Pollution Study And Bioremediation Of Heavy Metal In Aqueous And Sediment Phases Of Sungai Pinang River Basin

Sungai Pinang is known as one of the most polluted river in Malaysia. A study was conducted to verify the status of the water quality in Sungai Pinang and its tributaries. Eight sampling locations which located just before the meeting of each tributary were selected. The physical and chemical characteristics of water and sediment of each sampling sites were determined. Several variations in the results show that the water quality of Sungai Pinang and its tributaries are mainly due to season, sampling location and parameter tested. Better water quality index is achieved during rainy period compared to dry season. According to water quality index and Interim Water Quality Standards of Malaysia (INWQS), the water quality of the river fall within Class III to V for DO, BOD5, COD and AN while TDS, TSS, pH and EC fall between Class I and II. The temperatures of the waters during both seasons were at the normal range whilst the turbidity of the rivers was in Class II to IV. An evaluation on sediment characteristics and quality showed that the particle size distribution of the rivers were high with sand and a brief of silt and clay near to the river mouth. The results also revealed that the pH of the sediment were acidic except for Sungai Pinang which was slightly alkaline. Other chemical parameters for the sediments which are TOC, moisture content and TKN were high at several sampling locations while low PO4 3- concentrations was determined. Detailed surveys as well as referring to secondary data were also carried out to identify the key problems of each area with respect to land use. Four groups of river polluters affecting the quality of the river water within Sungai Pinang were identified which are firstly, sullage waters generated from domestic, wet markets, commercials and trades and abattoir, secondly, the sewage wastewater, thirdly, industrial effluents and fourthly, discriminant dumping of wastes into the rivers

Malaysian and Libyan Perspectives on Single-Use Plastic's Environmental Impact During the Pandemic COVID-19: A Pilot Study

Plastics have become a significant threat to natural ecosystems as well as human health. The use and consumption of plastics improves our quality of life significantly, but it is critical to transition to more sustainable alternatives. Thus, the current study proposes an investigation into the impact of single use plastic products during pandemic on the impact to the environment from the Malaysian and Libyan perspective. A pilot study was conducted to examine the strength of the questionnaire in collecting on the environmental impacts of single use plastic during COVID-19 pandemic distributed across two countries (Libya and Malaysia). SPSS was used to test the questionnaires' strength with 40 participants, 20 in each nation. The reliability test results with Cronbach’s Alpha predicted values of 0.7-0.86 and actual data Alpha values 0.87-0.93, normal test of variance inflation factor ranging between 1 and 5, skewness and kurtosis values of -1.343 to -0.076 and 5.312 to -0.024 respectively confirmed the strength of the questionnaires as benchmarked in the literature. Further, the participants' responses to the quality of the questionnaire in determining the single use plastic impact to environmental have clearly revealed the strength and applicability of this questionnaire for wider data collections

Malaysian and Libyan Perspectives on Single-Use Plastic's Environmental Impact During the Pandemic COVID-19: A Pilot Study

Plastics have become a significant threat to natural ecosystems as well as human health. The use and consumption of plastics improves our quality of life significantly, but it is critical to transition to more sustainable alternatives. Thus, the current study proposes an investigation into the impact of single use plastic products during pandemic on the impact to the environment from the Malaysian and Libyan perspective. A pilot study was conducted to examine the strength of the questionnaire in collecting on the environmental impacts of single use plastic during COVID-19 pandemic distributed across two countries (Libya and Malaysia). SPSS was used to test the questionnaires' strength with 40 participants, 20 in each nation. The reliability test results with Cronbach’s Alpha predicted values of 0.7-0.86 and actual data Alpha values 0.87-0.93, normal test of variance inflation factor ranging between 1 and 5, skewness and kurtosis values of -1.343 to -0.076 and 5.312 to -0.024 respectively confirmed the strength of the questionnaires as benchmarked in the literature. Further, the participants' responses to the quality of the questionnaire in determining the single use plastic impact to environmental have clearly revealed the strength and applicability of this questionnaire for wider data collections

Phytoremediation Potential of Azolla Pinnata on Water Quality and Nutrients from Agricultural Water

The area of polluted water expands day by day due to the rapid increase in agricultural activities. Application and the excessive amount of fertilizer in the agricultural activity can reduce the water quality. One of the alternative way to remove pollutants from polluted water is phytoremediation technique. This paper attempt to evaluate the potential of Azolla pinnata act as a phytoremediation to treat the agricultural water. Three types of media with different dos- age which are tap water, water added with organic fertilizer (chicken manure: dosage range of 10–30 g), and water added with inorganic fertilizer (growing fertilizer: dosage range of 10–30 g) were employed. Media B10 (water added with 10 g organic fertilizer) had the highest removal efficiencies for NH 3 –N, PO 4 3– , and NO 3 – with 25%, 38.5% and 30%. In addition, turbidity and pH value diminished to 15.65% and 18.6%, respectively. However, it indicated that Azolla pinnata has the potential as an agent of phytoremediation especially for water polluted with organic fertilizers

Characterization of Limestone as Raw Material to Hydrated Lime

In Malaysia, limestone is essentially important for the economic growth as raw materials in the industry sector. Nevertheless, a little attention was paid to the physical, chemical, mineralogical, and morphological properties of the limestone using X-ray fluorescence (X-RF), X-ray diffraction (X-RD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning electron microscopy / energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) respectively. Raw materials (limestone rocks) were collected from Bukit Keteri area, Chuping, Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia. Lab crusher and lab sieved were utilized to prepare five different size of ground limestone at (75 µm, 150 µm, 225 µm, 300, and 425 µm) respectively. It is found that the main chemical composition of bulk limestone was Calcium oxide (CaO) at 97.58 wt.% and trace amount of MnO, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 at 0.02%, 0.35%, and 0.396% respectively. XRD diffractograms showed characteristic peaks of calcite and quartz. Furthermore, main FTIR absorption bands at 1,419, 874.08 and 712.20 cm-1 indicated the presence of calcite. The micrographs showed clearly the difference of samples particle size. Furthermore, EDS peaks of Ca, O, and C elements confirmed the presence of CaCO3 in the samples

Characterization of Limestone as Raw Material to Hydrated Lime

In Malaysia, limestone is essentially important for the economic growth as raw materials in the industry sector. Nevertheless, a little attention was paid to the physical, chemical, mineralogical, and morphological properties of the limestone using X-ray fluorescence (X-RF), X-ray diffraction (X-RD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning electron microscopy / energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) respectively. Raw materials (limestone rocks) were collected from Bukit Keteri area, Chuping, Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia. Lab crusher and lab sieved were utilized to prepare five different size of ground limestone at (75 µm, 150 µm, 225 µm, 300, and 425 µm) respectively. It is found that the main chemical composition of bulk limestone was Calcium oxide (CaO) at 97.58 wt.% and trace amount of MnO, Al2O3, and Fe2O3 at 0.02%, 0.35%, and 0.396% respectively. XRD diffractograms showed characteristic peaks of calcite and quartz. Furthermore, main FTIR absorption bands at 1,419, 874.08 and 712.20 cm-1 indicated the presence of calcite. The micrographs showed clearly the difference of samples particle size. Furthermore, EDS peaks of Ca, O, and C elements confirmed the presence of CaCO3 in the samples

Spatial Interpolation of Historical Seasonal Rainfall Indices over Peninsular Malaysia

The inconsistency in inter-seasonal rainfall due to climate change will cause a different pattern in the rainfall characteristics and distribution. Peninsular Malaysia is not an exception for this inconsistency, in which it is resulting extreme events such as flood and water scarcity. This study evaluates the seasonal patterns in rainfall indices such as total amount of rainfall, the frequency of wet days, rainfall intensity, extreme frequency, and extreme intensity in Peninsular Malaysia. 40 years (1975-2015) data records have been interpolated using Inverse Distance Weighted method. The results show that the formation of rainfall characteristics are significance during the Northeast monsoon (NEM), as compared to Southwest monsoon (SWM). Also, there is a high rainfall intensity and frequency related to extreme over eastern coasts of Peninsula during the NEM season

Spatial Interpolation of Historical Seasonal Rainfall Indices over Peninsular Malaysia

The inconsistency in inter-seasonal rainfall due to climate change will cause a different pattern in the rainfall characteristics and distribution. Peninsular Malaysia is not an exception for this inconsistency, in which it is resulting extreme events such as flood and water scarcity. This study evaluates the seasonal patterns in rainfall indices such as total amount of rainfall, the frequency of wet days, rainfall intensity, extreme frequency, and extreme intensity in Peninsular Malaysia. 40 years (1975-2015) data records have been interpolated using Inverse Distance Weighted method. The results show that the formation of rainfall characteristics are significance during the Northeast monsoon (NEM), as compared to Southwest monsoon (SWM). Also, there is a high rainfall intensity and frequency related to extreme over eastern coasts of Peninsula during the NEM season