Publications

Single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and alkaline metal oxide have been identified as potential materials for management of CO2 emission. Yet the underlying operating mechanism is still not well understood, while an in-depth understanding would possibly lead to development of superior CO2 monitoring, capture, and storage devices. Here we present ab initio density functional theory calculations to provide a comprehensive description of CO2 gas interaction with SWCNT and CaO surface. In particular, our results revealed that CO2 is chemisorbed on CaO surface with negligible effect on electronic properties of the absorbent, while CO2 interaction with SWCNT can be categorized as physisorption interaction a process that can be easily reversed using thermal treating of the tube at 150 °C. Thus CaO is found to be ideal for long term storage of CO2 while SWCNT reported superior performance in CO2 sensing and capture. This work may guide the development of better devices based on CaO and SWCNT for CO2 sensing, capture, and storage.

Abstract: Tourism is a known rural economic development tool. Furthermore, sustainable tourism seeks to enhance the quality of the resident lives through its economic benefits, among others. One way of diversification economic bases in rural areas is through community-driven tourism projects (CDTP). The tourism projects provide a livelihood strategy to the communities who are involved in the projects. This study makes an attempt to build an understanding of the economic contribution of community-driven tourism projects to sustainable livelihoods. The study draws on a qualitative survey carried out in South Africa’s Makuleke contractual Park Community Project. The study utilized the community capital framework (CCF) to examine the community tourism economic capitals’ (CTEC) contribution to the community livelihoods. The study also investigated on the ripple effect of the economic capital towards other capitals within the community. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data while descriptive statistics were used to analyze the demographic data. Findings indicate that through the Makuleke Contractual Park (MCP) tourism project, the community benefited economically in terms of employment and creation of small & medium tourism related enterprises which provided a livelihood strategy for the community. Through the projects’ partnerships with private investors, there was a ripple effect from the economic capital contribution to other community capitals (physical, human, social and natural). Community-driven tourism projects (CDTP) if well managed can transform community capital resources to economic multipliers which can be a livelihood strategy for the community.