Fabrication and characterization of modified ZnO-kapok fiber for separating surfactant-free oil-in-water emulsions

. Natural sorbents have several benefits, including high sorption capacity, superior biodegradability, and low cost. Kapok is one of the natural fibers that can be used as absorbent material. These distinctive qualities give kapok fibers greater oil sorption capacity than other oil sorbents currently on the market. However, it is difficult to hold oil properly due to its waxy coating and smooth fiber surface. Thus, in this study, the rough surface fiber has been coated using ZnO via the hydrothermal method. Considering that ZnO is instinctually hydrophilic, this modification of the fiber compounds increases the adsorption of oil in fiber. The surface morphology interaction has been proven with an experiment using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) for morphology investigation, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for identifying organic or inorganic materials, and physical interaction (contact angle analysis). The results obtained display a significant difference between modified kapok fiber with ZnO and raw kapok fiber. The FTIR analysis shows that the modified kapok exhibits the peak's level of intensity at 3268.88 cm-1 (stretching vibration peak of surface –OH decreases obviously as compared with that of raw kapok fiber, an absorption peak (symmetric stretching vibration of Zn–O–Zn) is observed at 652.28 cm-1. These results suggested that the whole sum of –OH was diminished, and hydrophobic ZnO nanoparticles were developed on the kapok fiber's surface. A surface morphology analysis using SEM shows that ZnO particles are present on the kapok fiber surface while comparing it to the raw kapok. Modified kapok shows a higher contact angle (138°) compared to raw kapok (125.5°). This can conclude that the kapok fiber modification was successfully achieved using the hydrothermal metho

The influenced of steel fiber in hot mix asphalt mixture to enhance the tensile strength

Deformation of the road was the main factor of the repeated loaded at high temperature to the asphalt pavements and one of the main distress mechanisms. Asphalt mixture incorporated with steel fiber to enhance the tensile strength would have investigated by used grade 60/70 of asphalt binder and 5% of optimum asphalt binder. The percentages of steel fiber that were used for the studied was 0, 1.2, 1.5, 2.1, 2.4% by total weight of aggregate. Purpose of this studied is to investigate the effect of steel fiber toward the asphalt mixture on improved the asphalt pavement. To decrease the road deformation and to compute the pavement cracked at incorporating steel fiber using Marshall Stability Test. The result from this study has shown that the mixture incorporating steel fibers for stability is decrease between control sample with 2.7% steel fiber which is 21.357 kN and 13.193 kN. The performance test due to stiffness analysis passed the requirement JKR, which is more than 2.6 kN/mm, even if the value of the steel fiber modified sample is lower than the control sample and it still relevance to implemen

I4.0 readiness index in electric power distribution in serving modern consumers

Nowadays, the needs of modern human life are inseparable from the use of electrical energy. The development of eco-friendly technology continues to emerge rapidly to help facilitate daily life, such as electric vehicles (EV), electric stoves, and other modern equipment. A variety of modern equipment will have a technical impact on the distribution of electric power. Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is a state-own company, as one of the electricity service providers, must serve consumers reliably and efficiently. The existence of modern loads on the consumers side must be addressed with modern electricity supply, such as the preparation of smart grid technology, communication technology between EV charging stations, disturbance management, and efficient asset management. All of that is a readiness index for PLN to serve modern consumers. PLN needs to prepare technology and knowledge in the transformation of industry 4.0. This research helps PLN to assess the readiness of industry 4.0, which we call INDIST 4.0 (Power distribution readiness Index I4.0). The results of this study contain 5 Pillars, 15 Fields as a reference. Assessment for all distribution work areas in Indonesia with a value of 1.9 out of 4, meaning PLN is a newcomer and learne

Preliminary Study on Optimization Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer as Wrapping Structure at 90-degree Elbows Piping System via Finite Element Analysis

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) considered as unique material as it is proven have the best mechanical properties which can be used as a wrapping. This composite material will be evaluated as a wrapping material using SolidWork version 2021 software. Elbow has been chosen as component to be wrapped as it is one of the most critical parts in a pipeline system. Thus, this research focuses on 90-degree butt welded elbows. The study evaluated different lamination and thickness of CFRP as a wrapping framework for elbows. Static analysis also was stimulated to analyze the stress and strain exerted on elbows at extrados location. Based on static analysis simulation from SolidWork software, lamination orientation of (0º) with 6 layers exhibit lowest stress for all the pressure tested ranging from 0.86MPa to 19.65MPa for 90-degree defected elbow at extrados location. Besides, comparing CFRP and Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP), CFRP showed it able to reduce stress compared to GFRP when tested on the same defected elbow. Lastly, the flow simulation in CFD showed there were no leakages especially on defected area and no sudden changes on pressure, velocity, and temperature

Factors predicting the acquisition of soft skills among students with learning disabilities in vocational special education secondary school

Acquiring soft skills is essential for all students, including those with disabilities, as these skills contribute to personal and professional success. Soft skills are non-technical abilities that enable individuals to work well with others, communicate effectively, and adapt to various situations. Students with disabilities may face unique challenges in developing their soft skills. This research determined the factors affecting the acquisition of soft skills among students with learning disabilities in Vocational Special Education Secondary Schools. Survey research design is a methodological approach used in this study to collect data from samples by administering a questionnaire. This study focuses on soft skills, which consist of seven elements (communication skills, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, teamwork skills, information management and lifelong learning skills, entrepreneurship skills, moral and ethics skills and leadership skills), self-esteem and self-efficacy as variables. Two secondary schools are involved in this study: Vocational Special Education Secondary School Shah Alam, Selangor and Vocational Special Education Secondary School Indahpura, Johor, with a total sample of 52 students. Data analysis revealed that the combination of variables to predict the acquisition of soft skills from self-esteem and self-efficacy was statistically significant. In conclusion, selfesteem and self-efficacy influence the acquisition of soft skills among students with learning disabilities in Vocational Special Education Secondary Schools

RFID Network Planning of Smart Factory Based on Swarm Intelligent Optimization Algorithm: A Review

With the development of intelligent manufacturing in China, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), a key technology for smart factories, has received widespread attention. As RFID applications expand, so does the size of their networks. It makes it more difficult to ensure RFID signal coverage, leads to communication problems, and increases equipment energy consumption and costs, thereby posing challenges in the realm of RFID network planning (RNP). The RNP problem needs to consider multiple objectives and constraints such as coverage, conflicts, economic benefit, and load balance which have been proven to be optimized by swarm intelligent optimization algorithms. Therefore, this study reviews smart factories, RFID technology, swarm intelligence optimization algorithms and RFID network planning. The improvement direction of swarm intelligence optimization algorithms and factors affecting RFID network performance are also explored. In addition, it reviews and analyzes the applications of swarm intelligence algorithms to RNP problems and discusses the innovations and drawbacks of these approaches. Finally, some research limitations and directions are identified

Wear behavior of heat-treated coated carbon steel

A particular type of steel has a higher concentration of carbon than other types of steel called carbon steel. This study focused on the electrodeposition coating of Nickel Silicon Carbide (Ni-SiC) composite coating at 50 oC. In this study, medium carbon steel was used as a substrate. 25 g/l SiC was used during the deposition. The carbon steel was acted as the cathode and the carbon rod as an anode during electrodeposition. The coated sample was heat-treated at 350 OC for 1 hour. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used to analyze the surface morphology and microstructure of the coated and heat-treated sample before and after the wear test. The coated sample's element composition and phase distribution are determined using the Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). To identify the hardness of the composite coating, Vickers micro-hardness test was used on the surface of the sample with 100g load in 10 seconds with ten indentations. Weight loss method was conducted to determine the average wear resistance of the sample. The wear behavior of the Ni-SiC was evaluated using the weight loss method with 3 g/l alumina as the abrasive material. The results showed that the heat-treated coating had higher wear resistance than the without heat treatment. The findings also showed that the sample with the heat-treatment process had a higher hardness. This proved that the heat-treated sample had the best wear behavior and hardness value compared to without heat treatment due to denser coating produce

Study of material characterization of samarium doped ceria-rice husk ash silica (SDC-RHASiO2)

Additional of metal oxide such as copper oxide, lithium oxide and iron oxide into ceria-based electrolyte had been commercialized to improve the performance of the ceria based material in microstructure modification. In this study, the effect of samarium doped ceria with the addition of rice husk ash silica on its characterization is described. Samarium doped ceria (SDC) with addition of 1.0 wt.% of rice husk ash silica (RHASiO2) was prepared by ball milling method. The SDC-RHASiO2 composite pellets were produced by uniaxial press and were sintered at 700°C. Material characterizations of SDC-RHASiO2 sample were identifying by X-ray diffraction (XRD) for crystalline structures, porosity test and scanning electron microscope (SEM) for surface morphology and microstructures. Based on XRD result obtained, it has been found that the result for SDC-RHASiO2 powder only showed the face-centered cubic lattice structure of (Sm.20Ce.80O1.90) without additional impurity phases. SEM micrographs indicated that the porosity percentage decreases when the RHASiO2 was added into SDC. This mixed material is believed could improve the structure as well as the performance of undoped SD

I4.0 readiness index in electric power distribution in serving modern consumers

Nowadays, the needs of modern human life are inseparable from the use of electrical energy. The development of eco-friendly technology continues to emerge rapidly to help facilitate daily life, such as electric vehicles (EV), electric stoves, and other modern equipment. A variety of modern equipment will have a technical impact on the distribution of electric power. Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) is a state-own company, as one of the electricity service providers, must serve consumers reliably and efficiently. The existence of modern loads on the consumers side must be addressed with modern electricity supply, such as the preparation of smart grid technology, communication technology between EV charging stations, disturbance management, and efficient asset management. All of that is a readiness index for PLN to serve modern consumers. PLN needs to prepare technology and knowledge in the transformation of industry 4.0. This research helps PLN to assess the readiness of industry 4.0, which we call INDIST 4.0 (Power distribution readiness Index I4.0). The results of this study contain 5 Pillars, 15 Fields as a reference. Assessment for all distribution work areas in Indonesia with a value of 1.9 out of 4, meaning PLN is a newcomer and learne

Mechanical Properties of Rigid Pavements Incorporating Different Percentage of Steel Fiber

Nowadays, rigid pavement construction has widely used in road construction industry. Although rigid pavement is widely used in road construction, it tends to fail within time due to many reasons. Fatigue is the important aspect in the rigid pavement design. Due to applications of the heavy loads fatigue occurs in the pavement in the form of micro cracks. Fatigue concepts which is an important parameter in cement concrete pavement and mainly failure occurs due to fatigue failure. As a result, it is crucial to optimize and improving concrete structures to suit diverse engineering requirements. This paper investigates the effect of steel fiber on the improvement of structural behavior such as compressive, tensile and also flexural stiffness performance of rigid pavements. In this respect, the concrete mix design accordance to Design of Normal Concrete Mix (DOE) method was employed in the preparation of the specimens. A series of concrete laboratory tests have been carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of the concrete sample incorporating 1, 3 and 5% of steel fiber. As a result, the performance (compressive, tensile and flexural) of modified rigid pavements improved remarkably 15-60% with 5% additive of steel fibre at 7 and 18 days curing time. Based on these studies, the addition of steel fiber reinforcement into the rigid pavements has a significant effect on mechanical properties of concrete mixture