Gasim Hayder

Evaluation of green roof performances for urban stormwater quantity and quality controls

ABSTRACT Rapid urbanization in the recent decades has quickly fuelled up the process of global warming. Many mitigation measures have been formulated and implemented in order to tackle the effect of global warming. Green roofs (roof with vegetated cover) have been proposed and implemented by various countries as one of the new environmentally friendly innovation. This paper evaluates the qualitative and quantitative performances of an extensive green roof system under tropical climate. Simulations showed that the peak discharge of stormwater run-off was reduced up to 26% in relation to concrete tile roof. Its reduction ability was decreased for storms with intense rainfall. Increment of pH was observed for the green roof run-off, and the run-off quality ranged between class I and II under Malaysia National Water Quality Index (WQI). High concentrations of phosphate were observed in the run-off samples, which showed that substrates (fertilized planting soil) might be the potential contributor. Findings indicated that there was a reduction up to around 5% for indoor temperature of the building after installation of the extensive green roof system.

Application of Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) and Integrated Fixed Activated Sludge (IFAS) for Biological River Water Purification System: A Short Review

This review paper present the MBBR and IFAS technology for urban river water purification including both conventional methods and new emerging technologies. The aim of this paper is to present the MBBR and IFAS technology as an alternative and successful method for treating different kinds of effluents under different condition. There are still current treatment technologies being researched and the outcomes maybe available in a while. The review also includes many relevant researches carried out at the laboratory and pilot scales. This review covers the important processes on MBBR and IFAS basic treatment process, affecting of carrier type and influent types. However, the research concluded so far are compiled herein and reported for the first time to acquire a better perspective and insight on the subject with a view of meeting the news approach. The research concluded so far are compiled herein and reported for the first time to acquire a better perspective and insight on the subject with a view of meeting the news approach. To this end, the most feasible technology could be the combination of advanced biological process (bioreactor systems) including MBBR and IFAS system.

Nuclear Power Acceptance among University Staffs and Students

The need to consider alternative energy sources becomes very real. Nuclear has been identified as an alternative electricity source. However, media reports seem to indicate that there is a resistance among peoples with regards to harnessing nuclear for energy. This study was conducted to assess the acceptance level of university staff and students towards nuclear energy by asking them to answer a questionnaire. The questionnaire was constructed in a way to gauge their background knowledge on the energy situation of the country, the risks involved with regards to nuclear energy and also what aspects need to be improved in order to have a safe integration of nuclear energy into the national energy mix. The overall result of the questionnaire indicated high level of support for nuclear energy. The main areas of concerns however, were waste management, control and governance and also nuclear accidents. These should be identified as fields that require extra attention. However, the positive result obtained from this survey should not be construed as overall strong support in general. There might be different outcomes if the survey was conducted on to the general population as compared to the university students and staff that were involved in this research.

Comparison of various types of biomedia in river water treatment using attached growth activated sludge process

ABSTRACT Purification and beautification projects of river water in Malaysia involve biological treatment to remove pollutants. Activated sludge processes application on river water treatment proved successful performance. Attached growth system with biomedia increases biomass concentration and rates of contaminant degradation. In this work, several attached growth biological reactors were operated in parallel to treat river water in laboratory-scale experiment. Seven biological reactors were filled with different types of plastic biomedia, one was filled with assorted gravel and one left blank as a control. Monitoring of reactors’ performance was carried out to evaluate their performance. Parameters were tested throughout the steady-state period after acclimatization. The results were used to compute the Malaysian water quality index. The targeted removal efficiency was to achieve Class II in the National Water Quality Standard for Malaysian River and Lake Water quality, which was not attained. The treated effluent from the reactors ranged between Class III and IV.

Evaluation of Different Biomedia Performance for River Purification: Preliminary Stage

There is national concern about rivers pollution degree. The Malaysian Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) is running a project for river biological purification using biomedia to reduce the river pollution degree. This study aims to use different types of biomedia carrier for effective management of the river purification plant project. Water samples were collected and tested for various essential parameters. A biomedia laboratory setup was fabricated for the research with seven different types of biomedia, and water sampling was collected daily and weekly for analysis purposes. The experimental results show that the best removal efficiency was achieved by biomedia Type 1 and was 88% and 65.5% for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), respectively. Followed by biomedia Type 3 achieved an average of 58 percentage for ammonia (NH3-N) removal. Overall, the best removal efficiency performance of biomedia Type 1 achieved the calculated rate of 68 %. The cleanest effluent was biomedia Type 4. For accumulated biofilm formation, the highest total volatile solid (TVS) was the biomedia Type 4. Finally, the best inclusive performance is biomedia Type 1. Future studies are recommended to conduct a pilot scale study with a longer time frame and to study these selective types of biomedia in anaerobic and anoxic condition.

The Importance of Lightweight Concrete Technology Development for IBS Industry in Malaysia Based on Cost Comparison between Concrete Slab and Hollow Core Slab: A Case Study of LRT Car Park Project

There are several issues related to the implementation of new Industrialised Building System (IBS) technology in Malaysia which some of them are the awareness among industry players, and lack of development on the new technology in the industry. The main constraint that has always been discussed by the IBS players is time and cost. To have more reliable product or technology in terms of cost and time, it is important to craft and develop new idea as well as technology in our own country. The objective of this study was to highlight the cost comparison between cast in-situ concrete slab and hollow core slab (lightweight) which it can be a starting point for future research on the development of new lightweight IBS technology in Malaysia to get the most reliable cost with latest technology by using local resources. Informations on costs and work durations are collected and analysed between two floors using two different construction methods (hollow core slab and conventional concrete slab). Hollow core slab (lightweight IBS) has similar or less cost with shorter construction period (30% shorter) for the project.