Lerpong Jarupan

Synthesized Silica Powder from Rice Husk for Printing Raw Materials Application

Rice husk is a form of agricultural biomass that provides an abundant silicon dioxides source. This study use rice husk ash as a material to prepare silica. Silica powder has been synthesized by the refluxing of rice husk ash with HCl 1,2 and 3 M at different time (60 and 120 min.) and subsequently adjusting the pH using 1 M. NaOH. The silicon dioxide extraction yield reached 85% and was effect by concentration of HCl solution and reaction time. The structure of the obtained silica powder were characterized by X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), CIE L*a*b* (Visible spectrophotometer) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The highest purity of silica sample were 98.7% SiO2, CIE L*a*b* = 94.79 +0.48 +1.24, ∆E ≈ 3.28 (white power) and 2Ɵ = 22o (silica). Particle had a uniform size less than 3 μm. The objective of the next study will applied synthesized silica that enhances the print quality of the printing substrates.

Evaluation of trade-offs in costs and environmental impacts for returnable packaging implementation

The main thrust of returnable packaging these days is to provide logistical services through transportation and distribution of products and be environmentally friendly. Returnable packaging and reverse logistics concepts have converged to mitigate the adverse effect of packaging materials entering the solid waste stream. Returnable packaging must be designed by considering the trade-offs between costs and environmental impact to satisfy manufacturers and environmentalists alike. The cost of returnable packaging entails such items as materials, manufacturing, collection, storage and disposal. Environmental impacts are explicitly linked with solid waste, air pollution, and water pollution. This paper presents a multi-criteria evaluation technique to assist decision-makers for evaluating the trade-offs in costs and environmental impact during the returnable packaging design process. The proposed evaluation technique involves a combination of multiple objective integer linear programming and analytic hierarchy process. A numerical example is used to illustrate the methodology.

Application of combinatorial approach in packaging material selection

Packaging material selection (PMS) problems have always been important to packaging designers and engineers. Not only does the selection of packaging material determine the costs and the environmental impacts of packaging, but also influences packaging physical characteristics and associated manufacturing methods. In order to reduce economic and environmental impacts, one has to take a holistic approach to packaging material selection by considering material effects throughout the packaging life cycle. To evaluate economic costs and environmental impacts both quantitative factors and subjective criteria play an important role in the packaging design. In the present work, fuzzy set theory is used for representing and manipulating the vague and subjective descriptions of packaging performance and design attributes. Further a genetic algorithm based approach is used for addressing the packaging material selection problem through multiple criteria decision-making. The overall approach comprises of two phases. In the first phase, fuzzy set theory is used for the linguistic transformation of performance attributes into numerical values. It results in a decision matrix that contains crisp scores. Also in this phase, a weight is assigned to each sub-criterion to show its importance compared to others. In the second phase, a GA is used to globally search for near-optimal or optimal design solutions. The implementation of the proposed methodology is illustrated through a numerical example.

Modification of mechanical properties by TiO2 nano-particle for biodegradable materials made from palm oil sludge and activated sludge cake

Abstract Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nano-particle is widely used in composite materials to its improved mechanical properties. TiO 2 nano-particle was used in the composite material that consists of palm oil sludge from the palm oil production and activated sludge cake from a papermaking process. TiO 2 was synthesized by a hydrolysis of titanium isopropoxide. The parameter was investigated by the mole ratio of reactant to different solvents (isopropanol and isobutanol). The solution was prepared by adjusting pH to acid solution, resulting in different sizes and distributions of precipitate which was heated at different temperatures. The obtained samples were then morphologically and structurally characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and particle size distribution (PSD). The experimental results show that the TiO 2 sample from isopropanol solvent with heated temperature of 600 °C exhibits the best results. Consequently, different mass fractions of TiO 2 (0, 0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%, 4.0% and 8.0%) were used for specimens that were made from palm oil sludge mixed with activated sludge cake. All samples were later characterized by 3-point bending test and compression test. The results indicate that the adding 0.5% and 1.0% TiO 2 particles to the composite material outperforms the other fractions in terms of enhancing mechanical properties. Nonetheless, mechanical properties tends to decrease when adding 2.0% TiO 2 .

Surface Treatment on Low Density Polyethylene with TiO2 Nano-Particles for Packaging Printing

The surface of low density polyethylene (LDPE) film was modified by coating with titanium dioxide (TiO2) nano-particles in epoxy resin in order to increase the surface energy. Epoxy/TiO2 yielded a bridging effect between TiO2 particles and polymer matrix, while epoxide group played a role as dispersant. The surface energy of coated film and uncoated film were compared. The modification of LDPE surface used different two TiO2 nano-particles in size (100 and 150 nm) and weight loadings (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 %wt/wt). The results showed that the surface energy of LDPE films were raised up after the coating but it was still lower than the commercial film. Changes in colors and the agglomeration of TiO2 particles caused by non-homogeneity to the epoxy resin were detected on the film surface. To this end, it can be concluded that the TiO2 coating improves the printability on LDPE film.

Characteristics and Properties of Reinforced Oil Palm Frond Fibers (OPFF) in Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Composite for Tubular-Shaped Trays

Effects on characteristics and mechanical properties of oil palm frond fiber (OPFF) as a reinforced element in poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) were investigated in this study. Series of different loading of OPFF were prepared by the following compositions: 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 part per resin (phr). Glycerol at 35 phr was also compounded using twin-screw extruder to decrease degree of crystallinity and to reduce shear force of PVA to improve the processability. Injection molding was used to produce specimen for testing. The results indicated that the OPFF has an impact on mechanical properties of the composite material. Different scanning calorimeter (DSC) showed that the melting temperature (Tm) of OPFF reinforced PVA blended with glycerol was shifted to having decrease when compared to the pure PVA. Different loading contents of OPFF indicated that the compressive strength and morphological properties performed by a similar fashion. A highest compressive strength and the modulus of OPFF-reinforced PVA at 25 phr were achieved. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) indicated that OPFF-reinforced PVA at 25 phr yielded no accumulation of OPFF fibers but showed the dispersion in the matrix phase. In conclusion, the OPFF derived from oil palm industry can be used as reinforcement for manufacturing of plant pot in the future stage

Printing Qualities on Inkjet-Printed Paper from Varnish Coating Agent with Rice Husk Silica Particles

To enhance printing qualities, this study used refluxed silica (SiO2) from rice husk by hydrochloric acid (HCl) at different molarities and reaction times as coating agent for printed paper. Characterization of the refluxed silica from 2M HCl 120 min elucidated the purity of 98.7% and amorphous structure. Particle size of the silica exhibited uniform size of 3 μm and the color measurement (CIE L*a*b*) indicated 94.79+0.48+1.24, whiteness and color difference (E) were 84.85, 3.28, respectively. The coating agent was prepared by water-based varnish of acrylic resin mixed with the synthesized silica at different proportions: 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 (%wt), and later was applied on 170 g/m2-white kraft papers. The results showed that the water-based coating varnish with silica exhibited an increase of viscosity as increasing the amount of the silica. Printing qualities indicated that the vanished printed paper with 1.0% silica elucidated the highest details in shadow tone and text (font) sharpness. The color gamut yielded a wider scope than the printed papers which were varnished with the silica at 0.0%, 0.5% and 1.5%. Nonetheless, the color density showed insignificant difference to 1.5% silica varnished paper.

Efficacy of Activated Carbon In Situ to Oil Palm Frond Paper for Active Packaging on Mechanical Properties

Oil palm frond pulp (OPF) was blended with activated carbon for the purpose of active packaging in this preliminary study. It was aimed to investigate the effect of in-situ activated carbon on physical and mechanical properties of the pulp handsheets made from OPF. Testing of property performances of the resulted handsheets included density, moisture content, thickness swelling, folding, tensile strength, %elongation, stiffness, and modulus of rupture. Ultimately, the intention is to use for prospected active packaging for fresh produce. OPF pulp was prepared by the kraft process. The pulp stock was mixed with different proportions of activated carbon (0, 10, 20, and 30% w/w). The results showed that an increased proportion of activated carbon decreased density and thickness selling, but had no effect on moisture content.

Structures and Properties of Isotactic-Polypropylene/Synthesized Micro Cellulose Tray: Effects of Micro Cellulose Loading

Cellulose was derived from cotton fabric waste. Composites of microcellulose fibers (MC) and isotactic polypropylene (i-PP) was prepared by melting and mixing, and maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MA-g-PP) was used as compatibilizer. The MC was blended in different ratios up to 20 phr with i-PP using corotating twin-screw compounder and then a forming of trays was done by injection molding. Effects of MC on mechanical properties of i-PP were investigated. Changes in mechanical and morphological properties with different MC loading were discussed. The composite of i-PP/MA-g-PP/MC rendered better results in comparison with the i-PP/MC composite. The compressive strength and modulus of i-PP/MC composites increased with the addition of 20 phr MC. The i-PP/MA-g-PP/MC-20phr composites showed higher compressive strength and modulus than the i-PP/MC-20 phr without MA-g-PP due to increased interfacial interaction between MC and i-PP matrix. Thermal properties of i-PP/MC composites with and without MA-g-PP were not significantly different from pure i-PP. In conclusion, MC derived from cotton fabric waste could be used as a reinforcing agent for manufacturing thermoplastic.

Effect of Phthalic Anhydride Loading on Alkyd Resins for Paperboard Coating

Alkyd resins were cheap and can perform good properties depend on the modification. In this study, commercial alkyd resins were blended with various proportions of phthalic anhydride and oil on solid. The solvent system showed a clear single phase solution and a clear coat of binder. All the blends were applied on duplex paperboards. The evaluation of coat ability in terms of drying time, adhesion, glossiness, rub resistance, and physical appearance were investigated.