Ramlah Mohd Tajuddin

Heavy Metals Phytoremediation from Urban Waste Leachate by the Common Reed (Phragmites australis)

The use of plants for remediation of soils and waters contaminated with heavy metals has gained acceptance in the past two decades as a cost-effective and noninvasive technique. In this study, the effectiveness of Common Reed for phytoremediation of heavy metals from municipal waste leachate was investigated. The plants were transplanted into pots containing 10 L of mixed urban waste leachate and water (mixed 80 percentages of waste leachate with 20 % of water; V:V) and aerated during experiments. Central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology (RSM) were used in order to clarify the nature of the response surface in the experimental design and explain the optimal conditions of the independent variables. In the optimum conditions, the amount of removed Fe, Mn, Cu, and Ni were 25.049, 9.623, 6.112, and 0.900 mg/kg, and Translocation Factor (TF) in 24, 48, and 72 h experiment were 0.47, 0.45, 0.34, 0.38, 1.17, 0.89, 0.69, 0.42, 1.30, 1.12, 1.10, and 1.01 for each heavy metal (Fe, Mn, Cu, and Ni), respectively. The findings showed that Phragmites australis is an effective accumulator plant for phytoremediation of these metals.

Experimental Assessment on Effects of Growth Rates Microalgae Scenedesmus sp. in Different Conditions of pH, Temperature, Light Intensity and Photoperiod

An experimental study using microalgae Scenedesmus sp. growth rates are conducted in varies of environmental conditions that aim to access the growth rates yields of microalgae Scenedesmus sp. tolerance and capability sustain in fluctuations condition of wastewater may permit. Synthetic aqueous of Basal Bold Medium (BBM) was used to cultivate in batch mode using reactor flask under different abiotic parameters such as pH, temperature, lux intensity and photo period. These conditions are chosen due to its influential key on microalgae growth yields, metabolism and nature of environmental where microalgae utilization took place. The initial concentrations of microalgae are kept constant at initials of 1000cells/ml as per APHA (2012) standards and other environmental factors are varies based on the nature of selected wastewater and surrounding nature. The maximum yields of Scenedesmus sp. specific growth rates subjected to abiotic conditions are pH range from pH7 to pH8, temperature is 25°C to 30°C, photoperiod is 12/12 (Light/Dark)(hr) and lux intensity of 4000. Significant of these findings shows microalgae Scenedesmus sp. can easily grow and adapt well in fluctuating of nature conditions as the optimums are precisely close to nature conditions.

Fabrication of Polysulfone Membrane Incorporated with Crystalline Silica: The Effect of Casting Rate

Polysulfone (PSf) membrane incorporated with crystalline silica (SiO2) was fabricated via phase inversion method. This study investigates the effect of SiO2 and PVP as additive for different dope formulation of PSf membrane. SiO2 is an abundant compound around the earth that is naturally occurring such as clay and graphite. They are widely used in industries to produce silica gel, colloidal silica, and fumed silica. In this study, experimental investigation was conducted focusing on different casting rate. Casting rate was varied from 7.3 to 10 ms−1. Performances of PSf membrane were measured in term of pure water flux (PWF) by using distilled water and salt rejection (SR). The results indicate that the best dope formulation was at membranes containing 3 % of silica where successfully do rejection of 69.84 % and optimum flux rate of 39.45 Lm−2 h−1. The result also shows that casting rate influences the final performance of membrane. The increase of casting rate would give good results in water flux and salt rejection. As a conclusion, 8.00 ms−1 was an ideal casting rate with the values of 77 % rejection and 39.24 Lm−2 h−1 permeation.

Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (Tga) of Kenaf Core and Its Cellulose for Membrane Fabrication

Membranes can be fabricated using three main materials, namely solvent, polymer, and additives. The function of the solvent is to dissolve the polymer so it becomes homogenous with another material that is required to form the membrane layer. Various types of additives can be used to enhance the surface of the membrane layer. Examples of commonly used additives in membrane are polyethylene glycol (PEG), monosodium glutamates, sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). However, these are synthetic additives; therefore, there is a need to search for a sustainable organic additive that would be greener for the environment, such as cellulose from suitable plants. In this study, cellulosic material was extracted from kenaf core, to be used as the organic additive for membrane formation. In order to investigate the suitability of this material, thermal gravimetric analyses (TGA) were performed in two parts. The first TGA was done on the kenaf core to determine the amount of cellulose that can be extracted from it. Then, a second TGA was done on a sample of the extracted cellulose to determine its weight and quantified loss of water, loss of solvent, loss of plasticizer, decarboxylation, pyrolysis, oxidation, decomposition, weight % filler, amount of metallic catalytic residue remaining on carbon nanotubes, and weight percentage of ash. TGA results on cellulose from kenaf core have shown that the crystalline melt was defined by the peak temperature at 333.07 °C. After the melt transition, the baseline had returned to a slightly lower position than the premelt baseline. The slope of the post-melt baseline had changed as the sample began to decompose. Meanwhile, TGA has extrapolated the onset temperature to 421.61 °C as the sample decomposes.

Effect of Kenaf Water Retting Process by Bacillus Macerans ATCC 843 on the pH of Retting Water

pH plays a very critical role in kenaf retting process. The aim of this study was to observe the changes in the pH of the retting water with and without the use of Bacillus macerans ATCC 843. The duration for retting period was set to one week. The changes of pH was taken daily in both tank. Both of the reading was then compared.

Removal of Oil from Floodwater Using Banana Pith as Adsorbent

Oily water has become one of the environmental problems which can cause clogging and pollution. One way to remove the oil is by using adsorption methods where activated carbon is one of the effective adsorbents. The activated carbon is quite expensive, thus natural adsorbent studies were conducted. This study’s objective was to determine the ability of banana pith as natural adsorbent in removing oil from oily wastewater. The performance of banana pith was studied by using dosage and contact time, while the banana pith itself was characterized using FT-IR and SEM methods. By using mathematical models, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were used to determine the adsorption pattern. Results indicate that both raw and modified banana piths have an ability to act as adsorbents. Treated banana pith showed the highest removal when compared with raw banana pith. The conclusion for these studies shows that banana piths have an ability to remove oil from water and treated banana pith gives a higher removal when compared with raw banana pith.

Formulation of Nanofiltration Flat Sheet Membrane Using Cellulose from Kenaf Core

This study was conducted in order to determine the suitable formula in developing a nanofiltration membrane using additive from kenaf core. Kenaf core was processed and analyse the suitable component to be used as the additive in formulation the nanofiltration membrane. Kenaf taken from National Kenaf and Tobacco Board (NKTB) Malaysia with code reference of V36 was used in this study. Cellulose of Kenaf core was extracted using Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) process at the Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM). From few percentage of Kenaf cellulose with analyses using Flux Purewater Test, NaCl Test (Rejection Test), Molecular Weight Cut Off (MWCO) Test, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR), the suitable percentage of Kenaf cellulose for nanofiltration flat sheet membrane was obtained.

Comparative Study of Water Quality due to Retting of Crushed and Uncrushed Kenaf Stems

A comparative study on the quality of crushed and uncrushed kenaf retting water is presented in this paper. A number of parameters used in the assessment of water quality are examined in this study, namely, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity and suspended solids (SS). The results reveal that both crushed and uncrushed kenaf retting water samples do not fulfil the requirements stipulated in the effluent standards. In addition, the quality of crushed kenaf retting water is poorer compared to that for uncrushed kenaf retting water. Based on the results of this study, it is evident that the retting process adversely affects the physicochemical properties of water and therefore water treatment is necessary before the water is being discharged downstream into ponds, lakes and rivers.

The Quality of Kenaf Retting Water After Retting Using Bacillus cereus for Fiber Extraction

The aim of this study was to compare the water quality of wastewater from kenaf retting process with and without the use of Bacillus cereus. The retting process duration was 1 week. The reading on temperature, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), suspended solid (SS) and ammonical nitrogen (NH3–N) was taken daily during the retting period. The end result of the wastewater quality was then compared.

Effect of Kenaf Water Retting Process by Bacillus cereus on the pH of Retting Water

pH plays an important roles in retting process of kenaf. The aim of this study is to see the changes of retting water pH in the kenaf retting process with and without the use of Bacillus cereus. The retting process duration was one week. The pH of the water was taken daily during the retting period. The results were then compared at the end of retting period.