Lipase Mediated Transesterification Of Waste Cooking Palm Oil For Biodiesel Production : Batch And Continuous Studies [TP359.B46 S623 2008 f rb].

Pembangunan strategi baru yang lebih cekap untuk menghasilkan biodiesel adalah perkara yang sangat penting. Ini kerana biodiesel telah diterima di seluruh dunia sebagai bahan bakar alternatif untuk enjin diesel. The development of new strategies to efficiently synthesize biodiesel is of extreme important. This is because biodiesel has been accepted worldwide as an alternative fuel for diesel engines

Introducing a six sigma process control technique in a food production line: step-by-step guideline and critical elements of the implementation

In the era of digitalisation, the measurement, monitoring and controlling of quality processes is vital and considered the critical dimension in the Six Sigma application toward process excellence. Despite the importance of quality in the food processing, there is a dearth of systematic procedure of process control practices in this industry due to the lack of awareness and guidelines available. Therefore, the purpose of this study are to develop step-by-step guidelines to implement Statistical Process Control as one of the Six Sigma approaches for process control, determine the tools appropriate at each step of the implementation and identify the critical elements toward the success of its application in the food industry. The method used was the “action-research (AR)” approach since the researchers were actively involved in the briefing the SPC awareness and implementation. There are six steps of an implementation of an SPC pilot project, where along the implementation, specific tools are appropriate at each stage The SPC application in this paper provides insights into practical implementation experience in a food manufacturing operation, as well as lessons learned. Until now, most research addressed the case study of the application of SPC. However, this study critically develop a guideline of the implementation and determine the critical element of implementing SPC pilot project

Piloting for the multidimensional job satisfaction instrument in the offshore work setting

This article draws upon pilot study to test the developed job satisfaction questionnaire with offshore catering employees. Changing the attention from a hypothetical work setting where job satisfaction is usually studied, this study investigated employees’ satisfaction with the offshore catering job as the employees perform their job in an isolated and confined work environment. The pilot study was employed as an impetus for a scale development dissertation in validating a bespoke job satisfaction instrument in the offshore catering context. In this small-scale study, the researchers investigated job satisfaction with a purposive sample of 37 (n=37) offshore catering employees using electronic-based survey. Subsequently, an individual debriefing was conducted with four respondents to improve the questionnaire items. The objectives of the pilot study were to evaluate the quality of the items and to identify potential challenges that might occur in the main study. The study findings are not extensively discussed; however, adequate information about the study background and sample characteristics are included. The study about job satisfaction among offshore catering employees was used to demonstrate the process. The key aspects of the pilot study including the amendment of items, challenges encountered during data collection, and modifications made to the actual study are discussed

Glucose utilization of mucuna bracteata sap by saccharomyces cerevisiae in fermentation process

The usage of cover crops has been increase popularity in the agricultural community. A cover crop is a crop planted mainly to manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife in an agro ecosystem. Besides these advantages, cover crops also have disadvantages. Firstly, in order to terminate the crop, the cost that needed was too high. Next, it can also reduce soil moisture, increased risk of plant disease and increased risk of the pest population. Exceeded cover crops also can increase competition between the cash crops in order to get nutrients [1]. In order to overcome this problem, a research was conducted to study about cover crops as a new biomass source to produce something valuable

Supply and Demand of the Entry-level Job Competencies in the Hotel Industry

This study aimed to discover the supply and demand of entry-level job competencies, particularly from the perceptions of human resource managers in 4- and 5-star hotels. Also, the gap between the supply and demand of the entry-level job competencies were identified. This study applied the qualitative approach through a semi-structured interview and analyzed using a thematic analysis. Findings of this study showed that human resource managers perceived the competencies of fresh graduates supplied to the hotel industry in both positive and negative views were communication skill, technical skill, cognitive skill, and interpersonal skill. In contrast, the critical competencies demanded in the hotel industry for the entry-level job were interpersonal skill, communication skill, technical skill, leadership, information management, teamwork, and cognitive skill. Out of the four competencies supplied to the industry, the employers perceived only one positive competency was supplied to them, and the other three were regarded as insufficient. It is anticipated that the findings obtained from this study may enhance the collaboration between the hospitality industry and universities to bridge the competencies gap of fresh graduates

Extraction of Cu(ii) from aqueous phase using cooking palm oil as an organic solvent / Siti Fatimah Abdul Halim, Chang Siu Hua and Ana Najwa Mustapa

Heavy metal is a source of contaminants in the industries effluents. It can be released into the environment in gaseous, particulate and transportation, microelectronic product and finally waste disposal (Bradl, 2005). For instance, generation of heavy metal waste has been estimated to be 4000 and 150,000 tonne/year alone in Portugal and European countries (Silva et al., 2005). This show that amount of waste being generated annually is respectively a huge amount. Therefore, heavy metal needed to remove from the sources to avoid contaminations to the environment and human health. Solvent extraction is one of the effective techniques to remove Cu(ll) from aqueous solution. The common conventional solvents used are petroleum- base such as such as kerosene, chloroform, dichloromethane, ndodecane, isododecane, ndecanol, n-heptane, n-hexane and cumene. These petroleum-based diluents, which form the bulk components in the organic phase, are usually toxic, non-renewable, non biodegradable, flammable and volatile in nature (Venkareswaran et al., 2007). They are difficult to handle and will result in ecological hazard to the aquatic systems in the case of solvent loss due to entrainment in the aqueous phase. Hence, it is essential to find a greener replacement for the conventional petroleum-based organic solvents in order to curb the environmental problem. Cooking palm oil which has a great potential as greener substitutes for the conventional solvents owing to their outstanding characteristics such as nontoxicity, inflammability, nonvolatility, renewability and biodegradability. The unlimited bioresources, as well as relatively simpler processing steps and technologies involved, ensure the use of cooking palm oils as solvent substitutes cheaper than the conventional organic solvents

Lemon essential oil; the organic insect repellent

Commercial insecticides are widely used in most sectors of the agricultural production to avoid or reduce losses by insects and hence it can improve the production as well as the quality of the product produced. In some ways, it can also improve the value of food and also its safety. Insecticides can be considered as an economic, labour-saving and efficient tool of insect management in agricultural production [1]

Achieving data saturation: evidence from a qualitative study of job satisfaction / Mohd Aliff Abdul Majid … [et al.]

The concept of saturation is deemed necessary in qualitative research; however, existing literature discussing the point of saturation is relatively scant. Previous qualitative studies tend to describe the point of saturation but fail to demonstrate how the saturation occurred. This article provides evidence on how qualitative research might report the point of data saturation. The original study consists of a mixed method approach to develop and validate an instrument for measuring offshore catering employees’ job satisfaction. Notably, this paper reports a part of the qualitative portion of a mixed-method study. Using the data from a study involving 13 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, this study documents the degree of data saturation over the course of thematic analysis and demonstrates how data saturation was operationalised. Although the study reported 13 interviews, the saturation occurred within 12 interviews. The study findings are not extensively discussed; however, adequate information about the study background, data collection and sample characteristics are included. The technique presented in this paper provides practical guidance for qualitative researchers in reporting point of saturation. However, it is recommended that the evidence of data saturation occurred after 12 interviews should be applied with caution due to several factors

Sugar utilization in fermentation of nipa frond sap by saccharomyces cerevisiae

In recent years, concerns about the reduction of energy and materials, as well as limits to the ecosystem's assimilation capacity of residues have been raised in the social, political and business arena. All fossil fuels and minerals are limited and non-renewable on a human scale. These resources are thus limited physically and more stringently, economically [1]. Dependency on fossil fuel as energy source increase the oil price and often leads to economic depressions. In addition, the gas emission produced by the combustion of fossil fuels also contributes to air pollution and global warming. Most countries also experience more and more international pressure on global warming issues. Hence, renewable and clean alternative fuels have received increasing attention for present and future utilization [2]

Piloting for interviews in qualitative research: operationalization and lessons learnt

Qualitative interviews offer rich and detailed information in understanding people’s experiences. However, qualitative inquiry might be difficult for inexperience researcher to adequately perform the interview. Piloting for interview is an integral aspect and useful in the process of conducting qualitative research as it highlights the improvisation to the major study. This article discusses the importance of pilot study, the methods undertaken and the lessons learnt throughout the process. The pilot interview was conducted with two offshore catering employees, as preparation for a dissertation in developing a job satisfaction instrument for offshore catering employees in Malaysia. The useful functions of pilot study are described and in highlighting the advantageous of pilot study, this paper describes the modification made for the major study as a result of the pilot work. These comprise (1) criteria for selecting potential participants, and (2) improving the interview guide, particularly the interview questions