The significance of point source emission (NO2) by petrochemical plants at North East of Peninsular Malaysia.

Petrochemical industry is one of the major pollutant generators around the world. The same scenario is observed occurring at North East of Peninsular Malaysia. The ISCT3 air dispersion of Gaussain Transport Model was used to simulate the average predicted on ground concentration of NO(2) emitted by point source from the petrochemicals plants. The simulation covers major input of geographical domain was set up, including NO(2) generators specification and meteorological parameters. The geographical domain set up is at 20 km x 20 km covering area centre of the petrochemicals plants with 0.5 km receptors grid spacing. The NO(2) emission rate was estimated through the use of ultimate fuel analysis method. The NO(2) generated combined with 5 yearly meteorological data obtained were applied to perform the simulation at the optimum correlation of wind direction. The simulation performed discovered that the predicted monthly and yearly average of on ground NO(2) concentration range from 13.97 to 20.43 ug/m(3) and 691 to 8.49 ug/m(3) respectively. The yearly predicted average concentration shows that the value is below the WHO guideline which is at 40 ug/m(3). No benchmark could be performed at the monthly average since there is no standard guideline available

Exposure to PM10 and NO2 and association with respiratory health among primary school children living near petrochemical industry area at Kertih, Terengganu

This study was carried out to determine the level of exposure to PM10 and NO2 and its relation to respiratory health among primary school children living near petrochemical industry area at Kertih, Terengganu. This cross sectional comparative study was conducted among 60 children from studied group and 60 children from comparative group. The respondents were selected based on inclusive criteria’s for this study. Level of exposure of PM10 was measured using DustTrak Aerosol Monitor while level of exposure of NO2 was measured using LaMotte Air Sampling Pump. Questionnaire was used to collect information on respondent’s socio-demography background and respiratory symptoms. Lung function test was performed using Spirometer. Results showed that the mean concentration of PM10 (79 μg/m3) and NO2 (3.73 ppm) for studied group was higher compared to comparative group, PM10 (49 μg/m3) and NO2 (0.14 ppm). As overall, reported respiratory symptoms were significantly higher among studied group compare to comparative group. Significant reduction value of FEV1/FVC% showed that there was airways obstruction for studied group. Findings from this study indicated that exposure to indoor PM10 and NO2 concentrations may increase risk of getting respiratory symptoms and reduction of lung function among primary school children living near petrochemical industry area

Prediction of health impact of nitrogen dioxide air pollutant from petrochemical industry on communities in Kemaman and Dungun, Malaysia

Petrochemical industry is one of the major air pollutant generators around the world. The same scenario is observed occurring at North East of Peninsular Malaysia where this industry is estimated of producing more than half of the Malaysian petrochemicals products. This research will focus on the point source NO2 emission emitted by the petrochemicals plants. The ISCT3 air dispersion of Gaussain Transport Model is used to simulate the average predicted on ground concentration of NO2 emitted by point source from the petrochemicals plants. The simulation covers major input of geographical domain set up, NO2 generators specification and meteorological parameters. The geographical domain set up is at 20 km x 20 km covering area centre of the petrochemicals plants with 0.5 km receptors grid spacing. The NO2 emission rate was estimated through the use of the actual sampling data and the ultimate fuel analysis method. The NO2 generated combined with five yearly (2004-2008) meteorological data was applied to perform the simulation at the optimum correlation of wind direction at the range of -29o to 45o angle which leads to the polynomial model of predicting the wind direction. The simulation performed discovered that the maximum predicted of monthly and yearly average on ground NO2 concentration to receptors range from 8.42 to 17.51 ug/m3 and from 4.96 to 6.90 ug/m3 respectively. The yearly predicted average concentration shows that the value is below the WHO and Malaysian DOE guideline which is at 40 and 90 ug/m3 respectively. This average maximum yearly predicted NO2 indicate that the Hazard Index value is less than 1.00 which conclude that the is no appreciable harmful effects to receptors surrounding the petrochemicals industry. Benchmarking of Hazard Index could not be performed at the predicted monthly average since there is no available standard guideline

Optimization of remote meteorological parameters in predicting the air pollutant (NO2) distribution by Petrochemical Industry along Coastal Zone at East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

As commonly observed throughout the world, the meteorological parameters at coastal area are influenced by both rotation of wind direction and sea breezes wind vectors features. Theoretically, this atmospheric condition describes difficulties in predicting on ground concentration of pollutant using the acceptable method of dispersion under the turbulence properties. This research applies the air dispersion modeling using ISCT3 software in order to predict on ground concentration of NO2 from selected petrochemical plants in Kertih, Terengganu, located at North East of Peninsular Malaysia Meteorological data of year 2008 obtained from the Kuala Terengganu Meteorology Station was used as input to the ISCT3 software. This meteorology station is located approximately 95 km north-west off the study site which contains the pollutant sources and verification point. The modeling domains covered a 20 x 20 km2 area centre of the petrochemical industry with grid spacing of 500 meter each as dummy receptors. During verification process, the significance improvement through the optimization analysis of wind direction proven that the correlation coefficient of predicted over the actual NO2 concentration improve from 0.68 to 0.91. The average maximum monthly and yearly on ground concentration NO2 obtained is at 13.97 ug/m3 and 6.91 ug/m3 respectively. The annual value is much below the Malaysian and WHO guidelines which is at 90 ug/m3 and 40 ug/m3 respectively. No benchmarking could be gauged on the monthly value since no guideline is available

Characterisation and Application of Nickel Cubic Boron Nitride Coating via Electroless Nickel Co-Deposition

The chapter describes the characterisation and application of nickel cubic boron nitride (Ni-CBN) coatings using the electroless nickel co-deposition method. Two different types of substrates were used, that is, high-speed steel (HSS) and carbide. The characterisation of Ni-CBN coating was conducted using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) JSM-7800F coupled with Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX). As for the application, coated end mill cutting tools were inserted into DMU 50 CNC machine to conduct the machining testing. Cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut were chosen for the Taguchi L9 3-level factors. Taguchi analysis was employed to determine the optimal parameters for the Ni-CBN (HSS) surface finish. The ANOVA evaluation was used to identify the most significant effect on surface finish parameters. The FESEM images prove that the nano-CBN powders were embedded in the Ni-CBN coatings and are uniformly distributed. The findings show Ni-CBN-coated tool life is 195 minutes compared to the uncoated is 143 minutes. The surface roughness, Ra values using Ni-CBN-coated tools ranges between 0.251 and 0.787 μm, whereas the uncoated tools Ra values between 0.42 and 1.154 μm. It can be concluded that Ni-CBN HSS cutting tools reduce tool wear and extend tool life. The Taguchi optimum machining condition obtained is 1860 RPM spindle speed, 334 mm/min feed rate, and 2 mm depth of cut