The study compares the growth, yield, and proximate composition of Amaranthus hybridus, Amaranthus cruentus, and Amaranthus deflexus, grown with poultry manure and NPK in relation to the unfertilized soil of Ilorin, Nigeria. Viable seeds of the Amaranths raised in nursery for two weeks were transplanted (one plant per pot) into unfertilized soil (control) and soils fertilized with either NPK or poultry manure (PM) at 30 Kg ha−1 rate arranged in randomized complete block design with four replicates. Data were collected on plant height, stem girth, number of leaves, leaf area, and number of branches from 1 week after transplanting (1 WAT). Fresh weight, dry weight, and proximate composition were determined at 6 WAT. Except for the length, breadth, and number of leaves, the order of growth parameters and yield in the three Amaranthus species was NPK > PM > control. NPK grown Amaranthus species had the highest protein while PM-grown vegetables had the highest ash content. Crude fibre in A. cruentus grown with PM was significantly higher than NPK and the control. The NPK treatment of A. hybridus and A. deflexus had the highest crude fibre content. NPK and PM favoured growth and yield of the Amaranthus species but influenced proximate composition differently.

Combining two or more polymers as a blend is necessary rather than synthesizing new ones for the balance of polymer properties for end-use applications. This work introduces a sustainable polymer blend (matrix) for high-impact applications, as the accessibility and cost of production of these high-impact polymers keep souring. This was achieved by designing an experiment using design expert v10.0 to account for the number of experimental runs and optimise the polymer blend. Mechanical, dynamic mechanical, and temperature effects were considered on the blended polymer. Sixteen (16) experimental runs were generated with blend ratio as the independent variable and Impact Strength (IS) and Tensile Strength (TS) as the responses. The optimal blend ratio was obtained for wPP, PP and NR as 23, 30 and 47 % respectively. While, the optimum conditions for maximum impact and tensile strengths from the D.E was 241.62 J/m and 118.04 MPa respectively, with a desirability of 0.973. While the validated values obtained were 248.9 J/m; with errors of 2.93 % and 120.14 MPa; with an error of 1.75 % respectively. Thermogravimetry analysis revealed a single peak degradation for sp17, sp18, and sp19 (control samples) while multiple degradation peaks were observed for the blends. It was believed to be a result of different times for degradation of the individual components forming the polymer blend. Also, the Td onset started around 300 oC and the Td offset was around 500 oC for all tested samples. While, the Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) showed that there was an improvement in the Tg and damping factor for sp5 (109 oC, 0.171) as compared to sp17 and sp18 (81.1 oC, 0.089 and 104.3 oC, 0.061), but no improvement was recorded for storage and loss moduli. SEM micrographs showed a good surface morphology for the blend with optimal mechanical and thermal properties. The blend can be utilized for engineering applications, including matrices for body armour, helmets, car bumper, etc.

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In this work, the effect of jute nanofibre on ter-blend of waste polypropylene (wPP), polystyrene (PS), and natural rubber (NR) nanocomposite was studied. The nanofibre was produced from jute fibre via a ball milling process after freezing with liquid nitrogen. The produced nanofibre was analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). The ter-blend was modified with the nanofibre at different weight percentages (2–10 wt%) at 2wt% intervals. The modified polymer blends were characterized for mechanical, thermal, physical and morphological properties. FTIR revealed the removal of hemicellulose, lignin and other impurities from the jute fibre, due to the change in wave numbers observed. The DLS analysis showed that an average of 85.54 nm size distribution by the intensity and Polydispersity Index (PDI) of 0.353 was achieved. Also, the thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) showed that jute nanofibres proved to be thermally stable up to 282 oC. Polymer blends modified with 2 wt% nanofibres had the highest average impact and tensile strengths. While, the percentage water absorption (%WA), showed that sp10% absorbed the highest amount of water after 24 hrs. The weight losses of the modified blend at various temperatures were found to increase with the addition of nanofibre. The Scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed cracks, voids and blend-separation as the amount of jute nanofibre was increased. While, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) revealed that the Tg of the modified blend was improved, while the loss-factor improved greatly by 43%, but the storage and loss-moduli remained unchanged.