QScience Connect - Volume 2026, Issue 1

Population growth and industrial expansion have intensified environmental degradation, with water scarcity and carbon emissions emerging as pressing global challenges. In arid regions, seawater desalination is widely adopted to meet freshwater demand, but it generates a concentrated waste stream-reject brine-rich in divalent ions such as Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺. Simultaneously, the cement industry produces large volumes of cement kiln dust (CKD), an alkaline by-product often discarded as waste. This study presents an integrated approach that simultaneously addresses reject brine management, CO2 sequestration, and CKD valorization through mineral carbonation. Under optimal leaching conditions (100 g/L CKD, 15 minutes), over 98% of Mg²⁺ was removed from the brine, and Ca²⁺ concentrations increased to 6.82 g/L. CO2 bubbling into the treated brine resulted in carbonate precipitation, yielding products with mixed mineralogy. While phase-pure calcite was obtained in most cases, nesquehonite (MgCO3•3H2O) also formed. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses confirmed distinct morphologies and compositions. Product yield ranged from 1.55 to 2.81 g/L, and calcium concentrations in the final solution remained relatively high, indicating incomplete precipitation of the product. These findings show that while CKD alone cannot ensure complete CaCO3 recovery, it substantially reduces the need for synthetic alkalis. The findings demonstrate a sustainable pathway for CO2 capture and waste valorization, contributing to circular economy efforts in the water and construction sectors.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a dioecious perennial of significant agricultural and socio-economic value in arid regions, yet its genetic improvement is constrained by a long juvenile phase and separate male and female plants. Microsatellite markers have emerged as key tools to overcome these limitations. They aid in assessing genetic diversity, cultivar identification, population structure analysis, somaclonal variation detection, and early sex determination using male-specific markers, enhancing breeding and plantation management. The advent of genome sequencing has enabled detailed identification and characterization of microsatellite motifs. The P. dactylifera genome contains approximately 105,183 microsatellite motifs, with a higher frequency of simple/imperfect repeats than perfect ones. Dinucleotide repeats are most abundant, particularly AG/TC, AT/TA, and AC/TG, while TAA and GAA dominate among trinucleotide motifs, jointly accounting for 52% of all trinucleotide types. To date, 87 functionally validated, polymorphic microsatellite primer pairs have been developed for polymerase chain reaction-based amplification in P. dactylifera.

This study provides a comparative analysis of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices in riverine and non-riverine communities within Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Despite ambitious institutional frameworks, public health remains threatened by inadequate infrastructure and deep-seated cultural resistance to modern sanitation. Adopting a mixed-methods research design, data were gathered through 400 structured questionnaires, focus group discussions, and field observations across 30 purposively selected settlements. The sampling frame included educational institutions, commercial hubs, and fishing settlements. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative insights were coded thematically. Findings reveal a significant disparity in infrastructure; riverine communities reported substantially lower access to sanitary facilities (primarily due to flooding risks and temporary housing) compared to non-riverine areas, which benefited from higher—though still insufficient—private sector investment. Data indicated that only 37.5% of households across both regions possess private toilets, and 60% lack a consistent borehole water supply. Utilisation was particularly low in public spaces; universities and marketplaces exhibited severe deficiencies, leading to frequent instances of open defecation. These practices were often justified by long-standing cultural beliefs, such as the perception that faecal matter serves as aquatic nutrients in coastal zones or that contaminated water poses no threat to indigenous populations due to their inherently strong immune system. The study concludes that the gap between WASH policy and practice is widened by inadequate budget allocation and a lack of private-sector commitment. It is recommended that the Akwa Ibom State Government enforce a “WASH Private Sector Blueprint” and prioritise infrastructure development and behavioural sensitisation in schools, markets, and geographically disadvantaged riverine terrains to improve regional public health outcomes.