bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dye Sensitized Solar Cell Based on Polyethylene Glycol/4,4’-Diphenylmethane Diisocyanate Copolymer Quasi Solid State Electrolyte
Authors: Sing Liow Kai , Sipaut Coswald Stephen , Mansa Rachel Fran , Dayou Jedol
Published: September 2014

In this study, quasi-solid state electrolyte (QSE) was prepared by blending the polyethylene glycol (PEG) with molecular weight of 400, 4,4’-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), potassium iodide (KI) and iodine (I2) under a low reaction temperature (50oC) for two hours. QSEs with a different ratio of PEG to MDI were formulated. Adding 15 vol% of MDl into the QSE was found to give the highest open circuit voltage, short circuit current and energy conversion efficient, which were 360 mV, 0.077 mA/cm2 and 0.02% respectively.
Antioxidant Activity and HPLC Analysis of Gallic Acid Phenolic Compound from Nephelium Lappaceum Leaves
Authors: Qureshi Saima Khan , Mohd Zain Asna , Murugesan Thanabalan , Abdullah M. Azmuddin
Published: September 2014

Phenolic compound from Nephelium lappaceum leaves was investigated using Gallic acid as a precursor. The compound was extracted from the leaves in 50, 70, 90 and 100% methanol solvent (10:1 w/v ratio) at 60oC and 75oC. Based on HPLC analyses, the optimum of 71.4 mg/g of GA was extracted from green leaves in 50% methanol at 60oC with FRAP value of 0.23 mM/500 mg. FRAP result showed that the effect of metal chelating activity was significantly increased with increasing extract concentration and GA was the dominant phytochemicals in the NL giving significant antioxidant activity.
Study of CO2 Solubility in Aqueous Blend of Potassium Carbonate Promoted with Glycine
Authors: Shaikh Muhammad Shuaib , Azmi Mohd Shariff , Bustam Mohammad Azmi , Murshid Ghulam
Published: September 2014

CO2 solubility in aqueous potassium carbonate promoted with amino acid (glycine) was measured at temperatures (303.15, 313.15, and 333.15) K over the partial pressure range from 200 to 1000 kPa. The solubility of CO2 is reported as the loading capacity of the CO2 in the solvent, defined as (moles of CO2 per mole of solvent). It was found that the loading capacity of the CO2 increases by increasing the partial pressure of the CO2, whereas, it reduces with increase in temperature. CO2 loading capacity in aqueous potassium carbonate (PC) promoted with glycine (GLY) was also compared with different solvents, which shows that the new solvent blend is considerably better than various solvents.
Relationships between Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Polycristalline Alumina
Authors: Haddour Lillia , Keddam Mourad , Mesrati Nadir
Published: September 2014

Some low purity alumina ceramics with an alumina content ranging from 86% to 93% were investigated, in order to explore the effects of microstructural parameters (grain size, intergranular phase) on mechanical (wear) and dielectrical parameters. The microstructure and worn surfaces were analysed using scaning electron microscopy. The correlation between microstructural, dielectrical properties and wear is discussed. It has been proposed that mechanical and electrical properties are two aspects of the same fundamental mechanism. Key words: Al2O3, Microstructure final, Wear resistance, Breakdown.
Effect of Mixing Methods on the Precipitation of Basic Copper Acetate
Authors: Sotowa Ken Ichiro , Togawa Takahiro , Shimizu Yuika , Kurashina Masashi , Horikawa Toshihide , Alcántara Avila Jesús Rafael
Published: September 2014

Basic copper acetate can be obtained by mixing copper acetate with sodium hydroxide solutions. However, the quality of the resulting crystals is usually poor. An unknown peak appears in its X-ray diffraction pattern, and moreover, the intensity of the peak varies from sample to sample. In this study, effect of mixing methods on the quality of the basic copper acetate crystals was studied. The crystals were synthesized by employing three different mixing methods, which were batch, semi-batch system, and micromixer. The intensity of the unknown peak weakened when the semi-batch system was employed. The results implied that the mixing rate gave strong influence on the quality of the resulting basic copper acetate crystals.
Solubility of CO2 in Piperazine (PZ) Activated Aqueous Solutions of 2-Amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) at Elevated Pressures
Authors: Murshid Ghulam , Shariff Azmi Mohamad , Bustam Mohammad Azmi , Ullah Sami
Published: September 2014

The solubility of carbon dioxide (CO2) was measured in aqueous solutions of 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) and Piperazine (PZ) activated aqueous solutions of (AMP) at two different temperatures (303.15 and 333.15)K and at various concentrations of studied solvents. The measurements were made over the pressure range of 5 to 60 bar. The results are presented as a function of pressure. It has been found that the addition of PZ to the aqueous solutions gives significantly higher CO2 loadings at higher pressures. The influence of pressure on solubility is found to be positive. However, solubility decreases with the increase of temperature.
Parametric Influence on the Physical Characterizations of Covalent Organic Framework-1
Authors: Faisal Muhammad Falaq Muhammad , Mohamad Daud Ahmad Rafizan , Ismail Kamariah Noor
Published: September 2014

Four samples of covalent organic framework-1 (COF-1) assigned as S1 to S4 were prepared by varying the initial mass of 1,4-benzene diboronic acid (BDBA) used and heating condition. The samples were physically characterized using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis and FESEM analysis. The BET surface area value showed an increasing trend with increasing mass of BDBA used. The highest achievable BET surface area is recorded by COF-1 (S3) with a value of 107.9 m2/g. The low surface area obtained is likely due to the distribution of particles with large pore sizes. This is confirmed by the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) images which correlate well with the surface area obtained. The presence of dendrites phase within the COF-1 structure also indicates incomplete formation of a crystalline structure, hence contributed to the low surface area achieved. It was also found that the use of ramping heating did not significantly influence the formation of COF-1 crystalline structure which promotes the surface area.
Removal of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solution by Ionic Liquid
Authors: Kermanioryani Massoud , Ismail Lukman B. , Mutalib Mohammed Ibrahim Abdul , Bagherzadeh Ghodsieh
Published: September 2014

The frequent usage of cationic dyes is in the textile and leather industries. However, they are not only utilized during the dying process, but also they are recovered at the end of the process. Hence, the removal of dye from huge quantity of wastewater is necessary. In this paper methylene blue as a cationic dye have been extracted successfully into an ionic liquid namely 1-hexyl-3-methyl-imidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide, abbreviated as [HMIM][TF2N]. To investigate the feasibility of using (IL) to dye removal from aqueous solutions batch experiments were performed under different process conditions like initial dye concentration, pH and temperature. Also adsorption data were analyzed using isotherms models and was found to conform to the principle of Lagmuir model with good correlation coefficients (R2 = 0.9896).
Catalytic Decomposition of Methane over La2O3 Supported Mono- and Bimetallic Catalysts
Authors: Khan Wasim Ullah , Fakeeha Anis Hamza , Al-Fatish Ahmed Sadeq , Naeem Muhammad Awais , Aidid Ahmed Ibrahim , Abasaeed Ahmed Elhag
Published: September 2014

Catalytic decomposition of methane was investigated over nickel and cobalt based mono-and bimetallic catalysts for the production of hydrogen and filamentous carbon. Catalysts with different Ni to Co ratios supported on La2O3 were prepared by co-precipitation method. The activity test and characterization results revealed that the catalyst containing 15wt% Ni and 10wt% Co over La2O3 support presented relatively better catalytic performance among all the tested catalyst. The catalysts were characterized by BET, TGA and temperature programmed reduction (TPR).
Reaction Engineering of Microchannel Catalytic Reactors for Green Process
Authors: Tagawa Tomohiko
Published: September 2014

It is essential to introduce green sustainable chemical process into developing countries. Use of microchannel reactors is one of the future solutions. Especially, application of multiphase catalytic system should be studied in the reaction engineering view point. Examples of application of catalysts to microchannel reactors were introduced such as: Use of phase transfer catalysts in multi phase parallel flow reactors, Use of phase transfer catalysts with the aid of ultrasonic irradiation in multiphase slug flow capillary reactors and Preparation of gas phase tube wall type catalytic reactors which were evaluated with microscopic FT-IR and UV spectrometer.
Effect of NaOH and Water Contents on Solidification of Sodium Silicate Free Geopolymer
Authors: Siyal Ahmer Ali , Ismail Lukman , Man Zakaria , Azizli Khairun Azizi
Published: September 2014

Geopolymers are fast setting binder materials possessing strength comparable with Portland cement. In this study solidification and bonding behavior of sodium hydroxide activated class F fly ash geopolymers were determined. Solidification was determined using Vicat apparatus and bonding behavior study was carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The decrease in solidification time from 105 minutes to 90 minutes was observed when Na/Al ratio increased from 1 to 1.4. By changing liquid to solid (L/S) ratio from 0.154 to 0.231 initial and final setting times found to increase. FTIR results showed main peaks at 1000 cm-1 and 1432 cm-1 due to asymmetric stretching of Al-O/ Si-O bonds.
Hydrogen Production by Methane Dry Reforming on Supported Nickel Catalysts – Enhanced Stability of the Reforming Process
Authors: Nakajima Akiyuki , Taniya Keita , Kitano Yuki , Ichihashi Yuichi , Nishiyama Satoru
Published: September 2014

Dry reforming reaction of CH4 by CO2 was carried out over alumina-supported Ni catalysts. Main products were H2 and CO with small amount of H2O by-production because of reverse water gas shift reaction. The activity was gradually decreased with time on stream by carbon deposition. The addition of Ce component was investigated to improve the catalyst stability. The Ce addition brought decrease of carbon deposition during the reaction. The role of Ce has been considered that an inactive coke formation is significantly suppressed.
Synthesis and Characterization of Co/CNTs Catalysts Prepared by Strong Electrostatic Adsorption (SEA) Method
Authors: Akbarzadeh Omid , Mohd Zabidi Noor Asmawati , Abdullah Bawadi , Subbarao Duvvuri
Published: September 2014

Strong Electrostatic Adsorption (SEA) is an effective method to synthesize and introduce Cobalt nanoparticles on Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) support. Point of zero charge (PZC) of CNTs and optimum pH, the cobalt uptake versus different pH were investigated. By using the range of characterization methods such as TEM, FESEM and TPR catalyst prepared was studied. TEM and FESEM images indicate well-dispersed cobalt particles on the CNTs support. TPR was proven reduction peak at high temperature (530oC) indicating strong interaction between Cobalt and CNTs support. SEA showed the desired method in preparing supported cobalt catalysts.
Study of 1-(2-Hydroxyethyle) 3-methylimidazolium Halide as Thermodynamic Inhibitors
Authors: Nashed Omar , Sabil Khalik Mohamad , Lal Bhajan , Ismail Lukman , Jaafar Azuraien Japper
Published: September 2014

In this study, the performance of 1-(2-Hydroxyethyle) 3-methylimidazolium chloride [OH-EMIM][Cl] and 1-(2-Hydroxyethyle) 3-methylimidazolium bromide [OH-EMIM][Br] was investigated as thermodynamic gas hydrate inhibitors. The dissociation temperature was determined for methane gas hydrates using a high pressure micro deferential scanning calorimeter at a pressure range of 36-97 bar. Both ionic liquids (ILs) were studied at concentrations of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 wt% then their performance was compared with commercially available inhibitors. It was observed that both ILs shift the methane hydrate equilibrium curve to lower temperature and higher pressure; and the performance of [OH-EMIM][Cl] is better than [OH-EMIM][Br]. Nevertheless both of them were found to be less effective compared to methanol and mono ethylene glycol.
Decentralized Control Design for Ethanol Fermentation by Zymomonas Mobilis – Multi-Scale Control Approach
Authors: Seer Qiu Han , Nandong Jobrun , Zang Zhu Quan
Published: September 2014

This paper deals with the decentralized control design for ethanol fermentation by Zymomonas mobilis. Extractive fermentation has been proposed to improve the ethanol yield and productivity due to product inhibition. The complexity of biological systems and significant process variability can always lead to ineffective control system performance. In this paper, a 2x2 and 3x3 multi-scale control systems have been proposed. It is shown that the PID control design based on the multi-scale control scheme is effective for complex high-order systems.
Conversion of Lignocellulose into Fermentable Sugars Using Solid Acid Catalysis – A Review
Authors: Rashid Tazien , Kait Chong Fai , Murugesan Thanabalan
Published: September 2014

From literature it is depicted that the conversion of biomass to renewable chemicals and fuels is becoming a pivotal research topic for the last few decades. Cellulose is a rich biomass, which is formed by carbon dioxide and water by sunlight. However the efficient chemical conversion of cellulose is considered to be a challenge for the researchers because of its persistent property. A lot of research is carried out on heterogeneous catalyst, among the others, solid acid catalyst are recognized as the most attractive choice for the conversion of cellulose because they are tunable and durable in nature. In this article, an overview of the conversion of cellulose into platform chemicals using the solid acid catalyst is carried out.
Effect of Modification Techniques on Surface of Carbon Nanofiber as Catalyst Support
Authors: van Thien Duc Nguyen , Sufian Suriati , Mansor Nurlidia , Yahya Noorhana
Published: September 2014

The intrinsic surface of carbon nanofiber (CNF) is important for supported catalyst preparation. The surface changes due to various techniques applied such as N2 thermal and HNO3 oxidation methods. The combination of different analyses is to observe the internal structure through Raman spectroscope, textural properties via N2 physisorption and morphology of CNF using transmission electron microscope or through quantification of oxygen containing groups by acid base titration. As results, an extension of residence time increases the amount of amorphous and damages the structure of mesoporous CNF texture unexpectedly. The change from hydrophobic to hydrophilic surface of CNF is due to the growing number of oxygen. The surface area of CNF by HNO3 treatment method produces 115.14m2/g which is higher than that of using thermal method.
Effect of Ball Milling on the Catalytic Conversion of Cellulose to Levulinic Acid
Authors: Khan Amir Sada , Man Zakaria , Bustam Khalil Mohamad Azmi , Kait Chong Fai , Maulud Adulhalim Shah
Published: September 2014

The yield of levulinic acid from cellulose is very low because of a strong network of intera-and intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Ball milling cause significant decrease in the cellulose crystalinity and thus increase the production of levulinic acid (LA) by using Aluminum Chloride (AlCl3) as a catalyst. By means of AlCl3 depolymerization, cellulose can produce 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) and subsequently LA. The effect of reaction temperature and time were investigated. The maximum yield of LA (36.5 mol %) was achieved using 180 oC and 240 min.
Keyword: Ball milling, Levulinic Acid, Cellulose, Aluminium (III) Chloride, 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural
Catalytic Conversion of Oil Palm Fronds to Levulinic Acid in Ionic Liquid
Authors: Ramli Nur Aainaa Syahirah , Amin Nor Aishah Saidina
Published: September 2014

Conversion of oil palm fronds (OPF) to levulinic acid (LA) over Fe/HY zeolite catalyst in BMIM[Br] ionic liquid has been investigated in this study. The optimization of OPF conversion reported 24.7% levulinic acid yield at 153 °C, 5.9 h, 0.96 g and 1.1 g of reaction temperature, reaction time, OPF loading and catalyst loading, respectively. The results indicated that BMIM[Br] could disrupt the covalent linkages in the OPF structures and dissolved the hollocellulose. This allowed the hollocellulose chains, accessible to the chemical transformation, to react and produce LA in presence of the Fe/HY catalyst. This study demonstrated that the combination of Fe/HY catalyst and BMIM[Br] has the potential to be applied for biomass conversion to LA under adequate process conditions.
Heat Exchanger Network Optimization Using Differential Evolution with Stream Splitting
Authors: Thuy Ngo Thi Phuong , Pendyala Rajashekhar , Marneni Narahari
Published: September 2014

Reduction in energy consumption is an important task in process industry. The basic idea of heat exchanger network (HEN) is using cold streams to cool hot streams and hot streams to heat cold streams. Hence, synthesis and optimization of HEN is a main tool for improving heat recovery. This article introduces a new strategy for HEN optimization using differential evolution algorithm. The proposed method considers splitting stream at the pinch point, to minimize the total cost of the network. Primarily, the minimum approach temperature value is determined through super-targeting. Then, differential evolution is employed to specify the heat load of heat exchangers and splitting streams. The HEN structure obtained in this work has better economics and illustrates the better performance by this approach.
Mechanical Activation of Fly Ash by High Energy Planetary Ball Mill and the Effects on Physical and Morphology Properties
Authors: Hamidi Rashidah Mohammed , Man Zakaria , Azizli Khairun Azizi , Ismail Lukman , Nuruddin Mohd Fadhil
Published: September 2014

Fly ash has a high potential to be converted into geopolymeric material due to its abundant supplies and low cost. However, large particle size of the fly ash caused low reactivity which results in low properties of the end product. The improvement on the fly ash properties by mechanical activation allows it as a new possible raw material in wider application besides solving the low reactivity issue which hindered its range of utilization. In this study, fly ash was mechanically activated by high energy planetary ball mill for 1 hour at different speed, ranging from 100 to 350 rpm and with varied ball to powder ratio (2:1, 3:1 and 4:1). The effects towards its particle size, specific surface area and morphology were determined by particle size analyzer and SEM. It was observed that, increasing of speed to 350 rpm and 4:1 ball to powder ratio (BPR) results in finest size of fly ash where at d (0.1), d (0.5) and d (0.9) the sizes were 1.861, 6.765 and 17.065μm respectively and largest surface specific area (1.46 m2/g).
A Comparison Study between Integrated OBFARX-NN and OBF-NN for Modeling of Nonlinear Systems in Extended Regions of Operation
Authors: Zabiri Haslinda , Ariff M. , Tufa Lemma Dendena , Ramasamy Marappagounder
Published: September 2014

In this paper the combination of linear and nonlinear models in parallel for nonlinear system identification is investigated. A residuals-based sequential identification algorithm using parallel integration of linear Orthornormal basis filters-Auto regressive with exogenous input (OBFARX) and a nonlinear neural network (NN) models is developed. The model performance is then compared against previously developed parallel OBF-NN model in a nonlinear CSTR case study in extended regions of operation (i.e. extrapolation capability).
CO2 Rich Gas Mixture Hydrate-Liquid Water-Vapor (H-Lw-V) Equilibrium Measurement and Prediction
Authors: Nasir Qazi , Sabil Khalik M. , Partoon Bezhad
Published: September 2014

In this paper we present experimental hydrate-liquid water vapor equilibrium data for mixtures of gas comprising rich CO2content. Data were generated by a reliable step-heating technique validated using measured data for CH4. The experimental results obtained in this measurement were compared with various commercial softwares (CSMGem, CSMHYD). The prediction results obtained with different software packages shows in weak agreement with experiment data point with high average absolute error (AAE) of 1.18 and 1.45 for hydrate equilibrium pressure condition while with model used in this work the average absolute error obtained is 0.01 respectively.
CFD Simulation of Droplet Formation under Various Parameters in Prilling Process
Authors: Muhammad Aadil , Pendyala Rajashekhar , Rahmanian Nejat
Published: September 2014

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is used to investigate the droplet formation and deformation under the influence of different parameters. Droplet breakup phenomenon depends on several factors such as viscosity, velocity, pressure difference, and geometry. The most important parameter for droplet breakup is the Weber number (We) which is the ratio of disrupting aerodynamics forces to the surface tension forces. Volume of fluid (VOF) model is used in present work to simulate the droplet breakup. This work presents the effect of liquid velocity, viscosity, and orifice diameters on droplet formation and breakup.
Dynamics of Wall Heated Packed Bed Reactors
Authors: Subbarao Duvvuri , Abd Elghafoor Hassan Reem Hassan , Ramasamy Marappagounder
Published: September 2014

The multi-tubular packed bed reactors in shell tube heat exchanger configuration are widely used for carrying out exo-/endo-thermic reactions. To design control strategies for stable and safe operation of such reactors, information on dynamic response of such units are needed. Dynamic response of a pilot scale multi-tubular packed bed reactors in shell tube heat exchanger configuration performing dehydrogenation of isopropyl alcohol are presented.
Identification of Multi-Input Multi-Output Systems Using Combined Direct and Indirect Methods
Authors: Faisal Abdelraheem , Ramasamy Marappagounder , Shuhaimi Mahadzir , Rahim Mohamed
Published: September 2014

Successful deployment of cooperative decentralized model predicative control needs reasonably accurate subsystem interactions models. Processes in which open-loop tests are not permitted, closed-loop identification of subsystems interactions is crucial. An approach that combines the direct and indirect methods of closed-loop identification is proposed in this paper. It is shown that full dynamics of MIMO systems can be determined following a two-steps identification procedure. A representative case study is used to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach.
Three-Tier Inherent Safety Quantification (3-TISQ) for Toxic Release at Preliminary Design Stage
Authors: Zaini Dzulkarnain , Azmi Mohd Shariff , Leong Chan T.
Published: September 2014

This paper proposes a new technique to evaluate the level of inherent safety of process plant during the preliminary design stage by using the combined assessment of process routes, streams and inherent risk for toxic release accidents. This technique is known as 3-Tier Inherent Safety Quantification (3-TISQ). The first tier is to screen the process routes and to select the ‘best’ route that is inherently less hazardous. Next, the inherent safety level of the streams within the selected process route can be prioritized using Toxic Release Stream Index (TRSI) as the second tier. Afterwards, the inherent safety level of the selected streams can be determined using toxic release inherent risk assessment (TRIRA) as the third tier. The acceptability level of the inherent risk for the selected streams can be obtained using a two-region risk matrix concept. If the inherent risk level is not acceptable, the improvement of the design can be done using the inherent safety principle until the level of the inherent risk is at the tolerable or acceptable region. 3-TISQ can also be extended to evaluate the inherent safety level of fire and explosion accidents.
Dynamic Studies of Refinery Sludge Gasification in Updraft Reactor
Authors: Ahmed Reem , Sinnathambi Chandra Mohan , Eldmerdash Usama
Published: September 2014

Many papers have been published about the gasification of different biomass fuels in fixed bed reactor. To date, no experimental analysis is available in the open literature on gasification of refinery sludge. Therefore the descriptions of dynamic temperature in an updraft reactor for a dry refinery sludge gasification are investigated in details. The rate of the temperature change with operation time and the temperature profiles inside the reactor are taken for various equivalent ratios. The dynamic results show that increasing the ER from 0.195 to 0.244 shift the combustion zone peak temperature from 858 °C to 986 °C and cause turbulence behavior in reduction zone temperature. With an ER of 0.195, the rate change of temperatures zones was found to be in the ± 50 OC min-1 indicating stable gasification process. The axial temperature for starting of a steady state gasification process was found to be between 20 to 60 min operation time in process.
Consequence Study of Pressurized CO2 Release Containing Impurities with Obstacles
Authors: Pham Hoang Huy Phuoc Loi , Rusli Risza , Abdullah Mohd Zamri
Published: September 2014

A rupture or puncture of a carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline will result in a release of dense CO2 gas cloud mixed with toxic impurities such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) to the ambience. This paper has proposed an approach for developing an accurate consequence model for CO2 release containing H2S in order to demonstrate a safe layout and other safeguards. Thus, a validated code using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was applied to predict time-varying concentrations of CO2 and H2S at a point of downwind release area. Then overall fatality rate due to both CO2 and H2S has been estimated at this point. Results indicate that this is a suitable method for assessing the consequences of the release of CO2 via pipeline leakage.
Robust and Effective PID Controller Identification for Delay Dominant Systems
Authors: Tufa Lemma Dendena , Ramasamy Marappagounder
Published: September 2014

A novel PID controller identification method based on internal model control structure is proposed. The proposed method avoids the necessity of approximating the time delay for designing the PID controller. It results in a robust and effective PID controller tuning. The method is effective for both time constant and time delay dominant systems, with much improved performance for the latter case.
Development of Process Safety Management System (PSMS): Mechanical Integrity (MI)
Authors: Aziz Hanida Abdul , Mohd Shariff Azmi , Muhamad Mazlinda
Published: September 2014

Accident is one of the big issues that occur repeatedly in the process industries today though there is numerous application of the variety safeguarding measures that have been introduced. Equipment failure is identified as one of the root causes of these major accidents. One of the established standards that addressed the above issue is a Mechanical Integrity (MI) element of Process safety Management System (PSM) 29 CFR 1910.119(j). The main objective of this study is to introduce a systematic technique to implement PSM MI in process industries. This study covered analysis of requirements of the standard, development of framework and prototype tool as well as concept validation through a case study. Implementation of this technique will help employers to prevent major accidents and compliance to the PSM standard simultaneously.
Preparation and Characterization of Rice Husk Ash for Adsorption of Phenol from Aqueous Solutions
Authors: Daffalla Samah B. , Mukhtar Hilmi , Shaharun Maizatul Shima
Published: September 2014

In this research, the development of three (3) low-cost adsorbent materials from abundant waste rice husk was achieved via thermal treatment. The physiochemical properties of the developed adsorbents were evaluated. Their adsorption behaviours in batch system were evaluated for the removal of phenol from aqueous solutions by varying the pH (2 to 10). It was found that, the rice husk ash burned a 400oC for 1hr ‘RHA400,1’ has the highest surface area (201.36 m2.g-1) followed by RHA300,4 (87.08 m2.g-1) and RHA600,1 (43.22 m2.g-1), respectively. RHA400,1 had shown the highest removal efficiency followed by RHA300,4 and RHA600,1, towards phenol due to high surface area and porosity. The maximum uptake of phenol was found at pH 4. The adsorption kinetics was well described by both pseudo-second order and the Elovich models.
Optimization of Naphthalene Extraction from its Mixture with Base Oil and Dibenzothiophene by BMIMDMP Ionic Liquid Using Response Surface Methodology (RSM)
Authors: Al Kaisy Ghassan M.J. , Mutalib Mohamed I.A. , Bustam Mohd Azmi , Razali Radzuan B.
Published: September 2014

– In this study, the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied for optimizing the extraction process of Naphthalene from its mixture with Base Oil and Dibenzothiophene using the ionic liquid 1-Butyl-3-Methyimidazolium Dimethylphosphate (BMIMDMP). The series of experiments conducted were designed using Design Expert version 8.7.0.1 software for studying the effect of temperature and ionic liquid to oil mass ratio on the performance of naphthalene removal. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) conducted to determine the relationship developed for the two variables above with respect to the naphthalene removal showed a high coefficient of determination (R2) value of (0.9998) hence indicating a very good performance model which can be used for optimizing the extraction process. Based on the results, it shows that 67% percent removal could be achieved with one extraction stage at the optimum condition.
Preparation and Quantification of Radioactive Particles for Tracking Hydrodynamic Behaviour in Multiphase Reactors
Authors: Mohd Yunos Mohd Amirul Syafiq , Hussain Siti Aslina , Yusoff Hamdan Mohamed , Abdullah Jaafar
Published: September 2014

Radioactive Particle Tracking (RPT) technique has emerged as a potential and versatile technique, both in terms of richness of information and applicability to a variety of multiphase flow systems. RPT is not an off-the-shelf technique and thus has to be developed by the intended user. This paper is intended to present a simple method and procedure for preparing suitable radioactive particles tracer (Au-198 and Sc-46) irradiated simultaneously with neutrons using TRIGA Mark II research reactor. These present work focuses on the performance evaluation of encapsulated gold and scandium particle to be used as single radioactive particle tracer using qualitative and quantitative neutron activation analysis (NAA) and X-ray micro computed tomography (micro-CT) scanner installed at Malaysian Nuclear Agency.
CFD Modeling of a Thin Liquid Film Flow over Horizontal Spinning Disk
Authors: Azudin Nurhazwani Yusoff , Majnis Mohd Fadhil , Latif Ahmad Abdul , Abd Shukor Syamsul Rizal
Published: September 2014

A thin liquid film flow over horizontal spinning disk under influence of centrifugal field is one of the implementation and method in process intensification. Hydrodynamic studies and development of mechanistic model is desired to describe this film flow behaviours. CFD software package, Fluent® 6.3 was used to simulate a multiphase volume of fraction (VOF) model of this flow. Then, experiments were carried out in a spinning disk test rig with variable speed of spinning and results were compared with CFD simulation. The result obtained have showed that CFD model for thin liquid film thickness was in satisfactory agreement with the experimental results with R2 = 0.841 to 0.857.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae from Baker’s Yeast for Lower Oil Viscosity and Beneficial Metabolite to Improve Oil Recovery: An Overview
Authors: Alias Nur Hashimah , Zulkifli Mohd Sabri , Abdul Manaf Shareena Fairuz , Yahya Effah , Ghazali Nurul Aimi , Mohd Tengku Amran Tengku
Published: September 2014

This article is an overview of microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) and the potential of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae to be applied in MEOR. MEOR may have same mechanisms with commercial enhanced oil recovery (EOR) but it used biological approach in improving oil recovery. Saccharomyces Cerevisiae produced carbon dioxide and ethanol under anaerobic condition. The carbon dioxide and ethanol that produced by this microbe are two from the six main MEOR agents in improving oil recovery. This articles also discussed on previous MEOR pilot projects that were conducted in Argentina, China and Malaysia.
The Effects of Glass Bubbles, Clay, Xanthan Gum and Starch Concentrations on the Density of Lightweight Biopolymer Drilling Fluid
Authors: Nee Lim Symm , Jan Badrul Mohamed , Ali Brahim Si , Mohd Noor Ishenny
Published: September 2014

It is an open secret that currently oil and gas industry is focusing on increasing hydrocarbon production through underbalanced drilling (UBD) and finding ways to ensure the drilling process is less harmful to the environment. Water-based biopolymer drilling fluids are preferred compared to oil based drilling fluids owing to the fact that it causes less pollution to the environment. This paper investigates the effects of varying concentrations of environmentally safe raw materials, namely glass bubbles, clay, xanthan gum and starch concentrations on the density of the formulated biopolymer drilling fluid to ensure that it is suitable for UBD. As material concentrations were varied, the density for each sample was measured at ambient temperature and pressure. Results showed that the final fluid densities are within acceptable values for UBD (6.78 to 6.86 lb/gal). It is concluded that the formulated water-based biopolymer drilling fluid is suitable to be used in UBD operation.
Modeling of CO2 Capture by Amine Solution (MDEA) in Hollow Fiber Membranes
Authors: Gilassi Sina , Man Zakaria , Maulud Adulhalim Shah , Idris Alamin
Published: September 2014

The absorption of carbon dioxide is investigated in a hollow fiber membrane contactor, a two dimensional model is suggested to predict the CO2 removal efficiency. The continuity equation consisting of convection and diffusion terms is applied in both shell and tube sides, and only diffusion is considered in axial and radical directions through the membrane. All equations are solved numerically by COMSOL software and the numerical method is on the basis of Finite Element Method (FEM). Amine solution is chosen as an absorbent to remove CO2 in different operating conditions such as gas and liquid flow rate. The result of this modeling was compared with experimental data taken from literature and good agreement was observed. The simulation results revealed that methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) was an efficient absorbent. The suggested model is recommended to predict CO2 concentration in a hollow fiber membrane contactor.
Characterization Study of a Highly Specific Affinity Membrane for Trypsin Purification
Authors: Hamzah Sofiah , Ali Nora'aini , Mohd Ariffin Marinah , Mohammad Abdul Wahab
Published: September 2014

This study aimed to characterize a highly specific affinity membrane for trypsin separation. The basic membrane was fabricated using 15% polysulfone via phase inversion technique. Membrane surface modification was employed by immersing the native membrane into the chitosan solution for 60 minutes dip times. Further modification was performed to activate the PSf/chitosan hybrid membrane using glutaraldehyde before ligand immobilization. The prepared affinity membrane was characterized in term of morphology using scanning electron microscope and the presence of aldehyde group and ovomucoid were confirmed by ATR-FTIR. Performance of affinity membrane was valuted by adsorption study of trypsin enzyme. The observed results show that the developed affinity membrane, with 0.7 mg/ml ligands was able to adsorb trypsin for about 0.219 mg/cm2 membrane
Removal of Lactose from Highly Goat’s Milk Concentration through Ultrafiltration Membrane
Authors: Abidin Nur Sofuwani Zainul , Hussain Siti Aslina , Kamal Siti Mazlina Mustapa
Published: September 2014

Concentration of goat milk using cross-flow filtration unit with 10KDa molecular weight cut off (MCWO)-sized ultrafiltration membrane was examined under various operating conditions. The parameters to be optimized are trans-membrane pressure (TMP) and cross-flow velocity. Permeate flux is decreased with time due to fouling of the membrane. The localized membrane fouling may be reduced by increasing the feed flow rate and TMP to mitigate overall membrane fouling. By doing so, the transmission of lactose will also increase. The aim is to produce concentrated goat milk with minimal lactose content and thus high concentration of protein. Spray-drying method is used to convert the concentrated non-lactose milk obtained into milk powder. The milk powder then was characterized in terms of its surface particle, solubility, and nutritional content with the well-commercialized non-lactose milk. This project tackles understanding to minimize the deposition rates of particles on membrane by optimizing the involved parameters and be proved by comparing the yield obtained with well-commercialized non-lactose milk. Keywords: Goat’s milk, lactose intolerance, ultrafiltration, spray dry,membrane, concentration
Novel Approach and Setup for Multi Component Mixtures Separation and Analysis at Offshore Conditions
Authors: Firas A.A.K. , Mohd Shariff Azmi , Keong Lau Kok , Mellon Nurhayati
Published: September 2014

The precious demand not in the push away and broad off from receive forward developed technology approaches place the hand almost several lacks of warns and in-needed developed technique and techniques for greater than before contract and analysis for several issues, no complimentary and talk to studies within the literature describe the system comes in multi component and dual phase particularly for those that ought to be investigated at offshore conditions, the novel technique and setup has been created for such scope, the recently developed set up has the flexibility to analyses the sorption isotherms and kinetic for multi component and dual phase mixtures (gas and vapor) at offshore conditions in term of temperature up to 150 oC and pressure up to 150 bar. Additionally to the pretreatment that would be finished to the sorbents used at temperatures up to 400 oC and vacuumed pressure. The primer experiments are done using 13 X zeolites for the sorption of pure CO2 and binary mixtures (CO2 and CH4) at elevated conditions.
Techno-Economic Evaluation of Cryogenic Networks for Separation of CO2 from Natural Gas
Authors: Maqsood Khuram , Ali Abulhassan , Shariff Azmi Mohd , Ganguly Saibal
Published: September 2014

Different cryogenic networks for the separation of carbon dioxide from natural gas with different feed composition namely, high CO2 content feed and high hydrocarbon feed have been simulated. Equipment sizing and cost estimation has been carried out for the cryogenic networks using the correlation equations provided in the literature. Methane losses and additive requirements in each network has been compared and evaluated.
Removal of Amines from Wastewater Using Membrane Separation Processes
Authors: Zainal Abidin Ma Umaira Suhaddha , Mukhtar Hilmi , Shaharun Maizatul Shima
Published: September 2014

Natural gas is one of the energy sources in the world. It consists of predominantly methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), ethylene (C2H4), propane (C3H8) butane (C4H10), pentane (C5H12) and some impurities particularly hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) that need to be treated prior utilized. Amine solution such as diisopropanolamine (DIPA) is used to remove the CO2 and H2S in natural gas processing. However a small amount of amines losses in some unit operations causing amines discharged into the effluent wastewater. The objective of this study are to investigate the flux of water and permeate, and rejection of DIPA solution across reverse osmosis, nanofiltration and ultrafiltration membrane which known as AFC99, AFC40 and CA202 respectively. This paper studies the effect of cross-flow velocity on permeate flux and the effect of feed concentration on observed rejection of DIPA solution across AFC99, AFC40 and CA202 over the operating pressure. The results showed a significant role of cross-flow velocity on membrane performance from aspect flux obtained and phenomenon of concentration polarization that would increase the transport resistance of permeate flow. The highest flux can be achieved by high cross-flow velocity. While for rejection study, rejection of all membranes increase with increase of pressure yet decrease with concentration.
Hydrogen and Syngas Generation from Gasification of Coal in an Integrated Fuel Processor
Authors: Chowdhury Sujan , Inayat Abrar , Abdullah Bawadi , Omar Abdul Aziz , Ganguly Saibal
Published: September 2014

Hydrogen is a clean and new energy carrier to generate power and effectively turned out through the gasification of organic material such as coal. The main objective of this manuscript is to present an analysis of the coal gasification for the generation of high-purity hydrogen in a lab-scale fixed-bed downdraft gasifier. Better understanding of the rank, formation, structure, composition and calorific value and method of analysis of the material is crucial for the proper utilization of these resources requires. Traditionally the quality of the Coal samples has been determined by their physical and proximate analysis, such as, bulk density, free swelling index, gross calorific value, sulfur, moisture, fixed carbon, volatile matter and ash content. In this study, coal is partially oxidized and ultimately converts into hydrogen rich syngas (CO and H2). As well, approximately 220 kg h−1 of coal would be gasified at 673–1073 K and 46.2 atm with the reactor volume 0.27m3 to obtain approximately 3.8×105 kcal h−1 of thermal energy during over 67% syngas generation with the generation of 110kW electrical powers.
Ba-SAPO-34 Zeolite Membrane for CO2/N2 Separation: Process Optimization
Authors: Chew Thiam Leng , Ahmad Abdul Latif
Published: September 2014

In the present research, Ba-SAPO-34 membrane was formed using microwave heating and ion-exchange process. The membrane was subjected to CO2/N2 separation process considering 3 independent process variables as temperature, pressure difference across the membrane and CO2 % in the feed. Response surface methodology coupled with central composite design, available in Design Expert software was used to perform optimization for the 2 response CO2 permeance and CO2/N2 separation selectivity as a function of the 3 independent process variables. The optimum CO2 permeance and CO2/N2 separation selectivity was 17.54x10-7 mol/m2.s.Pa and 58.82 respectively at 30 oC, 145.10 kPa pressure difference and 5 % CO2 in the feed.
Heavy Metal Ions Removal Using Amine-Functionalized Mesoporous Adsorbents
Authors: Hui Ying Neo , Yeong Yin 	Fong
Published: September 2014

In the present work, the adsorption of heavy metal ions using amine-functionalized MCM-41 was investigated. Amine-functionalized MCM-41 was synthesized by incorporation of tertiary amine functional group namely 3-[2-(2-aminoethylamino) ethylamino] propyltrimethoxysilane (AEPTMS) into MCM-41 through co-condensation method. The resultant adsorbents were characterized using elemental analysis, FTIR, and N2 adsorption-desorption. Amine-functionalized MCM-41 showed higher Cu2+ adsorption capacity of 4.52 mg/L compared to 0.94 mg/L for MCM-41 .
Synthesis and Characterization of ZIF-8 Mixed Matrix Membranes
Authors: Lok Chen Chuang , Yeong Yin 	Fong
Published: September 2014

In the present work, ZIF-8/6FDA-durene mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were synthesized and characterized. ZIF-8 nanocrystals, which were used as the inorganic filler, were synthesized using rapid room-temperature synthesis method whereas 6FDA-durene polyimide was synthesized by polycondensation method followed by chemical imidization. Pure and 6FDA-durene membranes loaded with 5 wt%, 10 wt% and 15 wt% of ZIF-8 were fabricated. The structural properties and morphology of the resultant membranes were characterized by using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) . The EDX images showed that ZIF-8 particles agglomerated in the polymer matrix. However, no phase separation was observed for all resultant MMMs.
Pyrolyzed Waste Engine Oil Properties by Microwave-Induced Reactor
Authors: Osman Noridah Binti , Uemura Yoshimitsu , Afif Hafizah , Aljuboori Ahmad H. Rajab
Published: September 2014

This study investigates the properties of pyrolyzed waste engine oil to determine the fuel properties for recycling purpose. Waste engine oil was pyrolyzed in a microwave-induced pyrolyzer at 400 °C under vacuum and the N2 was used to purge the pyrolysis zone to minimize O2. The fresh and waste engine oils were pyrolyzed and determined it by-products yield, and then the original and pyrolyzed waste engine oils were analyzed its chemical composition for their fuel properties following the standard method. The by-products fuel-related properties obtained from the only waste engine oil were comparable to those mixing oil with particulate carbon and different media of microwave and conventional electric heating reactors. In term of its feasibility application to energy and chemical industries this finding could be better with lower production cost.
Simulation and Analysis of Process Behavior of Ultrasonic Distillation System for Separation Azeotropic Mixtures
Authors: Mahdi Taha , Ahmad Arshad , Nasef Mohamed M. , Ripin Adnan
Published: September 2014

The performance of an ultrasonic distillation (USD) system is evaluated in Aspen Plus simulation environment. To facilitate the flowsheet development, a mathematical model of a single stage USD developed using Aspen Custom Modeler software is exported to Aspen Plus process simulator. As a case study, the separation of ethanol-ethyl acetate mixture that is known to form azeotrope 55 mole % of ethyl acetate at minimum boiling point of 71.8 oC is considered. Simulation results revealed the achievable purity of ethyl acetate of 99 mole % from azeotropic mixture, thus reinforcing the anticipated potentials of sonication phenomena in intensifying distillation process to overcome azeotropes.
Effects of Montmorillonite (MMT) Inorganic Fillers on Polyvinylidene (PVDF) Mixed Matrix Membrane
Authors: Ching Oh Pei , Bak Lung Mason Wong
Published: September 2014

Asymmetric nanoclay-polyvinylidene (PVDF) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were prepared by the reaction of various amount of montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay mineral with PVDF. The MMMs were fabricated via dry-wet phase inversion method with N,N-dimethyl-acetamide (DMAc) as the solvent and ethanol as the coagulant. The fabricated MMMs were characterized by means of fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The separation performances of the prepared membranes were evaluated by pure gases (CO2 and CH4). From the FTIR spectrum, MMMs exhibited new peaks compared to pristine PVDF membrane, indicating assimilation of MMT into the PVDF membrane. The morphology of the membranes depends on the clay mineral loading as confirmed by SEM. PVDF/3wt% MMT MMM showed the highest CO2 permeance and CO2/CH4 selectivity relative to neat PVDF membrane.