La Ode Ngkoimani

Investigation of silica from rice husk ash wastes as an alternative material for microwave absorbers

An attempt was made to produce silica from an agricultural waste, i.e. rice husk ash (RHA), for a microwave absorber. The high percentage of silica content from RHA was used as a silica source for sodium silica solutions. Different heating temperatures, times and acid treatments were studied for silica extractions. The composite was characterized and its microwave properties were investigated after sintering from 400 to 1200 °C. The results showed that the existing phases in all compositions at 1200 °C were mullite, cristobalite and Al2O3. The intensities of cristobalite peaks gradually decreased with increased compositions of Al2O3, while the intensities of mullite peaks increased with the increased compositions of Al2O3. Compositions with higher amounts of amorphous silica xerogel showed a lower degree of Al2O3 peaks when compared to other compositions, while the peaks of cristobalite were found to be with greater intensities. A correlation between the structural changes and the microwave properties of ...

Asymptotic Theory in Model Diagnostic for General Multivariate Spatial Regression

We establish an asymptotic approach for checking the appropriateness of an assumed multivariate spatial regression model by considering the set-indexed partial sums process of the least squares residuals of the vector of observations. In this work, we assume that the components of the observation, whose mean is generated by a certain basis, are correlated. By this reason we need more effort in deriving the results. To get the limit process we apply the multivariate analog of the well-known Prohorov’s theorem. To test the hypothesis we define tests which are given by Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) and Cramer-von Mises (CvM) functionals of the partial sums processes. The calibration of the probability distribution of the tests is conducted by proposing bootstrap resampling technique based on the residuals. We studied the finite sample size performance of the KS and CvM tests by simulation. The application of the proposed test procedure to real data is also discussed.

On Heat Transfer - Stress Analysis of Modified Brick (Reed Filler) Upon Its Production Stage

This paper aimed to scrutinize how burning process in modified bricks production impinge on crack as a result of stress differentiation between two consecutive layers of the bricks element. Diffusion engages in burning process of bricks, hence it generates thermal stress on element for different temperature between layers. This research focused on burning process in traditional production ward. Analytical of nonlinear equation and numerical solution, finite difference, were involved to obtain temperature value in each layer, followed by stress calculation. Based on the results, it can be concluded that crack occurs particularly on boundary area, since difussion tends to yield relatively more different value on it. Therefore, certain strategies, that may decrease this differentiation, are required to minimize number of cracks during bricks production.

Fast Microwave-assisted Pretreatment for Bioconversion of Sawdust Lignocellulose to Glucose

A preliminary study of application microwave energy for bioconversion of cellulosic sawdust to glucose was performed. The effects of the microwave were compared to those of the conventional method for each solvent. It was expected that a broader mechanism responsible for the microwave effects on the chemical processes, especially the pretreatment on the hydrolysis of cellulose can be explained. Reagents used were an acid (HCl), an alkali (NaOH), and distilled water (H2O). The experimental results showed that the microwave-assisted pretreatment on the lignocellulosic sawdust faster than by using conventional heating (hotplate). Moreover by using microwave a higher glucose content compared to the conventional method was found. With microwave during hydrolisis, high temperatures and high reagent concentrations were not required. Pretreatment with a microwave at 800 Watt and solvent NaOH 22,50 mg/mL at a temperature of 120°c appeared to be most efficient found in this experiment. These results indicate that microwave effective for bioconversion of cellulosic sawdust to glucose. The microstructure evaluation by using SEM and XRD should be performed to understand more detail the effect especially on their cellulosic structural evolution.