Simulation of hydrogen production for mobile fuel cell applications via autothermal reforming of methane

This paper presents a simulation of catalytic autothermal reforming (ATR) of methane (CH4) for hydrogen (H2) production. ATR is essentially an oxidative steam reforming, which combines the exothermic partial oxidation (PO) with the endothermic steam reforming (SR) under thermally neutral conditions. A model is developed using HYSYS 2004.1 to simulate the conversion behavior of the reformer. The model covers all aspects of major chemical kinetics and heat and mass transfer phenomena in the reformer. The ATR and preferential oxidation (PrOx) processes is modeled using conversion reactor, while the water gas shift (WGS) process is modeled using equilibrium reactor within HYSYS environment. The conditions used for high CH4 conversion and high H2 yield are at air to fuel ratio of 2.5 and water to fuel ratio of 1.5. Under this condition, CH4 conversion of 100% and H2 yield of 44% on wet basis can be achieved and the system efficiency is about 87.7%

Tahap Penguasaan Kemahiran Manipulatif Dalam Kalangan Pelajar Tahun Akhir Kursus Pendidikan Sains Di UTM

Kaedah amali dalam pembelajaran sains adalah sangat penting bagi membantu pelajar memahami konsep sains yang dipelajari. Aktiviti amali ini melibatkan kemahiran manipulatif melalui pendedahan berkaitan pengendalian radas dan bahan dengan cara yang betul di samping menjadi sebahagian proses mencari fakta secara penyiasatan. Oleh itu, kajian ini dilakukan bagi meninjau tahap penguasaan kemahiran manipulatif bakal guru sains di Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai. Seramai 27 orang pelajar tahun akhir kursus pendidikan sains dipilih sebagai responden. Borang soal selidik yang mengandungi item-item berkaitan aspek kemahiran manipulatif. Data yang dianalisis digunakan untuk mendapatkan nilai kekerapan dan peratusan respon pelajar menjawab item. Hasil kajian menunjukkan responden mempunyai peratus penguasaan yang tinggi dalam kemahiran manipulative (80.3%). Selain itu, responden juga menyedari kepentingan kemahiran manipulatif ketika menjalankan amali di makmal. Beberapa cadangan dikemukakan pada akhir laporan

Muslim women in contemporary societies: realities and opportunities

This book brings to focus, ideas articulated by some contemporary Muslim writers during a three-day conference organized by the International Institute for Muslim Unity (IIUM), on the politico-religious and socio-economic challenges of Muslim women in our time. Edited by Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim and Zaleha Kamaruddin, the book which features seventeen essays with an introductory note, addresses the challenges facing Muslim Women across diverse cultural and national backgrounds. With a gist that discrimination against women has no basis in Islam; the authors suggested what should be done in order to remedy the dominant misrepresentation in many Muslim countries where women are held inferior. The progress made by some Muslim countries where women enjoy political rights and are allowed participation in the public domain were highlighted while places and areas where much need to be done were also given due attention. By and large, the book opens a vista on how Muslim women can be empowered such that the Ummah can optimize their contributions to its civilizational development

Attribution factors of chemistry anxiety: what are they?

Chemophobia is supposedly to be known as chemistry anxiety. Chemistry anxiety will influence the development of holistic students to be as part of competent experts in scientific and technology arena in the near future. Chemistry anxiety that exist among science stream students at secondary school level tends to impairs performance and cause the low student enrollment in science field at the tertiary level. The attribution factors of chemistry anxiety that can be studied comprise of chemistry anxiety in learning, chemistry anxiety in evaluation and chemistry laboratory anxiety. Indeed, chemistry anxiety in learning aspect is anxious feeling that exists among students when they learn chemistry in classroom or laboratory while chemistry anxiety in evaluation is described as an arousal of undesirable feeling when sitting for assessment or test that related to chemistry subject and chemistry laboratory anxiety is fear of chemical substances or handling laboratory apparatus that perceived by the students when conducting experimental tasks. Determination of undesirable apprehension towards chemistry is required to be studied in order to discover preventive interventions that consequently help in cultivating science stream students’ interest towards chemistry

BUS TRAVEL TIME IN THE MIXED TRAFFIC BASED ON STATISTICA NEURAL NETWORK

This paper presents the assessment of a number of factors affecting bus travel time and a relationship model between those factors and bus travel time. Statistica Neural Network (SNN) tool is used to solve this complex phenomenon. Data collected include bus travel time, distance, average speed, and number of bus stop. The results show that bus travel time is well predicted using variables of distance, average speed, and number of bus stops. The bus travel time increased due to the increase of distance and number of bus stops, while the higher the average speed from one stop to another, the lower bus travel time.Keywords: bus travel time prediction, distance, average speed of bus, number of bus sto

BUS TRAVEL TIME IN THE MIXED TRAFFIC BASED ON STATISTICA NEURAL NETWORK

This paper presents the assessment of a number of factors affecting bus travel time and a relationship model between those factors and bus travel time. Statistica Neural Network (SNN) tool is used to solve this complex phenomenon. Data collected include bus travel time, distance, average speed, and number of bus stop. The results show that bus travel time is well predicted using variables of distance, average speed, and number of bus stops. The bus travel time increased due to the increase of distance and number of bus stops, while the higher the average speed from one stop to another, the lower bus travel time.Keywords: bus travel time prediction, distance, average speed of bus, number of bus sto

From centre to centrifugal dispersion of the maritime ‘Melayu’ culture: modelling the regional reverberations of the medieval Melaka empire

This paper attempts to reconstruct the famed city of Melaka at its height in the 15th and 16th centuries, to its subsequent dispersion in the 17th to 19th centuries. Melaka’s cultural-political influences and impact as a center of the common Melayu based culture and civilisation can be gauged fromits original center in Melaka city as its initial axis of power; which dispersed into surrounding regions. Through visual, cartographic and lithographic sources, the city – before 1511 - is reconstructed and its architecture and core areas are modelled. Subsequently, after its fall, its influences was traced as centrifugal forces, which manifest in terms of cultural and stylistic forms that expanded beyond the realm of its initial center and limits of its port city. As its center of power reconsolidated into surrounding regions; its infl uence goes beyond the compact Melayu city and re-consolidated into a transnational regional and cultural powerbase. The paper combines both historical and modelling methods to demonstrate the essentially ‘Melayu’ or Malay urban-architectural form of the center, and its survival in terms of a socio-cultural dominion rather than physical city-form. It remained a Malay based yet multilcultural polity which survived despite changes in its center of power. Its centrifugal dispersion is represented by reverberations of its architectural stylistic forms in surrounding regions and its centripetal influence was its cultural force that can still be seen throughout centuries in the sketches, paintings and depictions of urban life, landscape and architecture of the 17th to the 19th centuries in the South East Asian archipelago region. The paper reflects how forms of architecture, landscape and urban design are traces of a common culture and civilisation that stretches beyond present national borders and which reflect and resonates with the nature of a maritime-based culture which is reflective of a transnational, multi national and multi cultural nature of a regionally-based nation-state in medieval times

Pyrolysis of Empty Fruit Bunch by Thermogravimetric Analysis

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to study the characteristics of as received and wet-treated empty fruit bunch (EFB) for bio-oil production via pyrolysis technology. The elemental properties of the feedstock were characterized by an elemental analyzer while thermal properties were investigated using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The pyrolysis process was being carried out at room temperature up to 700°C in the presence of nitrogen gas flowing at 150ml/min. The investigated parameters are particle sizes and heating rate. The particle sizes varied in the range of dp1<0.25mm and 0.25≤ dp2<0.30mm. The heating rates used were 50°C/min and 80°C/min. From the results obtain, smaller particle size dp1 produces 10% less char yields, while higher heating rate of 80°C/min increases rate of decomposition by almost 1mg/s. Treatment process reduces char yields of dp2 by a total of 5%. This study can provide an important basis in determining suitable properties of EFB and pyrolysis parameter for bio-fuel production via pyrolysis