This study presents a methodology for making bricks, in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner, using the tailings produced from iron ore mines in Western Australia (WA). The study was based on the geopolymerisation process, which is known to conserve energy by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. The reduction is accomplished by avoiding the processes of high temperature kiln firing, traditionally utilised when making bricks from sandy soils with high clay content. In this study, the sodium silicate was added to the mine tailings in powder form, as an activator for the formulation of the geopolymer bricks. The effects of the initial setting time, curing temperature, curing time and activator content on the unconfined compressive strength (UCS), water absorption and other durability properties of the bricks were investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis was performed to investigate the phase composition of the geopolymer bricks. The bricks achieved an UCS as high as 50.53 MPa for the optimum values of the parameters. Technically, the geopolymer bricks that were produced met both the American Society of Testing and Materials and the Australian Standards (AS) requirements for bricks. A cost analysis of the geopolymer bricks is also presented, and this shows that the cost of geopolymer bricks is lower than that of the commercial, fired clay bricks.

Gasoline plays an important role as fuel for engines, but its use is replete with a high probability of adverse health to persons along the distribution chain, especially pump attendants. This study is a systematic review of the literature on gasoline exposure and the specific risks of adverse health on pump attendants by benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylene (BTEX) to instigate policy in Ghana. A careful review of the literature indicates that pump attendants are at risk of developing cancer and non-cancer health hazards. This is particularly so in Ghana due to poor safe work practices and controls at pump stations. Occupational and environmental health and safety is not legislated in Ghana, there is poor awareness of gasoline hazards (especially BTEX) among pump attendants, and poor pump infrastructure controls for BTEX exposure mitigation. Although Ghana has revised the motor gasoline standard to reflect 1%v/v benzene and 35%v/v maximum volatile aromatic compounds, the absence of an exposure standard for BTEX compounds makes it necessary to monitor these compounds. In the absence of a national occupational, health and safety legislation, corporate organizations must establish specific policies that are committed to minimizing exposure to BTEX compounds including personal protection, adequate engineering controls, and tailored management practices.

Sustainable handling of iron ore tailings is of prime concern to all stakeholders who are into iron ore mining. This study seeks to add value to the tailings by utilising them as a replacement for aggregates in concrete. A concrete mix of grade 40 MPa was prepared in the laboratory with water–cement ratio of 0.5. The concrete were cured for 1, 2, 3, 7, 14 and 28 days. The properties of the concrete such as workability, durability, density, compressive strength and indirect tensile strength were tested. A controlled mix of concrete was also prepared in similar way using conventional materials and the results were compared with the tailings concrete. It was found that the iron ore tailings may be utilised for complete replacement for conventional aggregates in concrete. The iron ore tailings aggregates concrete exhibited a good mechanical strength and even in the case of compressive strength, there was an improvement of 11.56% over conventional aggregates concrete. The indirect tensile strength did not improve against the control mix due high content of fines in the tailings aggregates but showed 4.8% improvement compared with the previous study where the conventional fine aggregates was partially replaced by 20% with iron ore tailings

Pharmaceuticals put the environment at high risk when found in products of wastewater treatment plants, hence need to be removed efficiently. This study quantified selected pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) (diclofenac, aspirin, paracetamol, and ibuprofen) in wastewater and evaluated its removal efficiency from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Samples were taken from the WWTP of the Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited (SSGL) for 18 consecutive days. Both effluents and influents were tested in the laboratory to determine the concentrations of the various pharmaceutical products. The results reveal diclofenac as the PhAC with the highest concentration in the influent with an average of 121.31 μg/ml. Paracetamol recorded an average of 65.54 μg/ml, then ibuprofen with an average of 19.54 μg/ml. Aspirin was the PhAC with the lowest concentration in the influent with an average of 0.27 μg/ml. Further assessment was also done on the trickling filter (biological filter) which is part of the process plant at the secondary stage to assess how the trickling filter aids in the removal of these selected pharmaceuticals.

In improving the aesthetics of the environment, the management of plastic wastes cannot be left out of the picture. Among the numerous ways that plastic wastes are managed, incorporating them into plastic roads is another viable option. This study quantified plastic wastes generation in Sunyani Municipality in Ghana and investigated the optimum percentage of asphaltic materials that could be made of plastic wastes for road construction in Ghana. Plastic Wastes were obtained from social gatherings, residential areas and restaurants, there was dialogue with key persons in the plastic industry and various experiments were also conducted for plastic wastes utilization in road construction. It was found that only one entrepreneur recycles the plastic wastes to make bags, dustbins, ropes and many more in the Municipality. It was also estimated that plastic wastes generation in the municipality per capita was 49.7 g/person/day whiles the total plastic wastes generated in the Municipality was 6,725.64 kg/day. In addition, numerous experimentations proved that it is possible to substitute about 10% of asphaltic road materials with plastic wastes as plastic coated aggregates (PCA) to meet the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA) standards for road construction. The novelty finding in this research is that substitution of about 10% or more of asphaltic road materials in Ghana with plastic wastes could bring economy and cost savings in both road construction and plastic wastes management in Ghana.

The use of natural plant extracts for treatment of water in some parts of the world has been recorded throughout human history. An example is the use of Moringa oleifera in water purification due to its coagulation properties. However, the efficiency of the treatment systems largely depends on the design of the system and its operation. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficiency of Moringa oleifera seed powder coupled with sand filtration in treating greywater from public senior high schools in the Bolgatanga Municipality and Kasena Nankana West District in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Microbial and physico-chemical properties of greywater collected monthly from the senior high schools was analyzed. Moringa oleifera seed powder was added to raw greywater and then filtered through a sand filter bed. Physico-chemical and microbial parameters of the treated greywater were then analyzed. Mean turbidity, TDS, TSS, T. phosphate and T. nitrogen of the raw greywater was 312.5 ± 76.58 NTU, 445.6 ± 86.77 mg/L, 160.0 ± 28.68 mg/L, 89.3 ± 7.76 mg/L and 30.19 ± 3.63 mg/L respectively whiles average BOD, COD, E. coli and Total coliform were 1032.5 ± 252.40 mg/L, 1736.0 ± 431.59 mg/L, 84.75 x 106 ± 94.01 x 106 N/100ml and 184.25 x 10s ± 181 x 106 N/100ml respectively. After treatment, there was percentage reduction in turbidity (98.14%), TDS (72.7%), TSS (98.9%), T. phosphate (75.64%), T. nitrogen (43.11%), Total coliform and E. coli (>99%) were recorded. Turbidity was 0.1 NTU and did not meet the WHO standard for drinking water but T. hardness, E. coli and pH was in line with the WHO limit for drinking water. However, BOD increased, and this could be attributed to the significant protein content in the seed of Moringa oleifera. Moringa oleifera seed powder coupled with sand filtration demonstrated the antimicrobial and coagulative potential as turbidity and E. coli of the raw bath greywater from the senior high schools reduced by >98% and >99.99% respectively after treatment.