10 research outputs found
Portable pepper collecter / Azman Zulkarnain, Muhammad Izhar Dahli and Mohd Norazim Ramnor
No full textBlack pepper, (Piper nigrum), is a agricultural crop which contains many nutritional, economical, and medicinal benefits. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate and Statistical Database (FAOSTAT), in the year 2020, Malaysia is the 7th largest producer of pepper in the world. Early literature on pepper planting in Malaysia shows it was first planted in Langkawi in 1619. In spite of becoming one of the largest producer in the world, pepper cultivation in Malaysia is steadily declining as the industry is facing competitive mainly from oil palm industry as farmers are changing their crop from pepper to oil palm. In order to kept competitive with other producer nations, new inventions that can help increase the production of pepper
Cetane index prediction of ABE-diesel blends using empirical and artificial neural network models
No full textRecent developments in internal combustion engines have heightened the need for alternative biofuel. In the last five years, acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) has been extensively studied as a promising biofuel. However, the detailed investigation of its fuel properties has not been performed. One of the vital fuel properties is the cetane index. It is used to define the ignition quality of fuel, but its determination is painstaking and expensive. No previous study has utilized both empirical mathematical and ANN models to predict the cetane index of ABE-diesel blends. This study aims to predict ABE’s cetane index by comparing five empirical mathematical models with seven artificial neural networks (ANN) training algorithms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the cetane index of ABE-diesel blends using both empirical and ANN models. Results revealed that the feed-forward backpropagation network with 4 input, 10 hidden, and 1 output neurons that was trained with Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm (ANN-LM) showed the best performance with the highest values of R (0.9992) and R2 (0.9984). It also has the lowest values of MAD, MSE, RMSE and MAPE at 0.2572, 0.4456, 0.6675, and 0.5304, respectively. As compared to the best empirical mathematical model (the 3rd order polynomial), the ANN-LM had slightly better performance accuracy. Therefore, the 4–10-1 ANN structure trained with Levenberg-Marquardt was found to be the best predictor for cetane index of ABE-diesel blends at various blending ratios
Physico-chemical properties of Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE)-diesel blends: Blending strategies and mathematical correlations
No full textButanol offers more promising results compared to lower carbon alcohol. Yet, it has not been commercially produced as a biofuel due to its expensive recovery process from Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) fermentation. If ABE is used directly as a biofuel, the process will be more straightforward, thus eliminating its energy and cost-intensive purification process. Study on ABE as a biofuel has become a growing field for the last five years. Several preliminary studies have reported convincing results of using ABE-diesel blends in diesel engines. However, many of the studies on ABE lacks clarity regarding its fuel properties. In fact, no previous study has investigated the fuel properties of ABE. Therefore, this study aims to quantify some critical physico-chemical properties of ABE-diesel blends. Several important fuel properties were investigated in this study; calorific value, density, kinematic viscosity, distillation characteristics and cetane index. In terms of blending strategy, results from this study indicate that ABE(3 6 1) can be added up to 42% to diesel fuel, while ABE(6 3 1) and ABE(1 3 6) can only be added up to 22% and 23%, respectively. Also, the mathematical correlations to estimate ABE's fuel properties are presented. The equations developed in this study gave have high coefficient of determination values. They can serve as prediction models for future studies. Considering its relatively low-cost production and satisfying physico-chemical properties, ABE has the potential to become a promising alternative biofuel
A thermal behaviour study of natural fiber-reinforced polymer composite/honeycomb core sandwich panels
No full textThe unique honeycomb structure has provided good modulus with a lightweight material, especially in aerospace and vehicle applications. Realizing that the thermal analysis of natural fiber honeycomb sandwiches was still lacking in observation, the research needs to investigate thermal transfer characteristics to promote engineering demand. The objective of this research was to investigate honeycomb sandwiches' thermal behaviour by implementing local natural fibers of coconut, oil palm, and sugar cane for sheet plate structure through experimental and numerical analysis. The natural fiber was varied by weight content with the ratio of composite given in a range of 0%wt.-8%wt. The results have demonstrated that the face sheet plate was paramount part to absorb thermal flow. The study displayed the low thermal conductivity of the face sheet will counter significantly the heat transfer of the honeycomb structure. The experimental investigation found that the coconut fiber successfully performs as an insulator in a honeycomb sandwich which reached 6.78 W.m-1K-1 of thermal conductivity which was an 85.86% improvement as an insulator. While palm oil and sugar cane presented at 11.12 W.m-1K-1 and 10.59 W.m-1K-1, it was slightly higher compared to the coconut. In the numerical investigation, fiber distribution development was successfully performed in a honeycomb sandwich sheet plate composite. The thermal conductivity showed a difference from the experimental, where the higher thermal resistance was shown by palm oil and sugar cane at 8.22 W.m-1K-1 and 8.16 W.m-1K-1, respectively. This difference was much influenced by the morphology factor in fiber orientation of the experimental study
Analysis of permanent magnetic-based climbing robot design for ship hull and oil tank services
No full textEditorial 2019
No full textDear ReadersI am happy to introduce you the Volume 5 (Annual), 2019 of The Journal of Development Practice – A Peer-Reviewed International Journal of Experiences from the Field (ISSN 2394-0476). The volume carries a section on Microfinance (three articles) Guest Edited by Md Aslam Mia and two other articles related to development. The articles address various themes related to Sustainable Development Goals and puts suggestions to enhance quality of life.The paper by Md. Sohel Rana, Md. Aslam Mia, Izlin Binti Ismail and Mohd Nazari Bin Ismail evaluates the productivity of microfinance institutions (MFIs) from Palestine and Jordan by employing non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis. The study uses balanced panel secondary data of 13 MFIs and proposes that to ensure long term sustainability, MFIs need to be financially sustainable and productivity could be one of the ways to promote financial sustainability. According to the study the microfinance industry observed 2.6% productivity progress per annum due to change in technological capacity of the MFIs. Moreover, the study also finds that Palestinian MFIs perform relatively better than Jordanian MFIs.The second article Zakat as an Alternative of Microcredit for Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh by Isahaque Ali, Azlinda Azman, Paramjit Singh Jamir Singh, Syazwani Drani, Zulkarnain A. Hatta, Manzur Kadir Ahmed and Tahmina Akhter discusses micronance and Zakat based on Islamic financial philosophy to poverty reduction. The study based on evidence argues that microfinance alone may not be enough to eradicate poverty; however, microfinance and Zakat jointly increase the monthly and yearly income of the recipients.The third article Pitfalls of Microcredit towards Sustainable Economic Development of the Microcredit Borrowers - Evidence from Rupsha, a Locality of Bangladesh by Idris Ali, Ashiqun Nabi and Muhammad HelalUddin discusses the pitfalls of microcredit in Rupsha, Bangladesh. The study points out those high interests rates, lack of proper monitoring mechanisms, failing to lend to right borrowers, lack of training and other factors lead to achieve its larger aim of sustainable economic growth and development.The fourth article Northeast Cultural Values and Principles, Good Governance and Conflict Reduction - A Bodo Socio-Cultural Framework by Leon Miller proposes a solution to problems occurring in Northeast India that result in conflict – that are the consequences of the prior approach to development and governance. The article argues that the problems can be solved in a way compatible with micro level cultural values and that benefit stakeholders at the local, regional, and national levels. The study carried out in context of the Northeast India and a Bodo Socio-Cultural Framework is used to present the case of application.The fifth article Effect of Road Transport Accessibility on Agricultural Produce Marketing and Livelihoods of Farmers in the Kasena-Nankana West District of Ghana by Anthony Kwame Morgan, Emmanuel Dogbey, Wahid Abdul Arimeyaw and Alfred Foster Senior Owusu speaks of roads making significant contribution to economic growth and development in rural societies thus eradicating rural-urban disparities. The study presents a case from Ghana and highlights that while good road connectivity can increase income of the farmers a poor road connectivity not only incurs loss to the famers but also incurs post-harvest loses.I am grateful to all the Authors, the Guest Editor and the Reviewers of the Volume, and wish all readers insights and knowledge on the subjects and issues discussed in the Volume.EditorJacob Islary, MSW, PhDSocial Work, Assam Don Bosco University, Indi
Evidence of Submicroscopic Plasmodium knowlesi Mono-Infection in Remote Indigenous Communities in Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia
No full textMalaysia has maintained zero cases of indigenous human malaria since 2018. However, zoonotic malaria is still prevalent in underdeveloped areas and hard-to-reach populations. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of malaria among remote indigenous communities in Peninsular Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in six settlements in Kelantan state, from June to October 2019. Blood samples were tested for malaria using microscopy and nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) targeting the Plasmodium cytochrome c oxidase subunit III (cox3) gene. Of the 1,954 individuals who appeared healthy, no malaria parasites were found using microscopy. However, nPCR revealed seven cases of Plasmodium knowlesi mono-infection (0.4%), and six out of seven infections were in the group of 19 to 40 years old (P = 0.026). No human malaria species were detected by nPCR. Analysis of the DNA sequences also showed high similarity that reflects common ancestry to other P. knowlesi isolates. These findings indicate low submicroscopic P. knowlesi infections among indigenous communities in Malaysia, requiring PCR-based surveillance to support malaria control activities in the country
