1,373 research outputs found
Removal of mercury (II) from aqueous solution by using rice residues
Sorption potential of rice residues for Hg(II) removal from aqueous solution was investigated. Rice husk (RH) and rice straw (RS) were selected and treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The raw and modified adsorbents were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and BET surface area measurements. The effects of pH, initial ion concentration, and agitation time on the removal process were studied in batch adsorption experiments. Two simple kinetic models, which are pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order, were tested to investigate the adsorption mechanisms. The kinetic data fits to pseudo second order model with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99 for all adsorbents. The equilibrium data fitted well with the Langmuir compared to Freundlich isotherm models. Alkali-treated adsorbent obtained larger surface area and RH-NaOH showed highest adsorption capacity followed by RS-Pure > RH-Pure > RS-NaOH. The maximum removal efficiency obtained by RH-NaOH and RS-Pure was 42 mg/l (80%) at pH 6.5 and with 2 days contact time (for 50 mg/l initial concentration and 25 mg adsorbents)
Quantitative infrared thermography resolved leakage current problem in cathodic protection system
Leakage current problem can happen in Cathodic Protection
(CP) system installation. It could affect the performance of
underground facilities such as piping, building structure, and
earthing system. Worse can happen is rapid corrosion where
disturbance to plant operation plus expensive maintenance
cost. Occasionally, if it seems, tracing its root cause could be
tedious. The traditional method called line current
measurement is still valid effective. It involves isolating one
by one of the affected underground structures. The recent
methods are Close Interval Potential Survey and Pipeline
Current Mapper were better and faster. On top of the
mentioned method, there is a need to enhance further by
synthesizing with the latest visual methods. Therefore, this
paper describes research works on Infrared Thermography
Quantitative (IRTQ) method as resolution of leakage current
problem in CP system. The scope of study merely focuses on
tracing the root cause of leakage current occurring at the CP
system lube base oil plant. The results of experiment
adherence to the hypothesis drawn. Consequently, res
Trade Liberalization and Foreign Direct Investment in Malaysia
A decision to establish foreign direct investment (FDI) involves a lot of critical thinking, especially in deciding a place to locate the investment. Evaluation and consideration comprise of costs and benefits of launching the FDI. This study focuses on time series data for the sample period of 1970 to 2009. The main objective of this study is to identify the major determinant of the inward flows of FDI for Malaysia by employing the bounds testing (ARDL) approach to cointegration. Of all the variables being tested, trade openness is found to be the most influential variable in attracting the inflows of FDI as it shows consistent results in the short run as well as in the long run in all models being tested. Since the trade openness which represents the liberalization of the Malaysian economy could induce the inflows of FDI, some policy actions can be taken up to enhance the trade openness
Enhanced Oil Recovery Field Development: Process Flow of EOR Selection for Sandstone Formation
At present, the world-wide production statistics indicate that the average ultimate recovery from light and medium gravity oils by conventional (primary/secondary) methods is around 25-35% of the Oil Initially in Place (OIIP), while from heavy oil deposits on the average, only 10% OIIP is recoverable. Hence, this lead to a substantial percentage of oil in place left unrecoverable by the conventional methods.
The research for tomorrow's oil reserves has directed the efforts of the energy industry to frontiers beyond the conventional exploration and production strategies. Frontier defined not by geography or geology but rather by technology. This frontier is a collection of technologies that involve the use of thermal, gas and chemical means for producing more oil that fall under the broad umbrella called Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). The results of successful application of this new technology will have a decisive impact on the energy conservation program of any oil producing country.
Developing technologies for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) from existing oil fields would supply the world’s energy needs for several decades. The application of EOR in many major oil-producing countries remains in its conceptual stage. Every oil reservoir has a unique ionic environment that changes naturally and by human intervention, which makes it difficult to identify recovery mechanism(s) in EOR methods. This study updates the EOR selection criteria and presents new EOR screening tools based on dataset distribution, incremental recovery and deterministic modeling.
This project presents a methodology for the selection of the enhanced oil recovery technologies that better applies to some group of fields using screening criteria. The methodology will be integrated into a process flow in order to make repetitive analysis in an easier way. The methodology incorporates oil and rock properties and the reservoir current conditions, besides the specific knowledge of the reservoir generalities and histor
Pyramidal structure, firm capital structure exploitation and ultimate owners' dominance
In this paper we investigate how pyramid structure, separating cash flow rights and control rights, allows
ultimate owners to control the company's resources for the creation of private benefits and to avoid punishment
for such conduct. Empirical tests are conducted using three-stage least squares regression. The estimated results
provide support for the hypotheses proposed that the separation of cash flow rights and control rights have led
to the use of excess leverage among pyramidal companies to preserve ultimate owners' control. High levels of
leverage, affect the firm's valuation negatively because of the potential for financial distress. Thus, our findings
may provide one additional explanation for the severity of the decrease in corporate value among the pyramidal
companies in Malaysia as pointed out in the studies of Claessens et al. (2002), Lins (2003), and Lemmon and Lins
(2003). Secondly, the empirical evidence from this study provides insight into the forces that influence
corporate valuation of firms in developed countries particularly those that have pyramidal structure
Autofluorescence Image-Guided Endoscopy in the Management of Upper Aerodigestive Tract Tumors
At this juncture, autofluorescence and narrow-band imaging have resurfaced in the medicine arena in parallel with current technology advancement. The emergence of newly developed optical instrumentation in addition to the discovery of new fluorescence biomolecules have contributed to a refined management of diseases and tumors, especially in the management of upper aerodigestive tract tumors. The advancement in multispectral imaging and micro-endoscopy has also escalated the trends further in the setting of the management of this tumor, in order to gain not only the best treatment outcomes but also facilitate early tumor diagnosis. This includes the usage of autofluorescence endoscopy for screening, diagnosis and treatment of this tumor. This is crucial, as microtumoral deposit at the periphery of the gross tumor can be only assessed via an enhanced endoscopy and even more precisely with autofluorescence endoscopic techniques. Overall, with this new technique, optimum management can be achieved for these patients. Hence, the treatment outcomes can be improved and patients are able to attain better prognosis and survival
A review of Smart Contract Blockchain Based on Multi-Criteria Analysis: Challenges and Motivations
A smart contract is a digital program of transaction protocol (rules of
contract) based on the consensus architecture of blockchain. Smart contracts
with Blockchain are modern technologies that have gained enormous attention in
scientific and practical applications. A smart contract is the central aspect
of a blockchain that facilitates blockchain as a platform outside the
cryptocurrency spectrum. The development of blockchain technology, with a focus
on smart contracts, has advanced significantly in recent years. However
research on the smart contract idea has weaknesses in the implementation
sectors based on a decentralized network that shares an identical state. This
paper extensively reviews smart contracts based on multi criteria analysis
challenges and motivations. Therefore, implementing blockchain in
multi-criteria research is required to increase the efficiency of interaction
between users via supporting information exchange with high trust. Implementing
blockchain in the multi-criteria analysis is necessary to increase the
efficiency of interaction between users via supporting information exchange and
with high confidence, detecting malfunctioning, helping users with performance
issues, reaching a consensus, deploying distributed solutions and allocating
plans, tasks and joint missions. The smart contract with decision-making
performance, planning and execution improves the implementation based on
efficiency, sustainability and management.
Furthermore the uncertainty and supply chain performance lead to improved
users confidence in offering new solutions in exchange for problems in smart
contacts. Evaluation includes code analysis and performance while development
performance can be under development.Comment: Revie
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