Mohd Hafiz Zawawi

Groundwater Seepage Mapping using Electrical Resistivity Imaging

In recent years, electrical resistivity method (ERM) has widely being applied as an alternative tool in engineering, environmental and archeological studies. A global image of groundwater seepage problem was difficult to obtained using conventional geotechnical method due to the efficiency of cost, time and result coverage. This study was conducted using electrical resistivity survey in order to investigate the potential of the problematic zone due to the groundwater seepage problem. ABEM SAS 4000 equipment set was used in during the resistivity data acquisition stage. Six (6) resistivity spread lines (SP) were performed across the slopes area using 2-D electrical resistivity imaging. The raw data was processed using RES2DINV and SURFER software for 2-D and 3-D subsurface image. Interpretation of electrical resistivity results was verified using the existing borehole and geochemistry results. Geochemistry results analyses were used Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) for determining cation and Ion Chromatography (IC) is for anions. Anion elements were studied consists of chloride, bicarbonate, nitrate and sulfate while cation elements consists of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. All the elements were analyzed by using Piper Diagram to determine geochemistry facies in the groundwater. It was found that low resistivity value (ERV) which associated to groundwater (10 ~ 100 Ωm) can be found starts from the ground surface (0 m) to a greater (> 10 m) depth of the subsurface profile. The finding of the study water seepage can be categorized as Ca-HCO that indicator a typical of shallow fresh groundwater. The finding of the study is important to determine source process of water seepage on that area. This study has successfully demonstrates that the application of ERM with supporting borehole and geochemistry data was able to provide a comprehensive results due to the groundwater leakage detection.

Barren Acidic Soil Assessment using Seismic Refraction Survey

Seismic refraction method is one of the geophysics subsurface exploration techniques used to determine subsurface profile characteristics. From past experience, seismic refraction method is commonly used to detect soil layers, overburden, bedrock, etc. However, the application of this method on barren geomaterials remains limited due to several reasons. Hence, this study was performed to evaluate the subsurface profile characteristics of barren acidic soil located in Ayer Hitam, Batu Pahat, Johor using seismic refraction survey. The seismic refraction survey was conducted using ABEM Terraloc MK 8 (seismograph), a sledge hammer weighing 7 kg (source) and 24 units of 10 Hz geophones (receiver). Seismic data processing was performed using OPTIM software which consists of SeisOpt@picker (picking the first arrival and seismic configureuration data input) and SeisOpt@2D (generating 2D image of barren acidic soil based on seismic velocity (primary velocity, Vp) distribution). It was found that the barren acidic soil profile consists of three layers representing residual soil (Vp= 200-400 m/s) at 0-2 m, highly to completely weathered soil (Vp= 500-1800 m/s) at 3-8 m and shale (Vp= 2100-6200 m/s) at 9-20 m depth. Furthermore, result verification was successfully done through the correlation of seismic refraction data based on physical mapping and the geological map of the study area. Finally, it was found that the seismic refraction survey was applicable for subsurface profiling of barren acidic soil as it was very efficient in terms of time, cost, large data coverage and sustainable.

Adsorption of Lead Using Jackfruit Peel Activated Carbon

Adsorption using activated carbon that decomposed from agricultural waste has been proven to be effective in removing heavy metals in wastewater. This study was carried out to investigate the adsorption of heavy metals wastewater (Lead) using activated carbon that synthesized from the fruit waste which is jackfruit peel. The efficiency of jackfruit peel activated carbon in removing lead from wastewater has been compared to the commercial activated carbon. Result shows that the commercial activated carbon gave better result as compared to jackfruit peel activated carbon (98% of lead removal for commercial activated carbon and 80% of lead removal for jackfruit peel activated carbon). This can be explained from the characteristics of the activated carbon where the commercial activated carbon has a very well develop pores structures in contrast to jackfruit peel activated carbon. In term of isotherm and kinetic study, the Freundlich isotherm model is better fitted in equilibrium adsorption isotherm for jackfruit peel activated carbon and it is favorable adsorption condition. For commercial activated carbon, the Langmuir isotherm is better fitted to the adsorption of lead and monolayer adsorption capacity was found. The experimental data fitted very well the pseudo second order in kinetic model for both activated carbon where the adsorption controlled by chemisorptions.

Study of factors influencing construction delays at rural area in Malaysia

Construction is one of an important industry which contributes to the economic growth in Malaysia. However, it has been revealed that 79.5 percent and 66.7 percent of the public and private projects were not completed within the time specified in the contracts out of 359 projects in Malaysia. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the delay factor caused project delay at rural area. A 5-points Likert scale questionnaire survey were answered by 111 respondents which having experience with rural construction project. The questionnaire data were analysed by using Relative Importance Index (RII). Five top factors were determined from this study based on their RII values which are improper construction method implemented by contractor, weather condition, difficulties in providing delivery to site, breakdown of site equipment, and poor qualification of contractors technical staffs.

Shallow groundwater hydrochemistry assessment of engineered landfill and dumpsite

In this paper, hydrochemistry analysis was performed at two different landfill site that is Matang and Beriah landfills, to evaluate the environmental risks associated with leachate flowing into groundwater resources. Selected parameters considered were heavy metal and physico-chemical properties of the groundwater samples. Analysis for Matang Landfill shows that the pollutant species seem to accumulate within MT1 that were located at the southeast of the landfill site. The pollutant species have tendency to migrate and disperse toward the southeast side of the landfill site which are MT 1, MT4 AND MT5. Meanwhile, the analysis for Beriah Landfill site shows that the contaminant tends to migrate to the south west direction of the landfill where AP6 and AP7 show the highest concentration of Heavy Metals, Cl−, Mg2+ and Ca2. The concentration of heavy metal is higher in Beriah Landfill as compared to Matang Landfill which was due to the type of landfill itself, where Matang Landfill operates as sanitary landf...

Potential use of Plastic Waste as Construction Materials: Recent Progress and Future Prospect

Plastic associates products based have been considered as the world most consumer packaging solution. However, substantial quantities of plastic consumption have led to exponential increase of plastic derived waste. Recycling of plastic waste as valued added product such as concrete appears as one of promising solution for alternative use of plastic waste. This paper summarized recent progress on the development of concrete mixture which incorporates plastic wastes as partial aggregate replacement during concrete manufacturing. A collection of data from previous studies that have been researched which employed plastic waste in concrete mixtures were evaluated and conclusions are drawn based on the laboratory results of all the mentioned research papers studied.

Resource recovery from municipal solid waste by mechanical heat treatment: An opportunity

Municipal solid waste (MSW) stream in Malaysia consists of 50 to 60 % of food wastes. In general, food wastes are commingled in nature and very difficult to be managed in sustainable manner due to high moisture content. Consequently, by dumping food wastes together with inert wastes to the landfill as final disposal destination incurs large space area and reducing the lifespan of landfill. Therefore, certain fraction of the MSW as such; food wastes (FW) can be diverted from total disposal at the landfill that can improve landfill lifespan and environmental conservation. This study aims to determine the resource characteristics of FW extracted from USM cafeteria by means of mechanical heat treatment in the presence of autoclaving technology. Sampling of FW were conducted by collecting FW samples from disposal storage at designated area within USM campus. FW characteristics was performed prior and autoclaving process. The results have demonstrated that bones fraction was the highest followed by vegetable an...

Klang River water quality modelling using music

Water is an essential resource that sustains life on earth; changes in the natural quality and distribution of water have ecological impacts that can sometimes be devastating. Recently, Malaysia is facing many environmental issues regarding water pollution. The main causes of river pollution are rapid urbanization, arising from the development of residential, commercial, industrial sites, infrastructural facilities and others. The purpose of the study was to predict the water quality of the Connaught Bridge Power Station (CBPS), Klang River. Besides that, affects to the low tide and high tide and. to forecast the pollutant concentrations of the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solid (TSS) for existing land use of the catchment area through water quality modeling (by using the MUSIC software). Besides that, to identifying an integrated urban stormwater treatment system (Best Management Practice or BMPs) to achieve optimal performance in improving the water quality of the catchment using the MUSIC software in catchment areas having tropical climates. Result from MUSIC Model such as BOD5 at station 1 can be reduce the concentration from Class IV to become Class III. Whereas, for TSS concentration from Class III to become Class II at the station 1. The model predicted a mean TSS reduction of 0.17%, TP reduction of 0.14%, TN reduction of 0.48% and BOD5 reduction of 0.31% for Station 1 Thus, from the result after purposed BMPs the water quality is safe to use because basically water quality monitoring is important due to threat such as activities are harmful to aquatic organisms and public health.Water is an essential resource that sustains life on earth; changes in the natural quality and distribution of water have ecological impacts that can sometimes be devastating. Recently, Malaysia is facing many environmental issues regarding water pollution. The main causes of river pollution are rapid urbanization, arising from the development of residential, commercial, industrial sites, infrastructural facilities and others. The purpose of the study was to predict the water quality of the Connaught Bridge Power Station (CBPS), Klang River. Besides that, affects to the low tide and high tide and. to forecast the pollutant concentrations of the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solid (TSS) for existing land use of the catchment area through water quality modeling (by using the MUSIC software). Besides that, to identifying an integrated urban stormwater treatment system (Best Management Practice or BMPs) to achieve optimal performance in improving the water quality of the catchment using ...

Computational fluid dynamic analysis for independent floating water treatment device

This project is to design and develop 3D Independent Floating Water Treatment Device using 3D CAD software. The device is designed to treat water for better water qualities and water flows of the lakes. A prototype was manufactured to study the water treatment efficiency of the device. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis was used to capture the efficiency of the Independent Floating Water Treatment Device by simulates and model the water flows, pressure and velocity. According to the results, the maximum velocity magnitude was around 1m3/s. The velocity contour showed the device has high velocity at the pipe outlet. The velocity became lower and lower as the distance is further from the pipe outlet. The result from the velocity measurement was 1.05m/s. The pressure magnitude was in between 1426 Pa to 1429 Pa. The laboratory results based on water parameters proved that the water movement and direction of water flow of the Independent Floating Water Treatment Device enable the efficient pollutant removal. The vector plot, velocity contour, water flow path lines, water flow streamline and pressure contour was successful modeled.This project is to design and develop 3D Independent Floating Water Treatment Device using 3D CAD software. The device is designed to treat water for better water qualities and water flows of the lakes. A prototype was manufactured to study the water treatment efficiency of the device. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis was used to capture the efficiency of the Independent Floating Water Treatment Device by simulates and model the water flows, pressure and velocity. According to the results, the maximum velocity magnitude was around 1m3/s. The velocity contour showed the device has high velocity at the pipe outlet. The velocity became lower and lower as the distance is further from the pipe outlet. The result from the velocity measurement was 1.05m/s. The pressure magnitude was in between 1426 Pa to 1429 Pa. The laboratory results based on water parameters proved that the water movement and direction of water flow of the Independent Floating Water Treatment Device enable the efficient pollutant re...

Treatability of drinking water parameters from Kerian River by using carbon-mineral composite: Batch mechanisms and characterization study

There are many treatment processes over the world on river water. However, the simple and low cost technologies are quite limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the turbidity, colour, pH, Total Dissolved Solid (TSS), Iron and Manganese from selected river water by a combination of activated carbon, limestone and polyvinyl alcohol which produces a composite media. The analyses for the parameters removal efficiency are conducted by using statistical analysis two ways Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). In batch study, the removal efficiency of all the mixture of composite media indicated the composite adsorbent could remove more than 50% of raw water contaminants which complies to National Drinking Water Quality Standard, 2000. The optimum mixing ratio of hydrophobic: hydrophilic is 1:7 and 1:2 which is 875.0g and 667.0g limestone, 125.0 g and 333.0 g activated carbon (AC) and water 375 ml with highest removal percentage for turbidity (91.86%), colour (93.44%), TSS (91.27%), iron (98.49%) and manganese (98.18%). The study indicated that the composite material has a good potential for further research and future application.There are many treatment processes over the world on river water. However, the simple and low cost technologies are quite limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the turbidity, colour, pH, Total Dissolved Solid (TSS), Iron and Manganese from selected river water by a combination of activated carbon, limestone and polyvinyl alcohol which produces a composite media. The analyses for the parameters removal efficiency are conducted by using statistical analysis two ways Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). In batch study, the removal efficiency of all the mixture of composite media indicated the composite adsorbent could remove more than 50% of raw water contaminants which complies to National Drinking Water Quality Standard, 2000. The optimum mixing ratio of hydrophobic: hydrophilic is 1:7 and 1:2 which is 875.0g and 667.0g limestone, 125.0 g and 333.0 g activated carbon (AC) and water 375 ml with highest removal percentage for turbidity (91.86%), colour (93.44%), TSS (91.27%), iron (98.49%) and...