S.M. Hafis

Pyrolysis of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) in a vertical fixed bed reactor

Uncontrolled uses of fossil fuels lead to serious energy problems and since Malaysia is one of the largest producers of palm oil in the world, it has caused a lot of waste such as empty fruit bunches (EFB) which can actually be converted into renewable energy via pyrolysis. In this work, firstly the characterizations of the EFB were analyzed such as elemental, proximate and component analysis. The pyrolysis experiment of empty fruit bunch using vertical fixed-bed reactor was conducted at different pyrolysis temperature range from 300 - 600 °C and the particle size of EFB was also varied from 125-250 μm with constant nitrogen flow rate of 100 cm3/min, heating rate of 30 °C/min, and 30 minutes hold time. For the effect of temperature, the optimum pyrolysis temperature was 500 °C to produce maximum yield of bio-oil which is 39.2 wt. % while 46.13 wt. % is the highest bio-oil yield produced at size of 500-710 μm for the effect of particle size. The analysis on bio-oil was conducted by using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) with the results shows for the presents of phenol/alcohol group, ketones and C-O bond. The bio-oil obtained is in the acidic condition with pH 3.5.

Effect of extrusion ratio on paraffinic mineral oil lubricant in cold forward extrusion

A finite element (FE) analysis is made for steady-state two-dimensional forward extrusion with three different extrusion ratio values. Predicting extrusion force of aluminum billet extruded with palm oil lubricant will definitely be helpful in deciding the right extrusion ratio. Hence, the finite element method was applied to investigate the influence of extrusion ratio on palm oil lubricant. The extrusion ratios evaluated were 1.5, 2, and 3. The reference of the study was in accordance to the experiment results of 0.1 mg paraffinic mineral oil grade 95 (Pr95) with kinematic viscosity of 90.12 mm2/s at 40 °C for the extrusion ratio of 3. The result was found to be reliable once the FE model was validated by the established work. The extrusion force for each extrusion ratio was described and evaluated. The FE analysis also accounts for plasticity material flow and equivalent plastic strains in the deformation region. The analysis agreed that the extrusion ratio of 1.5 reduced the extrusion force compared to the extrusion ratio of 2 and 3. This was confirmed by the plotted equivalent plastic strain deformation which shows that the high value of equivalent plastic strain near the extrusion die surface was decreased. As a result, the extrusion force becomes greater with the increasing of extrusion ratio.

Development of Pico-Hydro Turbine for Domestic Use

As many research and study were conducted worldwide in order to explore the different alternatives and renewable energy resources, this work come out with the descriptions of the initial testing conducted on the prototype of pico-hydro generation system for the purpose of investigating its performance. The kinetic energy hold by water flow in the domestic pipes was obtained to have potential in generating electricity power for energy storage purposes while conducting routine activities such as laundry, cook and bathe. The water pressure and water flow inside the pipe from utility’s main tank that used for those usual activities are used to rotate small scale hydro turbine to drive a generator for electrical power generation. Results from the test significantly show the convinced reading in recorded voltage as it is a count to propose the system is feasible for electrification of energy storage purpose and indicate the prospect for further improvement and future research.

A study of minimum quantity lubricant of refined bleached deodorized palm stearin in plane strain extrusion

Large quantities of lubricant are being widely used in the metal forming industry and this high consumption is negatively affecting the environment. Finding an alternative to this current situation is getting more serious and urgent in response to environmental and operational cost pressures. This paper deals with an experimental investigation to obtain the minimum quantity of lubricant (MQL) of RBD palm stearin, which is used as lubricant between the contact sliding surfaces of the taper die and billet via plane-strain-extrusion apparatus. The symmetrical workpieces are designed as combined billets made from pure aluminium A1100. The dies of the apparatus are made of SKD 11 steel. The extrusion ratio of the processes is 3 and the workpieces are extruded by hydraulic press machine. Four conditions of the quantity selected are 0.1 mg, 1 mg, 5 mg, and 20 mg. The analysis of the result shows that the conditions of the quantity are in the load reducing order from 0.1 mg, 1mg and 5 mg. The highest distribution of surface roughness is at 0.1 mg, whereby for others, the conditions are quite similar. However, the distribution of velocity and effective strain are lowest at 5 mg. The minimum quantity of lubricant (MQL) of the RBD palm stearin as lubricant on the contact sliding surfaces in planestrain-extrusion is determined based on the results of load, surface roughness, velocity and effective strain.

Pyrolysis of Palm Pressed Fibre (PPF) towards Maximizing Bio-Oil Yield in a Fixed-Bed Reactor

Increasing demand of fossils fuel for many purposes has cause for the limited sources which lead to the finding for new alternative energy based on biomass because of its sustainable properties. Palm-pressed fibre (PPF) is the biomass waste from palm oil processing which has use minimally for boiler to generate heat. The pyrolysis of PPF in a fixed-bed reactor has the potential as an alternative for its conversion into bio-oil, bio-char and gas. The characterization of PPF where involves elemental analysis, proximate analysis, calorific analysis and component analysis. The pyrolysis of the PPF was performed in the fixed-bed reactor at temperature between 300 - 700 °C and heating rate in the range of 10-70 °C/min with constant flow of nitrogen at 100 cm3/min and 30 minutes hold time.The highest bio-oil yield produced was 44.98% at optimum temperature 500°C and heating rate 30°C/min. By analysis the bio-oil using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), it was found to contains alkenes, ketones, polymeric hydroxyl compound, carboxylic acid, aldehyde and water.