Shallow Groundwater Contamination Evaluation At Landfill Sites Using Geophysics, Hydrochemistry And Isotope Hydrology Techniques

Integrated geophysical, hydrochemistry and isotope hydrology have been used in this research to study the characteristics, origin and migration of contamination at Matang and Beriah landfill. Comparison studies of groundwater contamination for both landfill site categories were conducted for Matang landfill, level 3 (controlled landfill) and Beriah landfill, level 0 (uncontrolled landfill). The Electrical Resistivity Imaging method, supported by soil well logging data shows a subsurface image that provides clear indication of ground contamination zone. Low resistivity values were detected at line 1 in Beriah which is at the south west of the landfill. The resistivity value ranges indicate that the value ranges are from 20 to 50 Ωm (moderately low) at a depth of 10 m and less than 10 Ωm (very low) at a depth of greater than 10 m. Meanwhile, for Matang landfill, a significantly low resistivity value was observed in line 3 with a value <10 Ωm at 100 to 180m distance of the line and at the depth of 0 to 5m. The geophysical results were then compared with hydrochemical analysis of groundwater and surface water. The hydrochemical characteristics such as physical (EC, TDS, pH, and DO), major ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, NH4 +,Cl-, HCO3 - and SO4 2-) and heavy metal (Fe, Ni, Cu and Cr) were used to fingerprint the leachate flow and migration. The results show that the high concentration of Cl-, Na+, K+ and HCO3 - in certain boreholes indicate a strong correlation with leachate characteristics

Development of liquid enhancer for germination of drought-stressed Oryza sativa subsp. indica Seed cv. MR284

Aim: This study was conducted to develop liquid enhancer containing KCl, TU, GA, and SA for germination of drought-stressed Oryza sativasubsp. indicacv. MR284 seed. Study Design:All experiments were conducted in a completely randomized design. Two steps were involved in the development process which are to select an ideal concentration for each KCl, TU, GA, and SA, and to find an ideal combination of chemicals from the selection of ideal concentrations acquired in step 1 to form liquid enhancer. There were 20 treatments for step 1 and 9 treatments for step 2. All of these treatments with 6 replicates. Place and Duration of Study:Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University Putra Malaysia, between June 2018 and December 2018. Methodology:The sterilized rice seed cv. MR284 was stressed in the -1.2 Mpa PEG 6000 solution for three days and germinated in the KCl, TU, GA, and SA solution in a series of concentration for 10 days, in a controlled room. Seed germination was observed daily. Results:In the first step, drought-stressed rice seed showed the best germination performance in the 30 mM of KCl, 2.0 mM of TU, 0.24 mM GA, and 0.5 mMSA. Meanwhile, in the second step, the drought-stressed rice seed showed the best germination performance in the combination of 30 mM KCl + 2.0 mM TU + 0.24 mM GA + 0.5 mM SA. The best germination performance was evaluated by the highest germination percentage (%), germination index, seed vigor, leaf length, root length and biomass. Conclusion:Therefore, the combination treatments of 30 mM KCl + 2.0 mM TU + 0.5 mM SA was found to be the most effective and simplest liquid enhancer formula that has an ability to enhance seed germination of drought-stressed rice cv. MR284 seed

Viscosity and friction reduction of double end capped polyalkylene glycol nanolubricants for eco friendly refrigerant

In sustainable tribology, researchers are investigating methods to enhance tribological performance by incorporating nanoparticles into lubricants. However, one potential drawback of this strategy is increased lubricant viscosity. The current study aimed to assess the impact of these nanoparticles on the viscosity and coefficient of friction (COF) of the nanolubricants. Three different nanolubricants were synthesized through a two-step process, including mono-nanolubricants (Al2O3/DEC PAG and SiO2/DEC PAG) and hybrid nanolubricants (Al2O3-SiO2/DEC PAG), at volume concentrations between 0.01% and 0.05%. The viscosity and shear flow behavior of these nanolubricants were evaluated using a digital rheometer, while the COF was measured using a Koehler four-ball tribometer. All the nanolubricants showed Newtonian behavior during the experiments. The dynamic viscosity velocity increment of SiO2/DEC PAG was found to be the lowest (1.88%), followed by Al2O3-SiO2/DEC PAG (2.74%) and Al2O3/DEC PAG (3.56%). The viscosity indices of all the nanolubricants were improved only at higher concentrations. At a volume concentration of 0.03%, the Al2O3-SiO2/DEC PAG nanolubricant reduced the COF by up to 8.1%. The results showed that the combination of nanoparticles, temperature, and volume concentration significantly influenced the viscosity and COF of nanolubricants. This study provides essential information for developing high-performance nanolubricants with improved viscosity and COF and advancing environmentally friendly tribology solutions

An Evaluation Of Proposed Readability Formula In Malay Language

Based on discussions with counsellor at Kolej Komuniti Jasin, Melaka, we have found that most of young adults in Malaysia particularly students at Higher Education Institutions and TVET Colleges have a poor learning problem especially in reading and writing. This paper presents findings driven from an evaluation conducted in a field study on reading assessment using SPIKE. SPIKE or Sistem Kebolehbacaan Bahasa Melayu is a Malay readability test tool that can evaluate the readability competencies of a reader. SPIKE allows the teachers to screen students who may struggle to read and help to formulate action plans for specific forms of learning and interventions to enable them to obtain their academic qualifications. Results obtained has indicated that the tool can benefit general public as well as people with reading difficulties (including dyslexics) in measuring their reading competencies and the readability level of a reading material whether it is suitable for the reader’s age. For future work, it is expected that this tool will help to increase the accuracy of measuring reading competencies of readers and be able to assist readers who have difficulties in reading by knowing the score level of their reading materials in Malay. It also can benefit them in upgrading young adults’ academic performance

Leaching Behaviour of Synthetic Leachate through a Sewage Sludge and Red Gypsum Composite as Intermediate Landfill Cover

This paper examines the environmental impact of the use of compacted sewage sludge: red gypsum (SS:RG) mixture as intermediate landfill cover in terms of yield and quality of leachate as characterised by hydraulic conductivity and leaching behaviour. A series of column tests using the constant head method is carried out by percolating the synthetic leachate through samples that have been compacted at various degrees (60, 70, 75, 80 and 85%). The leachate quality is monitored at pre-determined days for pH, COD, Cu, Fe and Zn. In general, hydraulic conductivity decreases in three stages, in which the first stage is mainly attributed to the particle rearrangement and hydration of calcium silicate hydrate (CSH). The hydration of CSH increases the pH, which causes the heavy metal to precipitate and be entrapped within the matrices of CSH gel, thereby further reducing the porosity and hydraulic conductivity. A minimum of 75% compaction has shown favourable final porosity, hydraulic conductivity, and leachate quality, although a minimum of 80% compaction is recommended in order to achieve a satisfactory compressive strength of greater than 345 kPa for a landfill operation

Toward bridging future irrigation deficits utilizing the shark algorithm integrated with a climate change model

Climate change is one of the most effectual variables on the dam operations and reservoir water system. This is due to the fact that climate change has a direct effect on the rainfall&ndash;runoff process that is influencing the water inflow to the reservoir. This study examines future trends in climate change in terms of temperature and precipitation as an important predictor to minimize the gap between water supply and demand. In this study, temperature and precipitation were predicted for the period between 2046 and 2065, in the context of climate change, based on the A1B scenario and the HAD-CM3 model. Runoff volume was then predicted with the IHACRES model. A new, nature-inspired optimization algorithm, named the shark algorithm, was examined. Climate change model results were utilized by the shark algorithm to generate an optimal operation rule for dam and reservoir water systems to minimize the gap between water supply and demand for irrigation purposes. The proposed model was applied for the Aydoughmoush Dam in Iran. Results showed that, due to the decrease in water runoff to the reservoir and the increase in irrigation demand, serious irrigation deficits could occur downstream of the Aydoughmoush Dam

Green tea and its waste attract workers of formicine ants and kill theirworkers—implications for pest management

Daily, 3 billion cups of tea consumed worldwide and this consumption is accompanied by the discardingof huge waste amounts into the environment. Tea leaf contains a diverse array of toxic molecules. Despiteevidence that its waste is almost as rich in toxicants as green leaves; no research has been done to turnthis source of pollution into a benefit for ant pest management, where new chemistries are highly neededas a result on insecticide resistance. The present study was performed to explore the behavioral and lethaleffects of tea and its leftovers on the black crazy ant (BCA), Paratrechina longicornis Latreille, yellow crazyant (YCA), Anoplolepis gracilipes Smith, and weaver ant (WA), Oecophylla smaragdina Fabricius. Both freshtea extract (FTE) and used tea extract (UTE) were detrimental to the survival of BCA, YCA, and WA. FTEwas the most toxic solution and BCA was the most vulnerable species. The presence of tea extracts inmeals did not prevent workers of all three species from visiting and feeding in the presence their preferredfoods. The results presented here suggest that diets containing tea extracts are attractive to BCA, YCA, andWA when in competition with their preferred foods. These extracts were also insecticidal to the workerants. These properties demonstrate the potential of tea and its waste products for developing novelenvironmentally friendly and low-cost ant control strategies, which could also be a practical solution tothe growing environmental problem it causes

'Serene classroom' minimizes noise for more conducive learning

Noise pollution can be categorized as a danger in silence. In school, noise pollution inhibits the focus of learning, impairs learning and cognitive development, for example, students' skills to think and understand both oral and written comprehension may be hampered by noise. Many schools in Malaysia experience excessive noise pollution as their locations are very near busy roads. This will be one factor that hinders the implementation of the education system in producing holistic students in order to prepare for the 4IR era. Knowing the importance of this problem, a group of researchers from UTM GREENPrompt, School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia together with industry partners have built a special class called 'Serene Classroom' through a community project to overcome this problem. A classroom on the second floor of Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampong Pasir, Johor Bahru that has traffic noise exposure from the Skudai-Johor Bahru highway was selected for this purpose. The community project is in collaboration with the Johor State Education Department, Ministry of Education Malaysia and industrial partners, such as Vibrant Echo Company, Sanjung Sempurna Sdn. Bhd. and DZAZ Collection. The implementation of the project, the lessons learned from the project and challenges for the implementation are discussed. Technically, Serene classrooms significantly reduce the level of noise pollution for more conducive learning and have received better perceptions from students and teachers. Therefore, hopefully more ‘Serene Classroom’ community projects can be implemented in schools, especially in urban areas affected by high noise levels as a way to reduce the renovation costs on schools

Effect of Process Parameters in Hot Press Forming Operation to Tensile Strength of Ultra High Strength Steel

The escalating issues on sustainable environment such as the necessity to reduce CO2 emission and fuel consumption including new regulations to improve the safety of passengers car had brought up the application of new innovative materials and manufacturing process in the automotive industry called hot press forming operation. By using this new technique, the manufacturers can produce more lightweight and high strength car parts such as the B-pillars with tensile strength ranging from 1200MPa to 1600MPa. Hot press forming is done by rapidly heating up Ultra High Strength Steels (UHSS) made of boron steel material in a furnace to austenization temperature of about 950°C for 5 minutes, then transferred it quickly to the hot press die where rapid quenching occurred during the die closed with the aid of cooling channel. This experiment investigates the effects of varying combination of hot press forming parameters to final tensile strength of boron steel and had been carried out without use of cooling channel. The studied parameters are the air cooling time, cooling rate, cooling time in die and stamping pressure. The type of boron steel material with trade name of Usibor® 1500 was used as the test specimens while for punch and die material, High Thermal Conductivity Tool Steel (HTCS-150) made by Rovalma was used. Both are common materials used in the automotive industry for hot press forming operation. A preliminary experiment had been conducted where ten flat tensile strength specimens of Usibor 1500 were heated to the austenization temperature of 950°C and immediately quenched in a tank of water to confirm the material ability to achieve the minimum tensile strength of 1500Mpa. All specimens achieved average tensile strength of 1550Mpa in this most ideal cooling rate condition. In the experimental hot press forming operation, result shows that the flat blank specimens of Usibor 1500 able to obtain ultimate tensile strength of 1400Mpa after quenching in die without use of cooling channels when suitable process parameters were used during. Overall ,faster air cooling time, higher stamping pressure applied to the blank, and longer cooling time in die improve the cooling rate. Highest tensile strength of 1400Mpa was achieved in the experiment when cooling rate was 95°C/s, air cooling time of 3.83s, stamping pressure of 50bar and cooling time in die of 30s