Norliza Abd Rahman

Production of butanol by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 from palm kernel cake in acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation using an empirical model

Palm kernel cake (PKC) was used for biobutanol production by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 in acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation. PKC was subjected to acid hydrolysis pretreatment and hydrolysates released were detoxified by XAD-4 resin. The effect of pH, temperature and inoculum size on butanol production was evaluated using an empirical model. Twenty ABE fermentations were run according to an experimental design. Experimental results revealed that XAD-4 resin removed 50% furfural and 77.42% hydroxymethyl furfural. The analysis of the empirical model showed that linear effect of inoculums size with quadratic effect of pH and inoculum size influenced butanol production at 99% probability level (P<0.01). The optimum conditions for butanol production were pH 6.28, temperature of 28°C and inoculum size of 15.9%. ABE fermentation was carried out under optimum conditions which 0.1g/L butanol was obtained. Butanol production was enhanced by diluting PKC hydrolysate up to 70% in which 3.59g/L butanol was produced.

Saccharification of polysaccharide content of palm kernel cake using enzymatic catalysis for production of biobutanol in acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation

In this work, hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose content of palm kernel cake (PKC) by different types of hydrolytic enzymes was studied to evaluate monomeric sugars released for production of biobutanol by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 (ATCC 13564) in acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation. Experimental results revealed that when PKC was hydrolyzed by mixed β-glucosidase, cellulase and mannanase, a total simple sugars of 87.81±4.78 g/L were produced, which resulted in 3.75±0.18 g/L butanol and 6.44±0.43 g/L ABE at 168 h fermentation. In order to increase saccharolytic efficiency of enzymatic treatment, PKC was pretreated by liquid hot water before performing enzymatic hydrolysis. Test results showed that total reducing sugars were enhanced to 97.81±1.29 g/L with elevated production of butanol and ABE up to 4.15±1.18 and 7.12±2.06 g/L, respectively which represented an A:B:E ratio of 7:11:1.

Comparative study between open ended laboratory and traditional laboratory

The traditional laboratory work based on guided assignment will not be adequate within the outcome based learning environment. Innovative approaches that require active involvement of the students in the learning activities are necessary in ensuring that the targeted learning outcomes are achieved. The Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, introduced open ended laboratory work in 2008 as part of the effort to provide suitable learning environment for the students to achieve the learning outcomes. This paper describes a comparison study between traditional and open ended laboratory; the implementation of the open ended laboratory and its impact on the overall students learning experience with emphasis on programme outcomes. The open ended laboratory assignment was first implemented in the first semester of the 2008–2009 academic years. The students are divided in groups of four and were only given a statement on their laboratory assignment. They are required to determine the objectives and the scope of the laboratory assignment, to identify the necessary apparatus and prepare the step by step methodology. Each group is required to prepare a report on the above elements and present the results. They are graded based on the originality of their idea, results and discussion from the laboratory assignment and oral presentation. Initially the students had some difficulties because they were not familiar with such laboratory assignment. However, the performance was improved in the proceeding semesters and they are better prepared for their final year research project.

Enhanced mannan-derived fermentable sugars of palm kernel cake by mannanase-catalyzed hydrolysis for production of biobutanol

Catalytic depolymerization of mannan composition of palm kernel cake (PKC) by mannanase was optimized to enhance the release of mannan-derived monomeric sugars for further application in acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation. Efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis of PKC was studied by evaluating effects of PKC concentration, mannanase loading, hydrolysis pH value, reaction temperature and hydrolysis time on production of fermentable sugars using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The ANOVA results revealed that all factors studied had highly significant effects on total sugar liberated (P<0.01). The optimum conditions for PKC hydrolysis were 20% (w/v) PKC concentration, 5% (w/w) mannanase loading, hydrolysis pH 4.5, 45°C temperature and 72h hydrolysis time. Enzymatic experiments in optimum conditions revealed total fermentable sugars of 71.54±2.54g/L were produced including 67.47±2.51g/L mannose and 2.94±0.03g/L glucose. ABE fermentation of sugar hydrolysate by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 resulted in 3.27±1.003g/L biobutanol.

Application of Process Control in Production of Biocellulose: A Case Study

This paper describes a design of industrial modelling process of bacterial cellulose production. The main factors for the economic unfeasibility of this production are raw material price, plant capacity and capital cost. The purpose of this modelling is developing, studying, and evaluating process control technology in order to achieve low-cost preparation and high biocellulose (BC) production in industrial scale. In this model, glucose, a simple carbohydrate has been chosen as the carbon source. The aerobic fermentation of Acetobacterxylinum is regulated at particular temperature and pH to ensure maximum yield production. This fermentation process involves six stages that are sterilization, inoculation, fermentation, treatment, waste removal and drying/freezing. Nineteen streams will control and monitor the whole processes. The waste will undergo treatment in NaOH tank followed by sedimentation tank and filtration process for removal. Meanwhile, the BC is purified through drying and freezing process to preserve the product from contamination. This design shows that modelling is a powerful methodology for predicting and prioritizing methods of re‐engineering an industrial process in order to achieve greater performance.

Kesan Goncangan ke atas Penghasilan Selulosa Bakteria oleh Acetobacter xylinum 0416 Melalui Fermentasi Air Kelapa Tua

Bacterial cellulose (BC), a pure form of three-dimensional biopolymer is gaining extensive interest due to its unique physical and mechanical properties. The effects of different agitation conditions on BC synthesis by Acetobacter xylinum 0416 have been compared. Fermentations were carried out at 150 and 200 rpm using rotatory incubator shaker and rotatory shaker in a constant temperature room of 30 oC. Matured coconut water was used as a sustainable medium due to its low cost and availability. The medium was adjusted to pH 4.5 or pH 5.5 and BC pellets were collected after 7 days of fermentation. The constant temperature room appeared to has fluctuate degree of heat during fermentation up to 37 °C and suppressed the BC production. In rotatory incubator shaker, the BC produced have insignificant different in comparison to pH and rotation speed. These results indicate that matured coconut water has potential as the carbon source for BC synthesis and optimization of fermentation temperature is important to produce enormous yield of BC.

Programme outcomes year III student through integrated project and open ended laboratory

In the Outcome Based Education curriculum, a student is expected to achieve the Programme Outcomes, (PO) upon graduation and the achievement of the programme outcomes have to be assessed through designated measurement methods. These POs were determined by the departmental review committee for the Outcome Based Education (OBE) and curriculum as well as feedbacks from various stakeholders (i.e. employers, alumni, parents etc.). In July 2012, Engineering Accreditation council, EAC has come out with new changes in their manual and dramatic change has been introduced on programme outcomes. Due to these changes, the department has taken proactive steps in efforts to fulfill the requirements of new 12 Pos. In an effort to assess the PO achievements, a few means were employed to collect data qualitatively and quantitatively. Among the steps taken are: Employer evaluation during industrial training, Alumni Survey, Exit Survey, Integrated project (IP), Open Ended Laboratory (OEL), Final Year Design Project, Final Year Research Project and formative assessment on course outcomes (before and after). In this paper, the assessments of PO Year III student through IP and OEL are elaborate in detail. The PO measure in IP are PO1 until PO11 excluding PO4 and PO12 whereas for OEL measure PO1, PO2, PO3, PO4, PO9, PO10 and PO11. Marks ≥ 50% obtained is an indicator of achievement of the PO obtained from Integrated Project and Open Ended Laboratory. The result shows that achievement of PO was at 50% and above for all measured POs.

Engineering Analysis in Co-Curricular Student Program of Chem E Car

Chem-E-Car is a group co-curricular activity among students in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering in the form of a competition. This activity gives students an opportunity to design and construct a mini vehicle powered by chemical energy source, i.e. chemical reaction, which will carry a specified load over a given distance. The competition also gives students the opportunity to practice their chemical engineering knowledge during class session. In this competition, the analysis of chemical reaction engineering is required to predict the movement of the car with a certain distance to carry the specific load of water volume. Generally, the competition is divided in two main categories such as poster presentations and car performance. For the poster presentation category, judges will evaluate mainly on soft skills either in individually or group. This paper focuses on the category of design and car performance including the car concept, implementation and chemical reaction mechanisms used in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) level. In order to achieve a good car performance, an engineering analysis will help the group in determining the impact of car design and reaction mechanisms as the power source to move the car at a specific target.

Estimation of Bioethanol Production from Jatropha curcas Using Neural Network

Fossil fuel is one of the main energy sources for almost all country in the world. However, it is non-renewable energy source, not environmental friendly and the limited supply of the fossil fuel encouraged the scientist to discover other alternative way of new renewable energy supply. New alternative source should be considered for prolonged lifetime. Thus, non-conventional energy sources should be placed in the prior consideration, for instant bioethanol. Jatropha curcas seed is a toxic substance; however, it has a very high oil content which is approximately 3545%. After the extraction of oil from the seed, Jatropha seed cake is formed. In the pressed seed cake, it is found that it contains cellulose and glucose that can be used as substrate in bioethanol production. The production of bioethanol can be estimated by neural network using data from previous research. A programme using MATLAB 7.8 was used to develop the neural network. The software consists of Neural Network Toolbox which functions to train the input data and estimate the production of glucose and bioethanol as output data. An input layer represents the criteria of the production properties of glucose and bioethanol concentration. The hidden layer determines either the input data can be proceed to further production of glucose and bioethanol, whereas the output layer gives the estimation values of glucose and bioethanol production. Back propagation algorithm with TANSIG transfer function was used to accomplish the estimation of production of bioethanol. The error value given by the network was 0.0390. Thus, training sessions were considered successful. Therefore, the users could determine and estimate the production of glucose and bioethanol concentration in just a short period of time.