Tom 66 (2019): Zeszyt 4 (December 2019)

In this paper, research on the possibilities of sodium sulphate (Na₂SO₄) separation from other substances in the filter ash sample is presented. The research material contains six components that differ in chemical composition and density. The possibilities of Na₂SO₄ separation using dry and wet methods were studied. The dry method was based on separation with a centrifugal air classifier at four cut size limits. The wet method was based on the dissolution of water-soluble components, filtration of insoluble components, and drying the products. The sulphur content of the individual products was determined using both methods. The aim of the research was to determine which method is more suitable for separation of the material in a way that most of the material would contain as little sulphur as possible and the rest of the material would contain concentrated sulphur. The wet method proved to be more successful. The product with mass fraction 33.1% of the total mass, obtained from the aqueous solution, contained 8.39% sulphur after filtration and drying. The water-insoluble component, with mass fraction 66.9% of the total mass, contained 0.56% sulphur. The dry method with the centrifugal air classifier proved to be less successful in comparison with the wet method. The particles containing Na₂SO₄ are very similar in size and density to the other components of the material, so the separation to the desired extent was not achieved.

Subsurface information on source rock potential of the Eocene shale unit of the Abakaliki Fold Belt is limited and has not been widely discussed. The total organic carbon (TOC) content and results of rock-eval pyrolysis for nine shale samples, as well as the one-dimensional (1D) geochemical model, from an exploration well in the Abakaliki Fold Belt were used to evaluate the source rock potentials and timing of hydrocarbon generation of Lower Eocene source rocks. The TOC content values of all the samples exceeded the minimum threshold value of 0.5 wt.% required for potential source rocks. A pseudo-Van Krevelen plot for the shale samples indicated Type II–III organic matter capable of generating gaseous hydrocarbon at thermally mature subsurface levels. The 1D burial model suggests that the Eocene source rock is capable of generating oil and gas at the present time. The modelled transformation ratio trend indicates that a fair amount of hydrocarbon has been expelled from the source rocks. The results of this study indicate that the Eocene source units may have charged the overlying thin Eocene sand bodies of the Abakaliki Fold Belt.

The article presents the grain size distribution of soil samples from the Precambrian basement within the purview of the textural properties, deduced transportation history and the numerical assessments using statistical parameters. The fourteen soil samples collected from the study area were subjected to sieve analysis in the laboratory for the determination of their grain size distribution. The statistical parameters’ study includes the graphic mean, skewness, sorting and kurtosis. The result of the analysis of the soil samples ranged from coarse to fine-grained samples, moderately and poorly sorted, positively and negatively skewed and the kurtosis also shows leptokurtic as the most dominant which suggests the samples poorly distributed and moderately sorted at the centre of the grain size distribution. These results also suggest the geological environment of the soil samples could be responsible for the poorly and moderately sorted exhibited by the samples deposited in the location.

Ureje Dam, Ado-Ekiti has witnessed drastic reduction in the water storage capacity of its reservoir. It became imperative to determine the possible cause(s) of the reduction in storage capacity. Geophysical investigation involving the vertical electrical sounding technique of the electrical resistivity method was conducted in the upstream part of the dam. Five lithologic units that include the mud/suspended materials, such as sandy clay, clay, weathered/fractured bedrock and fresh bedrock, were delineated. The respective resistivity and thickness range of the units are 2–19 ohm-m; 147–206 ohm-m, 2–38 ohm-m; 47–236 ohm-m and 455–1516 ohm-m and 0.4–1.9 m; 0.5–2.5 m; 1.0–12.2 m; 7.3–16.4 m and ∞. The thickness of suspended materials, resistivity/thickness of weathered layer and the presence of near-surface impervious layer were used as the main indices for the spatial demarcation of the dam axis in terms of vulnerability to loss of impounded water. Using the cumulative response of the indices, the study concluded that the eastern to southeastern parts of the dam axis showed the highest indications of vulnerability to loss of impounded water.