Feasibility Study of River Bank Filtration (RBF) at Sg. Kampar, Perak Using Numerical Modelling Technology (Visual Modflow)

Water demand around a world was increased due to growth of population, economy and urbanization [1]. Malaysia as a developing country is not exception to have a problem in order to cater an adequate water demand. According to populations statistic in Malaysia [2], the total population is about 32.0 million peoples in year 2017. In year 2016, the total water supply was increased about 97.7 % compared to year 2015. The facts showed that increased of water demand in line with the increase of population [2]

Use of black soldier fly larvae composter bin to reduce household food waste

Food waste is the largest component in municipal solid waste (MSW). About 1.3 billion tons of food, which is equivalent to one third of global food production is lost or wasted every year along the food supply chain [1]. In Malaysia, total generation of MSW is 15,000 tons. This MSW consists of 50% food waste, of which 70% is disposed at the landfill sites [2]. It was reported that in average a household in Malaysia throw away around 0.5-0.8 kg uneaten food per day [3]. This food waste is recognized as huge problem worldwide and it becomes particularly severe to developing country. There are many methods that can be carried out to reduce the food waste generation. Composting method is one of the methods to convert food waste into valuable product with minimum cost

General Relationship between Field Electrical Resistivity Value (ERV) and Basic Geotechnical Properties (BGP)

Electrical resistivity technique is a popular alternative method used in geotechnical soil investigations. Most past applications have been particularly in the area of subsurface ground investigations such as to locate boulder, bedrock, water table, etc. Traditionally, this method was performed by a geophysicist expert for data acquisition, processing and interpretation. The final outcome from the electrical resistivity technique was an anomaly image which used to describe and conclude the particular soil condition measured. The anomalies highlighted uncertainties on the nature of soil that was often variable and depended on each particular site condition that gave a site dependent soil electrical resistivity value (ERV). Hence, this study demonstrates a relationship between ERV (ρ) and some of the basic geotechnical properties (BGP) such as soil moisture content (w), grain size of geomaterial (CS or FS), density (ρbulk and ρdry), porosity (η), void ratio (e) and Atterberg limit (AL). Different soil samples were collected and tested under field and laboratory conditions to determine basic geotechnical properties immediately after the field electrical resistivity method was performed. It was found that the electrical resistivity value was different for number of soils tested and was relatively subjective to variations in the geotechnical properties. In other words, electrical resistivity value was greatly influenced by the geotechnical properties as the ERV was higher due to the lower moisture content, void ratio and porosity with a higher value of soil density and vice versa. The relationship of ERV and BGP can be described by ρ α 1/w, ρ α CS, ρ α 1/FS, ρ α ρbulk/dry and ρ α 1/AL. Hence, it was shown that behaviour of ERV was significantly influenced by the variation of basic soil properties and thus applicable to support and enhance the conventional stand alone anomaly outcome which is traditionally used for interpretation purposes

Evaluation of Mangroves Effectiveness in Strengthening Coastal Bund Using Geophysical Method (Non-Destructive Testing) at Tanjong Laboh, Batu Pahat, Johor

In recent years, mangrove forests have rapidly become an endangered ecosystem in the world. On the coastal shorelines, the saltwater intrusion (SI) phenomenon is a main concern that can affect the quality of water. The saltwater intrusion might occur due to sea level rise, and extreme natural disasters along with changes in mangrove ecosystem distribution. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of mangroves for strengthening coastal bunds in Tanjong Laboh, Batu Pahat, Johor. By using the non-destructive geophysical method, the presence of saltwater intrusion and subsurface profile of the survey line in the coastal area with and without mangroves was determined. The coastal bund conditions with and without mangroves were also compared in order to evaluate how the mangrove forest acts as coastal protection. The result shows that the resistivity values of 0.1 to 1.0 ohm.m are more dominant in the mangrove bund area than in the engineered coastal bund and rock outcrop areas. The saltwater intrusion integrity map was produced from the 2D subsurface image profiles for both survey lines. The comparison of the coastal bund conditions for two different scenarios, which with and without mangroves, has shown that the coastal bund without the mangroves experienced cracking and erosion compared to the coastal bund with the presence of mangroves. This indicates the importance of mangroves in protecting the coastal regions

Determination of baseflow quantity by using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and Google Earth

Baseflow is most important in low-flow hydrological features [1]. It is a function of a large number of variables that include factors such as topography, geology, soil, vegetation, and climate. In many catchments, base flow is an important component of streamflow and, therefore, base flow separations have been widely studied and have a long history in science. Baseflow separation methods can be divided into two main groups: non-tracer-based and tracer- based separation methods of hydrology. Besides, the base flow is determined by fitting a unit hydrograph model with information from the recession limbs of the hydrograph and extrapolating it backward

The influences of basic physical properties of clayey silt and silty sand on its laboratory electrical resistivity value in loose and dense conditions

Non-destructive test which refers to electrical resistivity method is recently popular in engineering, environmental, archaeological and mining studies. Based on the previous studies, the results on electrical resistivity interpretation were often debated due to lack of clarification and evidences in quantitative perspective. Traditionally, most of the previous result interpretations were depending on qualitative point of view which is risky to produce unreliable outcomes. In order to minimise those problems, this study has performed a laboratory experiment on soil box electrical resistivity test which was supported by an additional basic physical properties of soil test like particle size distribution test (d), moisture content test (w), density test (ρbulk) and Atterberg limit test (LL, PL and PI). The test was performed to establish a series of electrical resistivity value (ERV) with different quantity of water content for clayey silt and silty sand in loose and dense condition. Apparently, the soil resistivity value was different under loose (L) and dense (C) conditions with moisture content and density variations (silty SAND = ERVLoose: 600 - 7300 Ωm & ERVDense: 490 - 7900 Ωm while Clayey SILT = ERVLoose: 13 - 7700 Ωm & ERVDense: 14 - 8400 Ωm) due to several factors. Moreover, correlation of moisture content (w) and density (ρbulk) due to the ERV was established as follows; Silty SAND: w(L) = 638.8ρ-0.418, w(D) = 1397.1ρ-0.574, ρBulk(L) = 2.6188e-6E-05ρ, ρBulk(D) = 4.099ρ-0.07 while Clayey SILT: w(L) = 109.98ρ-0.268, w(D) = 121.88ρ-0.363, ρBulk(L) = -0.111ln(ρ) + 1.7605, ρBulk(D) = 2.5991ρ-0.037 with determination coefficients, R2 that varied from 0.5643 – 0.8927. This study was successfully demonstrated that the consistency of ERV was greatly influenced by the variation of soil basic physical properties (d, w, ρBulk, LL, PL and PI). Finally, the reliability of the ERV result interpretation can be enhanced due to its ability to produce a meaningful outcome based on supported data from basic geotechnical properties

Evaluation of Mangroves Effectiveness in Strengthening Coastal Bund Using Geophysical Method (Non-Destructive Testing) at Tanjong Laboh, Batu Pahat, Johor

In recent years, mangrove forests have rapidly become an endangered ecosystem in the world. On the coastal shorelines, the saltwater intrusion (SI) phenomenon is a main concern that can affect the quality of water. The saltwater intrusion might occur due to sea level rise, and extreme natural disasters along with changes in mangrove ecosystem distribution. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of mangroves for strengthening coastal bunds in Tanjong Laboh, Batu Pahat, Johor. By using the non-destructive geophysical method, the presence of saltwater intrusion and subsurface profile of the survey line in the coastal area with and without mangroves was determined. The coastal bund conditions with and without mangroves were also compared in order to evaluate how the mangrove forest acts as coastal protection. The result shows that the resistivity values of 0.1 to 1.0 ohm.m are more dominant in the mangrove bund area than in the engineered coastal bund and rock outcrop areas. The saltwater intrusion integrity map was produced from the 2D subsurface image profiles for both survey lines. The comparison of the coastal bund conditions for two different scenarios, which with and without mangroves, has shown that the coastal bund without the mangroves experienced cracking and erosion compared to the coastal bund with the presence of mangroves. This indicates the importance of mangroves in protecting the coastal regions

Potential application of LDPE plastic waste into tiles

Plastic has interesting characteristics which makes it the most used material in the world. However, plastic is known to be a non-biodegradable material which unable to naturally decompost in soil and thus contribute to environmental issue. As alternative, plastic waste has been recycled to produce quality and sustainable construction materials as the source is abundant. Thus, this study is carried out to utilize plastic waste particularly low density polyethylene (LDPE) and with sand in manufacturing tiles in two different sand and plastic waste ratios of 2:1 and 2:2. The tiles manufactured were further analyzed for their water absorption and compressive strength. It was found that the tiles made of mixture ratio of 2:2 have higher compressive strength and lower weight compared to that of 2:1 ratio. The average weight of tiles for 2:1 ratio was 891.59 g, while ratio 2:2 produced tiles with weight of 1319.5 g. Tiles manufactured from the plastic waste also showed better water absorption and compressive strength compared to normal cement tiles

Application of Groundwater Sampling and Insitu Tests Technology in Defining the Seawater Intrusion Into Coastal Aquifer System

Application of groundwater sampling and insitu tests technology is used to identify the subsurface hydrogeology characteristics of the seawater intrusion condition into coastal aquifer system. The subsurface hydrogeology characteristics studies involved identifying subsurface hydrogeology materials, effects of groundwater tables to the seasonal patterns and groundwater quality of the coastal aquifer. The studies will be providing information on the types of material in geology deposits and bedrocks. The types of aquifer in the study area can be identified after the material types of the subsurface hydrogeology have been determined

Modelling technique for the assessment of the sub-soil drain for groundwater seepage remediation

Groundwater simulation technique was carried out for examining the performance of sub-soil drain at problematic site area. Subsoil drain was proposed as one of solution for groundwater seepage occurred at the slope face by reducing groundwater table at Taman Botani Park Kuala Lumpur. The simulation technique used Modular Three- Dimensional Finite Difference Groundwater Flow (MODFLOW) software. In transient conditions, the results of simulation showed that heads increases surpass 1 to 2 m from the elevation level of the slope area that caused groundwater seepage on slope face. This study attempt to decrease the heads increase surpass by using different sub-soil drain size in simulation technique. The sub-soil drain capable to decline the heads ranges of 1 to 2 m