EFFECTS OF SYNTHESIS PARAMETERS ON THE STRUCTURE OF TITANIA NANOTUBES

Detection of hydrogen is crucial for industrial process control and medical applications where presence of hydrogen in breath indicates different type of health problems particularly in infants. A better performed sensor with high sensitivity, selectivity, reliability and faster response time would be critical and sought after especially for medical applications. Titanium dioxide nanotube structure is chosen as an active component in the gas sensor because of its highly sensitive electrical resistance to hydrogen over a wide range of concentrations. The objective of the work is to investigate the effect of the anodizing conditions on the structure of titania nanotubes produced by anodizing method. The anodizing parameters namely the ambient temperature and separation of electrodes are varied accordingly to find the optimum anodizing conditions for production of good quality titania nanotubes for enhanced properties based on their uniformity, coverage, pore size and crystallinity. Samples of nanotubes produced were subjected to annealing process at varying time and temperature in order to improve the crystallinity of the nanotubes. The highly ordered porous titania nanotubes produced by this method are of tabular shape and have good uniformity and alignment over large areas. The pore size of the titania nanotubes ranges from 47 to 94 nm, while the wall thickness is in the range of 17 to 26 nm. The length of the nanotubes was found to be about 280 nm. The structure of nanotubes changes from amorphous to crystalline after undergoing annealing treatment. Nanotubes have also shown to have better crystallinity if they were subjected to annealing treatment at higher temperature. The characteristics of nanotubes obtained are found to be agreeable to those that have been reported to show improved hydrogen gas sensing properties

Critical Success Factors for Six Sigma Deployment in Manufacturing Companies in Malaysia

Since it was invented in Motorola in mid 1980s, many companies have adopted Six Sigma methodology as a means of quality and productivity improvement activities. However, not every company which deployed Six Sigma achieved desirable results.In this study, a survey was carried out at Malaysian companies which deploy Six Sigma to find out what are the critical success factors to Six Sigma implementation, and how the factors being practiced in the companies.A total of 42 survey questionnaires were sent out either by hand or email to Malaysian companies which are practicing Six Sigma.Thirty questionnaires was completed and returned.Survey results showed there are 12 critical success factors that deemed to be important for the success of Six Sigma deployment program in Malaysian manufacturing companies.They are: Management involvement and commitment, Deployment infrastructure, Training program, Linking Six Sigma to business strategy, Linking Six Sigma to human resources, Dedicated resources, Involving finance in Six Sigma, Reward and recognition program, Cultural change to data driven and learning organization, Linking Six Sigma to customer, Project selection and goal setting, and Linking Six Sigma to suppliers.However, only three out of the 12 critical success factors were found to be not significantly different in their Perception of Importance level and Actual Practice level.They are: Dedicate Resources, Deployment Infrastructure and Involving Finance in Six Sigma. Survey results also revealed that companies which deployed Six Sigma have shown significant improvement in key performance areas such as: Transformation of the company culture, Improvement on customer satisfaction level, Improvement on financial performance, Improvement on operational performance, Improvement on overall performance

CFD study on the effects of different temperatures and feed velocities for CO2, CH4, and C2H4 adsorption using 5A molecular sieve

The removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from natural gas is a practical measure in dealing with problems such as CO2 emissions into the atmosphere and reducing the cost of gas processing operations. Adsorption is a promising technology currently used, specifically pressure swing adsorption (PSA) method. In this paper, the adsorption column packed with 5A molecular sieve was simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics software for the separation of CO2 from natural gas components, which are methane (CH4) and ethylene (C2FLi). The effects of different temperatures on adsorption time were investigated and the optimum adsorption time was determined by the purity of CH4 and C2H4 at the column outlet. This study will be beneficial for optimising the design and process configuration of PSA

Critical Success Factors for Six Sigma Deployment in Manufacturing Companies in Malaysia

Since it was invented in Motorola in mid 1980s, many companies have adopted Six Sigma methodology as a means of quality and productivity improvement activities. However, not every company which deployed Six Sigma achieved desirable results. In this study, a survey was carried out at Malaysian companies which deploy Six Sigma to find out what are the critical success factors to Six Sigma implementation, and how the factors being practiced in the companies. A total of 42 survey questionnaires were sent out either by hand or email to Malaysian companies which are practicing Six Sigma. Thirty questionnaires was completed and returned. Survey results showed there are 12 critical success factors that deemed to be important for the success of Six Sigma deployment program in Malaysian manufacturing companies. They are: Management involvement and commitment, Deployment infrastructure, Training program, Linking Six Sigma to business strategy, Linking Six Sigma to human resources, Dedicated resources, Involving finance in Six Sigma, Reward and recognition program, Cultural change to data driven and learning organization, Linking Six Sigma to customer, Project selection and goal setting, and Linking Six Sigma to suppliers. However, only three out of the 12 critical success factors were found to be not significantly different in their Perception of Importance level and Actual Practice level. They are: Dedicate Resources, Deployment Infrastructure and Involving Finance in Six Sigma. Survey results also revealed that companies which deployed Six Sigma have shown significant improvement in key performance areas such as: Transformation of the company culture, Improvement on customer satisfaction level, Improvement on financial performance, Improvement on operational performance, Improvement on overall performanc

Conceptual design of semi-automatic wheelbarrow to overcome ergonomics problems among palm oil plantation workers

An ergonomics problem is one of the main issues faced by palm oil plantation workers especially during harvesting and collecting of fresh fruit bunches (FFB).Intensive manual handling and labor activities involved have been associated with high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among palm oil plantation workers.New and safe technology on machines and equipment in palm oil plantation are very important in order to help workers reduce risks and injuries while working. The aim of this research is to improve the design of a wheelbarrow, which is suitable for workers and a small size oil palm plantation.The wheelbarrow design was drawn using CATIA ergonomic features. The characteristic of ergonomics assessment is performed by comparing the existing design of wheelbarrow. Conceptual design was developed based on the problems that have been reported by workers. From the analysis of the problem, finally have resulting concept design the ergonomic quality of semi-automatic wheelbarrow with safe and suitable used for palm oil plantation workers

Lean manufacturing best practices in SMEs

Last two decades had witnessed explosion of researches into the area of manufacturing improvement such as lean manufacturing, total quality management, total productive maintenance and their application within various manufacturing companies such as automotives, electronics, plastics components and etc.It was proven that lean manufacturing was considered as the best manufacturing system in the 21st century.A comprehensive literature review was conducted to get necessary lean information.The review is focused on SME definitions and characteristics.This is followed by reviewing the lean practices and discusses them based on SMEs’ capabilities. The aim of this paper is to present feasible lean practices for lean implementation in SMEs.There are seventeen lean practices which could be considered are feasible and relevant to the SME characteristics.The proposed practices were based on three categories; least investment, feasible to apply in SME and recommended by researcher

CFD study on the effects of different temperatures and feed velocities for CO2, CH4, and C2H4 adsorption using 5A molecular sieve

The removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from natural gas is a practical measure in dealing with problems such as CO2 emissions into the atmosphere and reducing the cost of gas processing operations. Adsorption is a promising technology currently used, specifically pressure swing adsorption (PSA) method. In this paper, the adsorption column packed with 5A molecular sieve was simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics software for the separation of CO2 from natural gas components, which are methane (CH4) and ethylene (C2FLi). The effects of different temperatures on adsorption time were investigated and the optimum adsorption time was determined by the purity of CH4 and C2H4 at the column outlet. This study will be beneficial for optimising the design and process configuration of PSA

Feasibility study of Tehran province water resources for fish production – Phase 1: Salehabad Qanat

This feasibility study carried out in response to request of Tehran Province Fisheries Management, in order to Qanat Salehabad water assessment for aquaculture relataed purposes in Tehran Municipality – Regions 19 & 20. During 6 monthes between May – October 2011 in 3 sampling stations by 3 replicates investigations executed. Physic-chemical, Heavy methals, organochloro-organophosphore pesticides and microbial nominated parameters analysed in reference to Iran national and international standards as well, resulted an overall assessment on quality and quantity of Qanat water for aquaculture purposes. Results expressed station 1 in all studied seasons can be develop for fisheries warmwater applications and in cold seasons (September-March) fisheries coldwater relevant activities can be consider. Stations No 2 & 3 known as infeasible for fisheries applications but would be recommend for agriculture rrigation. According to the results, possibility of developing live fish shopping centers (Cold – warmwatetr fishes) between station 1 and before crossing the Qanat flow and Behesht-e-Zahra freeway is considerable, indeed water rights could be negotiate between Tehran Municipality and Tehran province Fisheries Bureo. Also application of feasible anti microbial filters and other minimum limitation parameters control is necessary before leading Qanat water flow into proposed live fish shop. And suitable septic tank is recommended at the outlet of proposed fisheries units. Monitoring of nominated physic-chemical & microbial parameters during operation of fisheries unites highly recommended

Identifikasi Kekeringan Lahan Berdasarkan Citra Satelit

Kekeringan lahan merupakan salah satu permasalahan masyarakat pada musim kemarau. Menurut Badan Metereologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika memprediksi bahwa 58% wilayah zona musim (ZOM) Indonesia akan terlampat memasuki musim kemarau tahun 2021. Salah satu kabupaten yang mengalami kekeringan adalah Kabupaten Lamongan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi area kekeringan di Kabupaten Lamongan agar dampak kekeringan dampak diminimalisir. Metode identifikasi yang digunakan berdasarkan pengolahan data penginderaan jauh, yaitu memanfaatkan citra satelit Landsat 8. Citra Landsat 8 diolah berdasarkan algoritma kekeringan untuk mengidentifikasi area kekeringan. Luaran yang ditargetkan dalam penelitian ini adalah produk berupa peta kekeringan lahan dan materi sebagai bahan ajar pendukung perkuliahan. Adapun Tingkat Kematangan Teknologi (TKT) yang terdapat dalam penelitian ini terletak pada tingkat TKT 3, yaitu pembuktian konsep (proof of concept) dari algoritma yang telah ada dan diaplikasika pada studi kasus. Kata kunci: Identifikasi, Kekeringa

Estimasi Suhu Permukaan Tanah Menggunakan Metode Algoritma Mono Window di Kabupaten Lamongan

Perubahan alih fungsi lahan merupakan salah satu fenomena yang banyak terjadi pada kabupaten yang berpotensi untuk pengembangan wilayah tersebut, salah satu area yang berpotensi untuk menjadi Kawasan Ekonomi Kreatif adalah Kabupaten Lamongan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk estimasi perubahan suhu permukaan tanah di Kabupaten Lamongan dengan memanfaatkan citra satelit Landsat 9. Citra satelit Landsat 9 diolah berdasarkan algoritma suhu untuk estimasi perhitungan suhu. Satelit Landsat 9 diluncurkan pada tahun 2021 dan merupakan satelit pengganti dari satelit Landsat 8. Satelit Landsat 9 memiliki 9 (Sembilan) band spectral dan 2 (dua) band termal. Pengolahan estimasi suhu permukaan tanah menggunakan band 4, band 5, dan band 10. Algoritma suhu permukaan tanah yang digunakan adaalah algoritma mono window. Dilakukan proses mosaic pada path 118 raw 65 dan path 119 raw 65. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa wilayah Kabupaten Lamongan memiliki tingkat kehijauan dengan rentang nilai -0,611 sampai 0,5 yang didominasi oleh tingkat kerapatan sedang. Hasil estimasi suhu permukaan tanah di Kabupaten Lamongan didominasi oleh suhu dengan rentang 23°C – 26°C dengan suhu tertinggi 29°C – 33°C. Kata kunci: Citra, Landsat 9, Suhu permukaan tana