Physio-Chemical Characterization of African Elemi, Black Velvet Tamarind and Date palm Seeds for Possible Application in Infrastructural Development

Effect of elemental contents, morphology and bonding on the hardness of African Elemi (AE), Black Velvet Tamarind (BVT) and Date Palm (DP) were investigated. The hardness of the seeds was studied through various tests which include: rupture machine, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIRS). The universal testing results showed that BVT seed is the hardest (81.90Pa). DP seed have the hardness of 18.02 Pa and AE have the hardness of 6.74 Pa. BVT and AE required a load of 1.60 kN for a complete rupture, DP required a load of 2.7 kN for a complete rupture. The presence of deformation in DP at 1kN before a final rupture at 2.7 kN and deformation of BVT at 1.30 kN before a final rupture at 1.6 kN shows that both DP and BVT are malleable. AE did not show any form of deformation before a final rupture at 1.6 kN, this shows that the seeds are brittle. The AAS results showed the presence of magnesium, manganese, lead, copper, iron and zinc in all the seeds samples. The negative sign on the concentrations of cadmium, nickel and cobalt in the entire seeds sample shows that the elements concentrations were below the level of detection by the AAS. The presence of magnesium, Copper and Iron in AE, BVT, DP, could be one of the reasons for the hardness of the seeds. The high concentration of magnesium (859.18 mg/kg) and copper (487.25 mg/kg) in BVT contributed to the hardness, ductility and malleability. The SEM results showed that that AE had a refined surface which was responsible for its brittleness. BVT and DP had agglomerated flaky structures which encouraged mechanical interlocking of the seed fibres with the help of protein adhesives which resulted in their hardness, ductility and malleability. The FTIR analysis spectrum showed that the hard shell was composed of compounds with oxygen functional groups related to lignin, cellulose, hemicelluloses structures. BVT and DP were malleable and had similar surface morphology. BVT and DP can find application as additives which require hardness and malleability.