Modified effects of LDPE/EVA blends by electron beam irradiation

The effect of electron beam irradiation on the properties of low density polyethylene (LDPE, LH0075) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA, with 18 %VA) blends were investigated. The improvement of the measured gel content, stress at ultimate, strain at Auto breaks and transition temperatures (Tg, Tm) have confirmed the positive effects on blends but ineffective in density of blends

Preparation and characterisation of polyethylene-octene grafted maleic anhydride-toughened 70:30 PA6/PP/MMT nanocomposites

A series of nanocomposites consisting of a polyamide 6 (PA6) and polypropylene (PP) matrix (70:30) with a maleated polyethylene-octene elastomer (POEgMAH) and organophilic modified montmorillonite (MMT) were prepared by melt compounding in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder followed by injection moulding. The weight fraction of organoclay was adjusted from 2 - 10 wt% by increments of 2 wt% and the weight fraction of POEgMAH was fixed at 10 wt%. POEgMAH was used as an impact modifier as well as compatibiliser in the nanocomposites. Mechanical properties of the blends were investigated by tensile, flexural and impact testing. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterise the nanocomposites. The thermal properties were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Addition of 4 wt% organoclay showed the highest tensile and flexural strengths for the blends. The Young's and flexural moduli were also improved with increasing the organoclay concentration but with a corresponding reduction in impact strength and elongation at break. XRD result revealed that the organoclay was dispersed uniformly (exfoliated) although the degree of exfoliation decreased with increasing organoclay content. The DSC analysis showed that the crystallinity of the blends decreased with increasing organoclay concentration. It was shown from the TGA analysis that the thermal stability of the PA6/PP nanocomposites was significantly improved in the presence of impermeable silicate layers in the blends

Toughening polyamide 6 nanocomposites with maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene octene

Rubber toughened nanocomposites consisting of ternary blends of polyamide 6 (PA 6), maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene octene (POEgMAH) and organoclay montmorillonite (MMT) were prepared by melt compounding followed by injection moulding. The organoclay content was kept constant at 4 wt% while the POEgMAH content was varied between 5 to 20 wt%. The mechanical properties were studied through tensile, flexural and impact properties. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to examine the morphology of the nanocomposties. The results showed that, the incorporation of 4 wt% organoclay significantly increased the stiffness and strength but at the expense of the toughness. Izod impact measurement indicated that the addition of POEgMAH led to a significant improvement in the impact strength of the nanocomposites. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) revealed that an intercalation organoclay silicate layer structure was formed in rubber-toughened PA6 nanocomposites. SEM study revealed a two-phase morphology where POE, as droplets was dispersed finely and uniformly in the PA6 matrix

Decomposition of productivity growth of the Malaysian palm oil mill sector

This study investigates total factor productivity (TFP) growth in the Malaysian palm oil mill sector over the period 2005-2010, using a Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA) model. TFP growth was decomposed into three components, namely, technical efficiency (TE), technical progress (TP) and scale components (SEC). The empirical results show that productivity growth was driven mainly by TE for all palm oil mills, followed by TP. However, a change in the scale components had a negative effect on productivity growth. Overall, the study suggests that there are opportunities to improve productivity growth in the Malaysian palm oil mill sector

Flame retardancy and kinetic behavior of ammonium polyphosphate–treated unsaturated polyester/phenolic interpenetrating polymer network.

In this study, the flammability and kinetic behavior of flame retardant unsaturated polyester (UP)/phenolic resin were investigated. The flame retardant ammonium polyphosphate (APP) was used in this research to improve the flame resistance of a UP/phenolic resin interpenetrating polymer network (IPN). The flame resistance of UP improved from none to V-0 classification by adding phenolic resin and APP. Kinetic behavior study of UP, UP/phenolic, and APP-filled UP/phenolic IPN was carried out by the Borchardt and Daniels method. The results indicated that modification of flammable UP resin markedly improved the total heat release volume of UP and the flame retardancy of the IPN network structure was also enhanced

Who gain and lose from the minimum wage policy?

This study examines the effectiveness of the minimum wage as a mechanism for income redistribution among major ethnic groups in Malaysia. Taking into consideration the benefits and costs of minimum wage, the results show that the wage policy potentially boosts the incomes of ethnic Indians and ethnic Malays, whereas the wage policy marginally affects ethnic Chinese. The estimates also do not provide strong support for the notion that minimum wage legislation in Malaysia is likely to be an effective policy for income redistribution. The effectiveness of the minimum wage legislation is constrained by its limitation to account for informal sector workers

Effect of natural rubber/epoxidized natural rubber (90/10) on mechanical and thermal properties of linear low density polyethylene.

The effects of blending different amounts of (90/10) natural rubber/epoxidized natural rubber (NR/ENR-50) with metallocene linear low density polyethylene (mLLDPE) on the tensile strength, elongation at yield point, Young’s modulus, hardness and thermal properties were investigated. In this study, N, N-m-phenylenebismaleimide (HVA-2) was used as compatibilizer for the blends. The highest tensile strength was observed in the blend of 90/(9/1) mLLDPE/NR/ENR-50. With increasing mixed rubber content, the tensile modulus is found to decrease continuously, but interestingly the hardness and elongation at yield point is shown to increase. The crystallinity percentage of 10% rubber/mLLDPE was the lowest percentage. The maximum physical crosslinks occur in 90/(9/1) mLLDPE/NR/ENR-50 composite blend. The FTIR showed that the epoxy and double bond groups were found to be absent in all blends indicating thermal stability and compatibility of mLLDPE/rubber blends were improved by addition of 10 and 30% loading of rubber, in the presence of HVA-2 as compatibilizer

Soil Temperature Regimes under Mixed Dipterocarp Forests of Peninsular Malaysia

Soil temperature regimes of forested and open conditions at selected depths of 5, 10, 20 and 30 cm, were reported based on data collected over a two-year period. Results showed that temperature of soil under forest cover was consistently lower than of the open by 4 to GOC due to 'shading effect' of forest cover. The top 5 cm layer in the open showed the greatest variation whilst insignificant differences were observed among layers under forest. Weighted average soil profile temperature for both conditions seemed to follow closely the mean air temperature. However, open air temperatures consistently recorded lower values

Jepun vs Malaysia: strategi kempen pilihan raya umum 2017 DAN 2018

Artikel ini membuat perbandingan penggunaan strategi dalam kempen pilihan raya umum yang diadakan di Jepun dan Malaysia pada tahun 2017 dan 2018. Strategi dibahagikan kepada penggunaan isu dan teknik berkempen dalam pilihan raya. Dua buah pakatan parti politik terbesar di Malaysia iaitu Barisan Nasional dan Pakatan Harapan dan dua buah parti politik terbesar Jepun iaitu Parti Liberal Demokratik dan Parti Perlembagaan Demokratik telah dipilih sebagai kajian kes. Kaedah analisis kandungan telah digunakan dari data yang dijana melalui beberapa sumber seperti laporan akhbar, temubual serta status yang dimuat naik di media sosial rasmi milik parti politik yang bertanding. Dari segi penggunaan isu, kedua-dua parti politik Malaysia dan Jepun menggunakan campuran isu positif dan negatif dalam kempen pilihan raya. Oleh itu pengeksploitasian kelemahan yang ada pada lawan masing-masing adalah strategi ampuh bagi mencapai kejayaan. Manakala menunjukkan kekuatan yang ada pada parti sendiri adalah strategi bagi menarik pengundi mempercayai kredibiliti mereka. Dari segi pengimplementasian teknik pula, berkempen cara tradisional masih lagi diteruskan selain penggunaan teknologi terkini dalam media sosial. Walau bagaimanapun berikutan kekangan peraturan yang ketat, beberapa teknik berkempen yang dijalankan di Malaysia tidak boleh digunakan di Jepun seperti berkempen dari rumah ke rumah

Drying and Milling Cost Functions of Paddy: Empirical Estimates for Government Processing Complexes in Malaysia

In this paper, the statistical cost function approach was used to model the drying and milling cost for government paddy/rice processing complexes in Malaysia. The quadratic and inverse cost [unctions were estimated. The results suggest that there exists cost economies at relatively high output levels for both the drying and milling operations. Examination of output data indicates that a large number of government paddy mills operate at low outputs, with cost economies unexploited