annual deposition of very fine dust particles as a result of both natural and human activities.
There are scanty reports on the mineralogical, elemental and heavy metal composition in the Harmattan dust blowing across the country to support the presence of minerals and elements in the Harmattan dust.
The aim of this study is to assess minerals and elemental compositions of Harmattan dust variations across Oyo (7 0 32'N, 3 0 25'E) and Minna (9 0 35'N, 6 0 32'E), Nigeria.
Harmattan dust samples were collected using clean plastic bowls of 10 cm diameter and analysis was conducted on the samples collected at the two stations using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Fluoresence (XRF), Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS).
It was observed that elements, such as K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo, As, Zr, Pb, V, Sr, Cr and Ce, were present in different concentrations in the samples collected.
Minerals, such as Quartz [SiO 2 ], Rutile [TiO 2 ], Periclase [MgO], Corundum [Al 2 O 3 ], Hematite [Fe 2 O 3 ], Cuprite [Cu 2 O], Baddeleyite [ZrO 2 ], Litharge [PbO], Monazite [P 2 O 5 ], Zincite [ZnO], Montroydite [HgO] and Lime [CaO], were present in the samples collected at each station in different proportions.
The soil mass concentration of the elements was calculated and observed to be 3.5179μg m 3 at Oyo and 3.4745μg m 3 at Minna.
It was observed that the Harmattan dusts moving across Nigeria have almost all the elements present in Harmattan dust varying from station to station as the dust is moving towards the south of the country.
The study concluded that the elemental composition of the dust samples analyzed revealed that the percentage compositions of some elements are higher than the acceptable WHO standard values, which may affect human health.
It is therefore recommended that adequate precautionary measures and policies should be made to help mitigate the effects of high elemental concentrations observed.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Aweda, Francis Olatunbosun& Falaiye, Oluwasesan Adeniran. 2020. Chemical characterization of Harmattan dust across Oyo and Minna, Nigeria. Jordan Journal of Physics،Vol. 13, no. 1, pp.17-28.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1279516
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Aweda, Francis Olatunbosun& Falaiye, Oluwasesan Adeniran. Chemical characterization of Harmattan dust across Oyo and Minna, Nigeria. Jordan Journal of Physics Vol. 13, no. 1 (Apr. 2020), pp.17-28.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1279516
American Medical Association (AMA)
Aweda, Francis Olatunbosun& Falaiye, Oluwasesan Adeniran. Chemical characterization of Harmattan dust across Oyo and Minna, Nigeria. Jordan Journal of Physics. 2020. Vol. 13, no. 1, pp.17-28.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1279516
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Record ID
BIM-1279516