Preparation and characterization of activated carbon from palm kernel shell

In Malaysia, the production of activated carbons is still coconut-based although Malaysia has long shifted from coconut into palm oil plantation. Huge amount of waste Palm Kernel Shells (PKS) are being generated and disposed off into the landfill with little known of their usage on large scale. In this study, the potential of production of activated carbon from raw palm kernel shells are studied. Activated carbon was prepared from raw palm kernel shells using chemical activation with potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an activating agent. The effects of different process parameters: KOH concentration, activation temperature and time on physicochemical properties of the prepared activated carbon were investigated. The activated carbon was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, proximate analysis and methylene blue adsorption study. FTIR analysis indicates that raw palm kernel shell has successfully been converted into activated carbon. SEM photograph revealed that prepared activated carbons have numerous burn-off pores with extensive surface area for adsorption. Activated carbon sample prepared at 700 ºC and 1 hour activation with 30 wt % KOH impregnation showed greatest extend of methylene blue removal of 6.932 mg/g equivalent to 69.324 %RE with largest specific surface area of 21.137 x 10-3 km2kg-1 have been reported. This study shows that palm kernel shells can be used as a good source for the production of activated carbon

Penghasilan buku panduan keselamatan di makmal teknologi pembinaan (kerja kayu) KUiTTHO

Kajian ini dijalankan bertujuan untuk melihat sejauhmana pelajar mengamalkan cara keija yang selamat di Makmal Teknologi Pembinaan (Keija Kayu), Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussien Onn (KUiTTHO) dan sejauh mana tahap pengetahuan pelajar mengenai keselamatan di dalam makmal sama ada ia memenuhi kehendak keselamatan seperti yang telah ditetapkan. Selain dari itu, kajian ini juga dibuat untuk menghasilkan Buku Panduan Keselamatan untuk Makmal Teknologi Pembinaan (Keija Kayu). Instrumen yang digunakan untuk kajian ini adalah tinjauan dan soal selidik. Responden bagi kajian ini adalah pelajar Diploma Kejuruteraan Awam yang sedang menjalankan latihan amali di makmal ini. Hasil dari kajian ini mendapati bahawa pelajar mematuhi peraturan di dalam makmal dan mereka juga menyedari bahawa kefahaman dan pengetahuan mengenai keselamatan memberi kesan terhadap amalan keselamatan di dalam makmal. Memandangkan Makmal Teknologi Pembinaan (Kerja Kayu) sebelum ini tidak mempunyai buku panduan keselamatan makmal yang khusus, maka dengan terhasilnya Buku Panduan Keselamatan Makmal ini, pelajar dapat menjadikannya panduan supaya budaya kerja selamat dapat diamalkan di makmal ini

A survey of communication content in software requirements elicitation involving customer and developer

At the heart of software requirements elicitation lies the communication between customer and developer. There are several valuable components of communication such as medium, sender, receiver, and messages, which relates to the input and output from both parties. Most of these messages are delivered through incompletely, inconsistently or inaccurately defined communication medium. This study has been done to look into the communication content of the current communication practices between developer and customer in Malaysia. The results of this study revealed some important notes on the practices of communication content during software requirements elicitation process in Malaysia

A review on decision making of risk mitigation for software management

Decision making (DM) is one of the main phases in risk mitigation for software management. DM is undeniably an essential phase in risk mitigation. Every decision has a different level of influence or impact in software management. In order to come up with the best choices, it's necessary to go through the decision making process and adopt an optimal decision making model or tool to aid risk decisions in risk mitigation. Many studies have been accompanied for viewing the issues from different aspects based on a systematic method which is called Systematic Literature Review (SLR). This review identifies the process, factors, frameworks, models of DM of risk mitigation in software management. The findings of this review indicate that DM is one of the complications in mitigating risk in software management

A case based reasoning architecture and component based model for Green IS implementation and diffusion in organisation

Green Information Systems (IS) offers promise for IS scholars to make significant contribution in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, achieve sustainability and reducing the effects of global climate change. Green IS has therefore become one of the latest considerations to improve organization’s environmental sustainability whilst reducing the cost of IT processes. Due to recent research centered on sustainability, a few number of Green IS models and frameworks have been developed for addressing environmental sustainability, however there is still problem relating to provision of adequate data that can train, educate and support practitioner in diffusing and implementing Green IS in organisations. Thus after reviewing existing research of Green IS, this paper proposed a Case Based Reasoning (CBR) architecture for Green IS Implementation in organisations to train, educate and support practitioner in implementing Green IS in their organisation and a Component Based Model to support Practitioners in diffusing and achieving Eco-Sustainability goal. Contribution from this paper can also be used as a guide for future research in this domain

A model of mitigating risk for IT organisations

IT organisations are facing risks that make IT projects not able to meet up planned schedule and quality. Hence, there is the need for risk mitigation in IT organisations to support IT team members to mitigate risk. This paper is a contribution to propose a risk mitigation model to provide expert assistance during IT risk mitigation. By assisting team members and decision makers to identify risks associated with in IT process by providing risk documentation to estimate the probability and impact of IT risks. The risk mitigation model can also introduce risk advice and suggest alternatives to treat the risk by providing support for the reuse of knowledge gained from past IT projects. The risk mitigation model will assist IT organisations in mitigating risk and making right decisions using a risk repository as a medium to provide support for practitioners in the mitigation of mainly operational and technical risk

Managing communications challenges in requirement elicitation

Eliciting requirements for a system is an important activity in requirement engineering. This process involves communication between customers and developers. Researchers have identified that poor communication is one of the most common problems in identifying and defining customer’s requirements. Managing communication is challenging and difficult as this process also includes cognitive aspect, personalities, techniques and tools. An study was carried out to explore the communication challenges that are faced by developers and customers during software requirement elicitation in Malaysia. The results of this study had shown that there are some important communication challenges during software requirements elicitation process in Malaysia. In addition, most of the practitioners were pursuing the practices that have been traditionally used by the organizations. Consequently, the results of this study have given us a good incentive to expand our research in the area of software requirements elicitation

Production of Bioethanol from Bamboo Powder Via Dilute Sulphuric Acid-Sodium Hydroxide Pre-Treatment and Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF)

Biofuel is a new type of fossil fuel that is usually derived from biomass waste. Studies found that lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) has the potential to become a new source for biofuel production. Even so, it is a challenging process to fully utilise the potential of cellulose in LCB due to the chemical structures of the lignocellulose biomass. Pre-treatment of LCB is one of the most crucial steps in converting LCB into bioethanol products. In this study, the potential of production for bioethanol from Bambusa Wray bamboo species via dilute sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) pre-treatment and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was explored. The effect of H2SO4 and NaOH pre-treatment on the chemical structure of Bambusa Wray was studied using Fourier-transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis. The impact of different concentrations of H2SO4 during pre-treatment towards the concentration of glucose produced was investigated using the dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) method. The availability and the amount of bioethanol produced during the SSF were analysed using FTIR. It was found that, a noticeable decrease in the intensities of absorption peaks can be observed at 1604, 1462 and 1242 cm-1 after being treated with sequential acid-alkaline pre-treatment. It indicates the removal of lignin from the sample. It was reported that 4% H2SO4 + 5% NaOH produces the highest glucose concentration, 6.491 mg/ml, compared to untreated bamboo, which only produces 1.158 mg/ml. At the end of the study, bioethanol was absent in the sample due to the availability of yeast. Overall, it was proven that Bambusa Wray is capable of producing enough glucose for production of bioethanol

Usability evaluation of digital Malaysian traditional games

Focusing on measuring the engagement towards digital Malaysian traditional games, this paper presents usability evaluation on three digital versions of Malaysian traditional games; Dam Haji, Congkak and Gasing-X. Usability is a significant contributing factor towards engagement of digital games. Usability helps in verifying the requirements, successes and functionality of the games which are missing.The usability evaluation adopted the heuristic instruments developed by Jakob Nielson in 1990. The instrument consists of 17 heuristic component protocols based on interface design.Evaluation involved 50 respondents who are IT and domain experts.Result analysis is discussed and presented for each game. Results suggested features and aspects to be improved in the development of Digital Malaysian Traditional Games towards better engagement of the games

Legislative measures in protecting the environment for future project developments

As we know that climate change was mother of all environmental problems. Current environmental issues in Malaysia are pollution problems beginning from traditional industries, water pollution problems, air pollution problems, waste problems and other environmental problems such as deforestation, soil erosion, species endangering, and a raft of other problems of the natural environment and ecosystem because of construction activities. This project report was prepared in an attempt to highlight research point for consideration by contractors and sub-contractors in the construction industry upon completion of construction projects. The aim of this study was to determine what the level of legislation in protecting the environment in Malaysia and the common issues relating to the environment in Malaysia. This study aimed to identify the opinion from related environmental practices whether the environmental legislation in Malaysia is sufficient to protect the earth and to determine the solution for improvement of environmental legislation in Malaysia. This topic was researched with concentration on Malaysian case laws and is supported with overseas case law related to the environmental legislation. Particular consideration and references are given to the journals and legislations. There are almost 3,500 result including journals, case laws, legislation and act was cited in Lexis Nexis Malaysia by using keywords: environment, legislation, emission, carbon emission, noise, oil pollution, air pollution, environmental legislation and legislative. However, there are only three (3) cases relates to this project report topic. This research concludes that the level of legislative measures in Malaysia is good compared to other countries