Clay Mineralogy of the Soils above Basalt from Azraq Area , Jordan

Twelve clay samples were taken from three pits below the basaltic loose veneer rubble down to the basaltic bedrock in order to discuss the origin of the clay minerals in relation to the origin of the soil. The non-clay minerals present are: quartz, calcite and feldspar which are abundant in all soil samples. The basaltic bedrock as well as the loose fragments are made up of fresh basalt. There is a sharp contact between both the basalt fragments and the soil. The clay minerals are: palygorskite, kaolinite and a mixed-layer of illite/smectite. These were observed in the distribution of the clay minerals, and no transitional phases were observed along the pits. The clay minerals were formed by the effect of wind-blowing /detrital and transported. Consequently, soil accumulation north of Azraq Al-Druze seems to be wind blown and not due to basalt alterations

Dilution of seawater using dewatered construction water in a hybrid forward osmosis system

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd In this study, dewatered construction water was used for the first time as the feed solution in a combined pretreatment-forward osmosis process to dilute seawater (i.e. draw solution) for further desalination. It was found that at a feed solution and a draw solution flow rate of 2.2 L min−1 gave the optimum membrane flux with minimal fouling effects. The addition of a spacer in the membrane feed side was effective at low flow rates (0.8 and 1.5 L min−1). The feed solution was then pretreated using two methods: settling and multimedia filtration and used in the forward osmosis unit at a low flow rate of 0.8 L min−1 using a spacer at the feed side. Results revealed a significant increase in the forward osmosis membrane flux by 64.3% when multimedia filtration was carried out with a flux reduction of 7.7%. While the settling method achieved only 13.5% increase in the permeate flux and 12.5% flux reduction. The multimedia filtration process removed most of the particles that would cause fouling which resulted in an elevated and more consistent membrane flux. Results also showed that the water flux was 1.3 times higher when the membrane's active layer was facing the draw solution than when it was facing the feed solution. Cost analysis showed that forward osmosis treatment of dewatered construction water was 7.88 $.day−1 and it was slightly cheaper when the forward osmosis operates in the pressure retarded osmosis mode

Hardware Implementation of ANFIS Controller for Gas-Particle Separations in Wet Scrubber System

Wet scrubber system has been used for the control of gas and particulate matter (PM) emissions from production industries. Due to non-linear characteristics, wet scrubbers are limited to the control of PM that is less than 5μm. In this study, an intelligent control technique based on Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) has been designed using MATLAB software. The ANFIS Controller has the advantage of solving nonlinearities in the proposed wet scrubber system by manipulating the scrubbing liquid droplet size for the effective control of particulate matter that is less than 5μm. From the simulation results, the controller was able to set PM concentration below the setpoint and provides smooth control response within short settling time. Hardware implementation of the ANFIS controller was performed using prototype wet scrubber system by considering Arduino Duemilanove microcontroller and MATLAB interface. The results show that the intelligent controller has achieved the desired objectives of controlling the PM concentration effectively by setting the value below the set point (20μg/m 3) which is the allowable PM concentration standard recommended by World Health Organization

Organically modified nanoclay filled thin-film nanocomposite membranes for reverse osmosis application

This study validates, for the first time, the effectiveness of two nanoclays, that is, cloisite (CS)-15A and montmorillonite (MNT) at the polyamide (PA) active layer in the reverse osmosis (RO) membrane. Cloisite-15A is natural montmorillonite modified with dimethyl dihydrogenated tallow quaternary ammonium salt. Thin-film composite (TFC) membranes were fabricated by the interfacial polymerization (IP) process between the trimesoylchloride (TMC)–n-hexane solution and m-phenylenediamine (MPD)–aqueous solution; the IP process took place on a polysulfone support sheet. The two types of nanoparticles were added in various weight ratios (0.005 wt.%–0.04 wt.%) in the n-hexane solution of TMC. Different characterizations like X-ray diffraction (XRD), contact angle, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and membrane performance tests were performed to analyse the membrane properties. Both XRD and TEM studies proved that the two nanoclays are successfully anchored at the different sites of the PA layer. CS-15A could accelerate the water flux from 15 to 18.65 L/m2·h with NaCl rejection enhancement from 72% to 80%, relative to the control membrane. Conversely, MNT also enhanced the flux from 15 to 40 L/m2·h, but NaCl rejection reduced from 70% to 23%. The mechanism of water uptake in nanoclays was also discussed. The results pave the way for a complete future study, in which these phenomena should be studied in great detail.This research was funded by Qatar University, grant number IRCC-2019-004.The authors would like to acknowledge the support of Qatar University through project number IRCC-2019-004. Also, the authors acknowledge the assistance granted by KACST through the National Science, Technology, and Innovation Plan (NSTIP) unit of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) through NSTIP research grant number 08WAT-80-4. The assistance in membrane preparation by Matsuura group, Ottawa University, Canada and Rasel Das, Kyushu University Japan for discussion on the results are highly appreciated.Scopu

Fuzzy based technique for microchip lead inspection using machine vision

This research develops a fuzzy based algorithm for microchip image lead Inspection. Leads are inspected for count, planarity, offset, pitch and span defects. Firstly, it utilizes fast preprocessing techniques and blobspsila features extraction methods to achieve high inspection rates. Using the features extracted, the algorithm first finds a proper thresholding value. It then applies fuzzy logic to make a decision on the status of the IC based on these features. The algorithm proposes a structured way for building the fuzzy systems as well as the associated set of inference rules

Desain Interior Sinepleks Brylian Plaza Kendari Berkonsep “New Experience” Dengan Langgam Neo-Gothic

Laporan ini disusun sebagai persyaratan akademik yang terdapat dalam kurikulum Jurusan Desain Interior Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya (ITS). Laporan ini berisi tentang sebuah proses merancang sebuah Cineplex yang berawal dari sebuah eksisting yang telah ada, yaitu di Brylian Plaza Kendari lantai 4. Proses merancang / mendesain dimulai dari menganalisa dan memilah masalah yang dihadapi dalam merancang sinepleks ini, baik dari eksisting maupun dari sinepleks lain yang ada di kota Kendari (Hollywood Square), sehingga terpilih suatu konsep “New Experience” dengan langgam Neo-Gothic. Dengan konsep New Experience yang diharapkan adalah memberikan pengalaman – pengalaman baru dalam hal menikmati sinepleks di kota Kendari, dengan menggunakan langgam Neo-Gothic sebagai langgam desainnya yang memiliki kesamaan dengan warna corporate identity Brylian Plaza (merah dan hitam). Selain itu, langgam Neo-Gothic juga masih sangat jarang digunakan dalam desain sinepleks di Indonesia, sehingga dengan langgam Neo-Gothic juga diharapkan memberikan pengalaman yang baru dalam menikmati sinepleks Brylian Plaza Kendari tersebut. Pengaplikasian dari bentuk dan warna sesuai dengan warna corporate identity Brylian Plaza dan langgam yang digunakan dapat memberikan suasana yang berbeda dari sineplek yang ada di kota Kendari. Dari konsep dan gagasan ide diatas kemudian digunakan sebagai konsep perencanaan desain interior sinepleks Brylian Plaza Kendari, yakni dengan judul “Desain Interior Sinepleks Brylian Plaza Kendari berkonsep New Experience dengan langgam Neo-Gothic”. Hasil yang diharapkan dari penulisan laporan ini adalah semoga dapat bermanfaat bagi pembaca dan dapat menjadi sebuah referensi dalam merancang sebuah sineplek

Estimasi Kepadatan Orangutan Sumatera (Pongo Abelii Lesson, 1827) Berdasarkan Jumlah Sarang Di Perbatasan Cagar Alam Dolok Sibual Buali

Habitat is fragmented into several regions led to the survival of a population of a species depends on habitat conditions. The purpose of this study was to determine the population density of orangutans based on the number of nests in the Bulumario Village, Nature Reserve area Dolok Sibual Buali, District Sipirok, South Tapanuli, North Sumatra Province also determine the types of dominant vegetation is used as a nesting tree of the Sumatran orangutan in the village Bulumario, Knowing the value and Importance Value Index (IVI) of trees located in the village of Bulumario. This study was conducted in May 2014 until June 2014 in Nature Reserve Dolok Sibual Buali, Bulumario Village, District Sipirok, South Tapanuli, North Sumatra Province The results of this study indicate orangutan population density based on the number of nests in the Bulumario village and district CADS is 0,023 individuals/km2 or 2,332 individuals/ha of the total number of nests found 49 nests. Most nests were found at a distance of 0-100 meters of the entire track the number of 14 nests (28,57%) and the class that dominates nest class D is the number of 23 nests (46,94%). Dominant position of the nest is in a position which is a position I nest close to the main stem of the tree with the nest number 24 (48,98%). Generally the nest is found at an altitude of 6-10 meters with a sum of 15 nests (30,61%). Important Value Index (IVI) is highest on the type Hoteng (Quercus gamelliflora Blume.) Of the family Fagaceae with IVI 33,83%, and the Moraceae family that is dominated by the number seven species

Utilizing Steel Slag in the Removal of Suspended Solids from Dewatered Construction Water

Construction dewatering is an operation used to remove shallow groundwater that infiltrates construction sites. After recovering this water from the construction sites, the water is either discharged to the sea, injected in deep groundwater aquifers, or treated and reused in some other applications. However, municipal and industrial application of this water is unfeasible due to its poor quality. Thus, in this study, dewatered construction water is being treated utilizing waste steel slag in order to improve the quality of the water. The pH of the dewatered construction water used for this study was 7.59 and the average diameter of steel slag used was 425 nm. For coagulation, the impact of the mass of steel slag and the contact time on the quality of dewatered construction water were studied. By using 5gm/L of steel slag, more than 85% of the total suspended solids and turbidity were removed within 30 minutes.The authors would like to thank Qatar University for the financial support. In addition, the authors would like to thank Qatar Steel for the supply of the steel slag sample