Effects of Hygroscopic Potash Lye Catalyst Concentration on the Waste Chicken Fat Methyl Ester Production

The work presented in this study demonstrates the effect of the hygroscopic potash lye catalyst concentration on the waste chicken fat methyl ester production. The aim of this paper is to determine the effect of temperature, catalyst ratio and methanol ratio on fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield from waste chicken fat (WCF). The finding shows the optimum yield were 95.4 % with 0.006 w/w hygroscopic potash lye catalyst and 0.3 w/w methanol at 50°C. The final analysis of this study identifies the FAME density was 873.4 kg/m3, the iodine value, 117 g I/100 g and the acid value, 0.561 mg KOH/g. Moreover, the compositions of fatty acids were 0.22 % of methyl laurate (C13H26O2), 19.98 % of methyl palmitate, (C17H34O2), 41.08 % of methyl stearate (C19H38O2) and 0.17 % of methyl linoleate (C19H34O2) henceforth this FAME produced exhibit properties very similar to ASTM D6751 and EN 14214. This study confirms that the FAME transesterified from waste animal fats with the hygroscopic potash lye catalyst could be a potential alternative to petrodiesel

Analysis of chemical compounds of agarwood oil from different species by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS)

Agarwood oil is a highly prized type of oil due to its unique aroma. The oil is extracted from the fragrant resin found in the agarwood tree (trunk). The unique aroma and quality of agarwood resin and oil are contributed by the presence of certain chemical compounds. In this work, analysis and comparison of the chemical compounds of agarwood oil from A. malaccensis, A. sub-integra and a mixture of both were conducted. The essential oils were diluted in hexane (5%) prior to gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis performed using Agilent GCMS 7890A coupled with MSD quadrupole detector 5975 C. Separation of analytes by gas chromatography was carried out using a Hewlett Packard HP-5MS silica capillary column (30 m X 0.25 mm X 0.25 mm). A total of 107 compounds were identified from the three samples of agarwood oils. Fifty-five (55) components were identified in A. malaccensis sample which contributes to the largest portion of the total compounds. About 20% of the compounds identified were aromatic and sesquiterpenes which have been revealed to be the main active compounds of agarwood oils which also give the aroma and pleasant odour of agarwood. Different compositions or profile of chemical components were found in agarwood oils from the two different species. Two compounds were commonly identified in all three samples namely 3-phenyl-2-butanone and alpha-cubebene. Further studies are needed to refine the results which later can be used to assist detection and authentication of agarwood as well as its scientific-based grading

Assessment of dynamic spectrum allocation technique in heterogeneous network

Mobile devices are becoming the priority of access to a growing trend of online services. As services use higher quality images & video, an increase of wireless network capacity is required. In this case, spectrum is a way to go. Even though capacity is important, there are other factors as well, for example, coverage, flexibility and resilience. Dynamic spectrum access technology allows higher transmission power according to location & safe sharing with licensed users (LU). Dynamic spectrum allocation (DSA) technique enhances the spectrum efficiency for the users in Heterogeneous Network. This paper explains about the findings that are observed by two different researches that are related to our research title. The first paper is about the basic OFDM structure using GNU Radio software and implemented using USRP hardware. The second research is about the implementation of Dynamic Resource Allocation for LTE using GNU Radio. The first research explained about the advantages and disadvantages of OFDM configuration. The second research explained more about the implementation of Dynamic Resource Allocation in the uplink and downlink configuration, and are tested using three algorithms; Max-sum, max-min and maxproduct. All the results are obtained from GNU Radio. However, the results are not implemented using USRP because of the short amount of time. Based on these two researches, we identified the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed designs and develop our own design to mitigate the cross-tier interference in multi-tiers HetNets

Post-streptococcal scleredema an unusual rare mimicker of scleroderma: a case report

cleredema of Buschke is a rare pathological disorder of connective tissue, which is characterized by a woody, diffuse induration of the skin, most often in the upper extremities. We report an extremely rare complication of post-streptococcal infection in a six-year-old male complaining of gradually progressing, painless skin thickening and tightness which was preceded by a one-month history of fever, cough, and tonsillitis. By reporting this case, we hope to contribute to the creation of a database for future research aimed at better understanding the incidence, pathophysiology, and management of this extremely rare complication