Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering Journal
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The Potential Impact of Environment at the Leachate Treatment Plant in Kashi
No full textWaste disposal is one of the biggest problems that the Dohuk city is faced, the government searched for finding the most effective waste disposal that suitable with their weather and amount of solid waste. The municipality of Dohuk found the landfill in Kashi is the solution for the solid waste problem, Kasha is region far away from the center of Dohuk by 20 km nearly; Kashi received about 2000ton of solid waste per day only from the center of Dohuk and Sumel. The process of landfill as we know is confined area and covered with layers of soil it is required by liner at the bottom of the pit to prevent the leachate or the liquid from solid waste to contaminate the groundwater and the soil.
Landfilling has negative impact on environment such as after a while or may be now producing toxic gases which are released to the air and ground because the waste cannot rot and lead to effect on environment, organization intends to construct a leachate treatment facility to help improve the quality of life for those who live in the region and are directly affected by the effluent from the plant, through effective treatment technologies and waste-management practices. For these reasons The environmental monitoring plan should include procedures on carrying out the necessary activities to monitor the effluent discharge such as the conditions of leachate (quantity and quality), gaseous emissions, groundwater and surface water, etc
EFFECT OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC FERTILIZERS ON AZOLLA PRODUCTION AT GEZIRA
Get PDFThis study was undertaken at the Alnashishiba complex, an experimental farm of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Gezira University which lies between latitudes of 14° 22? to 14° 25? N and longitudes of 33° 29? to 33° 30? E, 405 m above sea level. In addition to the standard control, the treatments included organic and inorganic fertilizers. The organic fertilizers were cow manure and compost at the rate of one kg/m2 for each, while the inorganic fertilizer (combination of phosphorus and potassium) at the rate of 5 g/m2 for each which is equivalent to 32 and 18 g of mono phosphate and potassium sulfate, respectively. The four treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design in four replications. After 24 hours, the Azolla primer was spread (100 g/m2) and continued to harvest (in 12 days). Productivity of Azolla was measured for all treatments by weight in g, and then the protein percentage was recorded as the nitrogen content using Kjeldhal method. The highest production of Azolla fodder was obtained when supplemented with the cow manure and the production reached 1167 g/m2 followed by compost (1131 g/m2) while the chemical fertilizers gave the lowest production (811 g/m2) making the increase rate over the control as 141%, 133% and 67%, respectively. On the other hand, the addition of compost fertilizer resulted in the highest percentage of protein (41.1%) with an increment of 105% over control whereas the combination of P and K and cow manure approximately gave the same protein content (38% and 37%, respectively). The results of this study revealed that the addition of organic fertilizers i.e. cow manure or compost is more beneficial for Azolla production than the chemical fertilizers (P and K)
SIMULATION STUDY OF GASIFICATION OF EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH (EFB) FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATION USING SUPERPRO DESIGNER
Get PDFEnergy generation using non- renewable sources has always been an issue to the environment. To sustain the environment, gasification process using biomass as carbonaceous fuel is urged to reduce the dependency on coal or fossil fuel as the feed to generate energy. This project focused on identifying the best condition for running a gasification process using SuperPro Designer v9.5 software. The software was used to design the power plant by having the required unit operations such as gasification, cyclone separator, cooling, absorption, gas compression and gas expansion in their library. The unit operations were then arranged to build the plant and optimized by using Minitab v14 software to find out the best condition among the selected factors which are the fuel, steam, and oxidant streams into the gasifier for producing high yield of electrical energy. The result demonstrated that the biomass feed stream of two metric tons per hour of empty fruit bunch (EFB), one metric ton per hour of steam feed and zero-point five metric ton of air were enough to generate about 8246 kWh of electricity. Overall, all runs showed a good and approximately equal performance which indicate that the SuperPro designer simulation is reliable for analyzing gasification performance
OPTIMIZING SURFACE STERILIZATION METHOD FOR INITIATION OF BITTER CASSAVA CALLUS CULTURE
No full textSurface sterilization is essential in explant preparation for in vitro cultivation to reduce contamination risk. This study focused on optimizing surface sterilizing technique to initiate bitter cassava callus culture (Rayong cultivar) for starch production based on the effects of plant growth regulator (PGR). Bitter cassava is widely used in the food and non-food industries thus, its demand is forecasted to be high in the next several years. Farmers faced many challenges in large-scale cassava plantations such as lack of infrastructure, cassava diseases and poor climatic conditions. Plant tissue culture is proposed due to its advantages such as high yield in a shorter time compared to the traditional method and the cultivation can be done outside the plant’s season. Soaking time in 70% ethanol (min), concentration of sodium hypochlorite (%) and soaking time in sodium hypochlorite (min) were selected for optimization of surface sterilizing condition of cassava explants (leaf and stem). Face Centered Central Composite Design (FCCCD) under Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in Design-Expert v9.0.6. was used for designing experiments and optimization purpose to minimize the percentage of contamination. Next, different concentrations of 2,4–dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) (5, 10, 15 and 20 mg/L) were supplemented to Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium to investigate their effect on callus initiation. Based on the results, soaking cassava explants for 5 minutes in 70% ethanol followed by 10 minutes in 5.75% in sodium hypochlorite gave the least percentage of contamination (16.67% for the leaf and 25% for the stem). The highest frequency of callus formation (41.67%) was achieved when using 5 mg/L of 2, 4-D from stem explant. The results from this study can serve as a starting point in establishing bitter cassava callus culture for starch production
PRODUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CASCARA POWDER FROM COFFEE PULP
Get PDFDespite being a waste product of the coffee industry, coffee pulp contains a range of valuable nutrients. With the increasing demand for coffee in the current market, the status quo presents an opportunity for its valorization into a food ingredient such as cascara flour. Hence, this study is aimed to analyze the amylographic and nutritive properties of cascara to support its development as a product. Cascara powdering was done with different blender speed (scale 1, 2, and 3) and duration (1, 2, and 3 minutes) variations. It is found that the finer particles are achieved with greater blender speed and longer process duration. The powder within the size range of 0.074-0.149 mm possesses a lower gelatinization temperature and a higher maximum viscosity value than those of 0.149-0.177 mm, while also having a lower swelling power value. The amylose concentration present within the cascara flour is also relatively low (10.23%) compared to the market-available flour, which causes the cascara powder to possess a high gelatinization temperature (85-95 °C), low maximum viscosity (132.5-265 cP), and low swelling power (3.214-7.026 g water/ g starch). The cascara powder is found to follow a dilatant time-independent non-Newtonian fluid characteristic. The nutritional content in cascara powder includes 61.7% carbohydrates, 9.902% protein, 20.95% fiber, and 528 mg of vitamin C per 100 g sample
HETEROPOLYSACCHARIDE OF KGM-XANTHAN HYDROGELS FOR THE REMOVAL OF BACTERIA IN A WOUND MODEL
Get PDFThis project focused on the development of polysaccharides hydrogels from Konjac Glucomannan (KGM) and Xanthan gum in removing the bacterial load on wound. This new therapy design is due to the traditional wound care methods using antibiotic and normal hydrogel cannot adequately treat biofilm infected wounds to healing process. For the treatment of bacterial infected wound, bacterial removal need to be done physically and manually by debridement, which is very painful and require the use of general anesthesia. Therefore, to reduce the formation of slough and necrotic tissue by the formation of bacterial biofilm, there is a need of specific hydrogels that will able to remove bacterial from the wounded site so it will prevent further infection and enhance the healing process. This study focused on the design and optimization of polysaccharide based hydrogels for the wound treatment. Polysaccharide based hydrogels from Konjac Glucomannan (KGM) and Xanthan gum were developed at different ratio to optimize the physical and chemical properties of the hydrogel that relate to the effectiveness of bacterial removal. Film casting technique was used in the development of the hydrogel film. Konjac Glucomannan (KGM) and Xanthan gum were selected because of their natural polymers properties which are non – toxic, biocompatible and safe to be used. The hydrogels were tested in vitro for bacterial removal efficacy, using E.coli species colonies cultured on a gel inside a petri dish to represent the condition of bacteria infested wound bed. Hydrogel with 50 : 50 % composition blend of KGM-XG was found to be the most effective in the removal of E.coli colonies with 13x103 CFU/mL at 95% water content. Morphological studies of hydrogels showed flat interfacial morphologies, except the sample with 100% of Xanthan without KGM. The results present in this study suggested that the biological activities and adhesion of the hydrogels were not controlled only by the chemical structure but also the composition of compound and the amount of water present in the hydrogels
DEGRADATION STUDY OF POLYLACTIC ACID COMPOSITES
No full textPlastic composites are suitable materials in the production of a cosmetic patch. It can be used as a matrix to hold the fiber in the composites. The fiber used in the cosmetic patch is an active ingredient that has a good reaction in the skin. However, the plastic material gives irritation and allergic when contacting the skin. Hence, the usage of biodegradable plastic such as Polylactic acid (PLA) replaces the conventional plastic in the plastic composites of the cosmetic patch. PLA has a slow degradation rate, therefore the natural fiber (spirulina and alginate) were used to increase the degradation rate of PLA. The objectives of this project were to study the mechanical properties of the PLA composites, the degradation rate of the PLA composites and to characterize the surface morphology and surface properties of the degraded PLA composites. The selection of the best PLA composites is by the highest Young’s Modulus and Elongation at break value. The samples were then left for microbial degradation. The biodegradability results showed that the spirulina enhanced microbial degradation. However, microbial degradation was not the best degradation method since the disturbance of alginate as a binding agent in the soil give an inconsistent result. Scanning Electron Microscopy images showed that the fiber initiates the degradation in the PLA composites
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS AND EDUCATION; A KEY APPROACH TO SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT (SWM)- A CASE STUDY OF KLANG VALLEY
Get PDFSolid waste management has been a worldwide issue which most countries are finding the best ways to deal with it. Improper waste management poses a threat to the health of individuals and the environment. The general problem is the perception of the local communities towards solid waste management. It is important to analyse the current level of awareness towards solid waste management to be serve as reference for policy making or education purposes. Thus, this research seeks to analyse the level of awareness towards solid waste management in Klang Valley, which is defined into three aspects knowledge, attitude, and behaviour. This research is described as a descriptive survey that is done on Klang Valley communities. The statistical analysis used in this research are descriptive, frequency and Principal Component Analysis using Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) Software for statistical analysis. Generally, regarding solid waste management in Klang Valley, the respondents are highly knowledgeable except for e-waste, however the calculated mean for the attitude is 1.85 and 2.66 for behaviour which indicates that their level of attitude and behaviour towards solid waste management is low and moderate. Principal component analysis shows that there are three and four principal components for attitude and behaviour sections respectively which greatly impact on the respondents attitude and behaviour towards solid waste management. To conclude, promotional and encouragement on proper solid waste management has to be conduct frequently by the public or authorities . 
MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE AND PALM KERNEL SHELL MIXTURE AS FEEDSTOCK IN THE GASIFICATION PROCESS
Get PDF One of the renewable and sustainable energy sources to replace polluting fossil fuels is residues of municipal solids and biomass. The efficient management of this energy will help to solve the problems associated with fossil fuels. There are several routes to convert biomass into useful products depending on the biomass characteristics and the requirement of the end product and its applications. Furthermore, biomass gasification has considered being the preferred viable option for the conversion of a variety of biomass feedstock. This study highlights the possibility of mixing biomass (palm kernel shell) and municipal solid waste (MSW) to make clean energy that regards the environment (climate change) and sustainable development. Chosen components of MSW, specifically plastics, textiles, foam, and cardboard mixed with PKS in desired proportions. Volatiles, ash moisture content, have moderate concentrations that do not negatively influence the gasification process, according to the study results. The study established that the mixture MSW and PKS can be a raw material for the gasification process. According to the calorific value, this is, around 21.13 MJ/kg for an MSW + PKS ratio of 0.25 to 28.82 MJ/kg for an MSW + PKS ratio of 1.5. Other polluting elements were found such as Chlorine (0.064 wt. % to 0.171wt.%), Sulfur 0.321wt.% to 0.512 wt.% respectively. Elements such as antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), bromine (Br), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) were not found, in any of the elements analyzed. Moreover, those who are present are within the standards set by the competent services. Therefore, this mixture of MSW and PKS can replace the polluting and depleting fossil fuel in the gasification process with little to no impact on the environment
OPTIMIZATION OF CO-DIGESTION PROCESS OF FOOD WASTE AND SEWAGE SLUDGE USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK AND GENETIC ALGORITHM
No full textFood waste is a major global issue especially in developed countries. This is because of the abundance of food waste in landfills has contributed to the emission of greenhouse gas (GHG). Therefore, by using anaerobic co-digestion technology, food waste (FW) can be used as a substrate with sewage sludge (SS) to produce a valuable product such as methane gas. In order to find the optimal ratio of FW to SS as well as substrate-to-inoculum (SI) ratio for the highest methane production, the present study utilizes the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) model. This study is based on the secondary data sources from various research papers and articles. The digester operational parameters such as mixed substrate ratio and SI ratio were considered. The optimal feedstock ratio was evaluated based on its biochemical methane potential (BMP). The performance of the ANN model was verified to be effective in predicting the methane production accurately with a desirable R2-value of 0.9838 and 0.9976. The trained ANN model was coupled with GA to optimize the methane production and to find the optimal feedstock ratio. The result of optimal mixed substrates ratio of FW:SS and SI ratio are similar which is 50:50 with the highest methane production of 454.4 mL CH4/kg volatile solids (VS). However, the comparison of BMP from different substrates ratio shows inconsistency on the optimal ratio. Hence, other parameters such as particle size and mixing rate should be considered