Nur Azrini Ramlee

Incorporation of TiO 2 nanoparticles in PVC/ENR blends

This study was initiated to introduce titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles as filler into polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) blends by melt blending technique. Incorporation of TiO2 as filler is believed to enhance the physical and mechanical properties of PVC/ENR blends. The PVC/ENR blends incorporation with TiO2 was then being exposed to 0-150 kGy of electron beam irradiation as to impart the cross-linking between polymer chain and filler, before it was characterized. Based on the result, it was found that addition of 6 phr of TiO2 and electron beam irradiation effects caused an increase in the tensile strength (Ts) of the PVC/ENR blends. With addition of 6 phr TiO2 nanoparticles, tensile strength of irradiated PVC/ENR was found optimum at 50 kGy before the Ts value dropped with higher exposure to irradiation dose rate. The morphology of PVC/ENR blends with addition of TiO2 nanoparticles provides evidence for the good distribution of TiO2 in the blend matrix with diameter range of 15-60 nm and the melt blending technique is an efficient technique to prepare PVC/ENR/TiO2 nanocomposites.

Potential of Integrated Membrane Bioreactor in Batik Dye Degradation - A Review

The objectives of this study are mainly focusing on reviewing the potential of membrane bioreactor application in Batik dyes degradation and to identify the factors contributing to the permeability and selectivity of a membrane-coupled bacteria reactor. It is evidently that integrating membrane technology with biological reactors for the treatment of textile dyeing wastewaters has led to the development of three generic membrane processes within bioreactors: for separation and recycle of solids, for bubble-less aeration of the bioreactor, and for extraction of priority organic pollutants from hostile textile dyeing wastewaters. Thus, installation costs and usable floor area of the infrastructure are saved, due to the separation unit of MBR replaced the sedimentation basin that is used in current practice. It is well recognized that east coast states in Malaysia such as Kelantan and Terengganu are the main producers of “Batik” industries in which create a huge contribution to Malaysia textile economy development due to high demands from local and abroad. Batik textile wastewater is a complex and consist highly variable mixture of many polluting substances including dye. Existence of dyes in the wastewater plays a major issue and has raised significant concerns. Thus, selection of microorganism and the separation processes of the membrane bioreactor are vital to be evaluated towards an achievable productivity and efficient process separation. These are depended on several factors which include degradation of dye, temperature, retention time, pH and concentration of the textile wastewater.

Rheological study of nanosilica based drilling fluid

In drilling and well completion operations, drilling fluid is a crucial element as it is employed for the purposes of several functions. The main functions of drilling fluid are to control formation pressure, maintain the wellbore stability, transport the cuttings up to surface to clean the borehole bottom as well as to lubricate and cool the drill bit. Moreover, it is used to minimize the drilling damage to reservoir and suspend cuttings when the pumping is stop, hence it will not falling back down the borehole. The purpose of this study is to formulate new drilling mud formulation modified with nanosilica. Six samples of water based mud (WBM) were prepared using three types of polymers, (Xanthan Gum, Hydro Zan Plus and Hydro Star HT), starch and nanosilica. Basic rheological tests such as density, viscosity and pH were carried out. The density test was carried out using mud balance meanwhile the pH test was using pH meter. The plastic viscosity, yield point and gel strength tests were carried out using viscometer. Besides that, physical observation was also performed for as the stability test. The results concluded that water based mud incorporated with polymer Hydro Zan Plus and nanosilica can be a potential candidate to be commercialized as a smart nanodrilling fluid.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) foam stability dependence on nanoparticle concentration for enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

Foam flooding is an established approach in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) to recover a significant quantity of the residual oil left in the reservoir after primary and secondary recovery. However, foam flooding faces various problems due to low viscosity effect, which reduces its efficiency in recovering oil. Using surfactant to stabilize CO2 foam may reduce mobility and improve areal and vertical sweep efficiency, but the potential weaknesses are such that high surfactant retention in porous media and unstable foam properties under high temperature reservoir conditions. Nanoparticles have higher adhesion energy to the fluid interface, which potentially stabilize longer lasting foams. Thus, this paper is aimed to investigate the CO2 foam stability and mobility characteristics at different concentration of nanosilica, brine and surfactant. Foam generator has been used to generate CO2 foam and analyze its stability under varying nanosilica concentration from 100 - 5000 ppm, while brine salinity and surfactant concentration ranging from 0 to 2.0 wt% NaCl and 0 – 10000 ppm, respectively. Foam stability was investigated through observation of the foam bubble size and the reduction of foam height inside the observation tube. The mobility was reduced as the concentration of nanosilica increased with the presence of surfactant. After 150 minutes of observation, the generated foam height reduced by 10%. Liquid with the presence of both silica nanoparticles and surfactant generated more stable foam with lower mobility. It can be concluded that the increase in concentration of nanosilica and addition of surfactant provided significant effects on the foam stability and mobility, which could enhance oil recovery.

Effect of Temperature on the Colour and TSS Removal of Batik Dye Wastes in an Integrated Biological and Filtration Treatment System

In this study, conventional filter system (with a polypropylene membrane) was used with L. delbrueckii to treat dye waste from textile waste water. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of temperature on the colour and TSS removal of dye wastes in an integrated biological and filtration treatment system. Temperature was varied in a range of 33oC, 35oC, 37oC and 39oC and pH was controlled at 6 for 50 wt% dilution of dye. Fourier Transform Infrared Sprectroscopy (FTIR), Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES), color removal, pH profile and total suspended solid (TSS) analyses were done on the dye waste before and after the treatment. The optimum temperature and pH identified for dye degradation were at 37oC and 6 with initial color removal of 22.6% and final removal of 75%. Initial total suspended solid removed was 5% whereas the final removal was 75%.

Effect of TiO2 Nanofillers on Mechanical Properties of PVC/ENR/TiO2 Nanocomposites

Addition of nanoparticles currently in polymer blends has brought tremendous transformation in polymer engineering field. Incorporation of TiO2 nanofillers is believed to enhance the physical and mechanical properties of PVC/ENR blends due to its excellent characteristics including non-toxicity, long term stability and UV light discoloration resistance. The main objective of this research work is to introduce titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanofillers in a range of 0 - 6 phr into polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) blends. Modification on mechanical properties of PVC/ENR blends has successfully been carried via irradiation crosslinking technique. The addition of TiO2 nanofillers has improved the tensile strength and hardness of the nanocomposites. Nevertheless, at higher loading of 6 phr, the results obviously showed an insignificant difference of performances for both tensile strength and shore hardness properties. Upon radiation of 50 kGy, the increase in Ts of the PVC/ENR blends with addition of 4 phr TiO2 was found to be optimum before the Ts value drops with higher exposure to irradiation dose rate. Gel fraction of irradiated PVC/ENR/TiO2 nanocomposites indicates the nanocomposites are crosslinked upon electron beam irradiation. Degree of crosslink was also increased with the addition of 4 phr and 6 phr TiO2.

Relationship between Foamability and Nanoparticle Concentration of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Foam for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)

Foam stability can be uttered in foamability measurement and bubble size dispersal. The higher the foamability, the more stable it is. The addition of nanosilica particle to the foam system will further improve the rigidity of the lamellae interface by providing stickiness force between foam lamellae and its surface, halting the film thinning and prevent it from rupture. This paper aims to investigate the stability of CO2 foam with addition of nanoparticle, to find the optimum surfactant and nanoparticle concentration that achieved higher foam stability, to determine the relationship between the foamability and the nanoparticle concentration within the carbon dioxide foam system and also to analyze the effect of crude oil on foam stability. For this experiment, foam generator was used. The concentrations of surfactant were prepared at ranges from 500 ppm to 5000 ppm. The foam stability test was conducted at constant pressure, temperature and flowrate. The nanoparticle was used with set of different concentrations such as 1000 ppm, 3000 ppm and 5000 ppm. It was found that the increases in both surfactant and nanoparticle concentration have boosted up the stability of the foam produced from 92% to 100% foamability and foam durability extended to maximum of 5 hours. The optimum concentration of both surfactant and nanoparticle was 5000 ppm. It is important to determine the relationship between foamability and nanoparticle concentration, so that foam stability, mobility and the morphology of the foam produced can be forecasted with the newly breakthrough nanoparticles technology.