Effect of NaOH Treated Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) on Adsorption of Cd (II) Under Acidic Condition

Adsorption is an effective way of extracting heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. Alkali treatment is a chemical modification method that is influenced by concentration and time. The study aims to investigate the effect of NaOH treatment of OPEFB on Cd (II) adsorption under acidic condition. The alkali treatment was done by varying the concentration of NaOH (0.1 M, 0.5 M, and 1.0 M) and the immersion time (12 h and 24 h). SEM images confirmed the existence of pores on the treated OPEFB in comparison with the raw OPEFB. Characterization of treated adsorbent using FTIR resulted in a change of functional groups peak’s position such as hydroxyl and carboxyl groups after the alkali treatment, which might involve Cd (II) adsorption. OPEFB treated with 1.0 M NaOH and 24 h immersion time showed the highest Cd (II) removal under acidic condition (pH 4). All the NaOH treated OPEFB showed an increment in adsorption efficiencies compared to raw OPEFB, suggesting that this treated biomass has a potential for application as an adsorbent for the removal of Cd (II) from wastewate

Oil palm biomass-based activated carbons for the removal of cadmium-a review

Serious water pollution due to climate change as the consequences of non-ecological wastewater treatment and unsustainable agricultural activities had emerged water scarcity problem. The utilization of oil palm biomass into cadmium adsorbent could play a role in killing two birds with one stone, which is to solve the oil palm biomass disposal issue and cadmium pollution issue. The adsorbent modifications discussed in this review focused on furnace heating and microwave heating as well as the combined methods with chemical activating agents. Among the modification methods, the output of chemical activation followed by microwave-induced irradiation of palm kernel shells (PKS) produced activated carbon with high specific surface area (854.42 m2 /g) and high adsorption capacity, qmax (227.27 mg/g). This review is to provide a comprehensive understanding of cadmium adsorption mechanisms and up-to-date progress of modification technologies for different types of oil palm biomass

Physico-mechanical and morphological properties of rice husk-coconut husk fiber reinforced epoxy composites

In the recent years, many researches focus on “waste to wealth” concept, where agro-waste is converted into various valuable products especially on natural fiber polymeric composites. Selected fibers for this research were rice husk (RH) and coconut husk (CH). This research focused on the property enhancement of RH-CH fiber reinforced epoxy composites and comparison RH reinforced epoxy composites, CH reinforced epoxy composites, and RH-CH reinforced epoxy composites. RH-CH reinforced epoxy composites were well-fabricated by mixing epoxy resin and different ratios of two types natural fibers via compression molding and stir casting methods. All the fabricated RH-CH reinforced epoxy composites were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Vickers Hardness Test (VHT), and tensile test (TT). FTIR results showed that 10wt% RH-CH reinforced epoxy composites created the strongest covalent bonding between cellulose inside RH-CH fiber and epoxide group compared to RH reinforced epoxy composites and CH reinforced epoxy composites. The combination of RH and CH fiber with the introduction of epoxy resin reduced the hydroxyl groups compared to either RH or CH fiber composites, respectively. This proved that mixture of RH and CH with epoxy matrix improved the properties of pure RH and CH and thus, better composites were fabricated. SEM images of 10wt% RH-CH reinforced epoxy composites showed better dispersion of RH-CH fiber within polymer matrix compared to RH reinforced epoxy composites and CH reinforced epoxy composites under the magnification of 2000. Both RH reinforced epoxy composites and CH reinforced epoxy composites showed porosity within the matrix. VHT showed that 10wt% RH-CH reinforced epoxy composites showed the smallest indentation value compared to RH reinforced epoxy composites and CH reinforced epoxy composites due to the highest interfacial adhesion between matrix and filler, which was proven by the SEM images. Tensile test of 10wt% RH-CH reinforced epoxy composites showed the highest tensile modulus with value of 2.6MPa. RH-CH reinforced epoxy composites showed higher tensile strength and modulus compared to RH and CH reinforced epoxy composites. Overall, it could be concluded that 10wt% RH-CH reinforced epoxy composites performed the best in terms of physical, mechanical, and morphological perspective than RH reinforced epoxy composites and CH reinforced epoxy composites. This proved that RH and CH could be well-introduced as reinforcing filler in epoxy matrix to fabricate better composites for structural application

Effect of pH, Dosage and Concentration on the Adsorption of Congo Red onto Untreated and Treated Aluminium Dross

The adsorption of congo red onto aluminium dross was studied in batch process. The objective of this study is to adsorption capacity between untreated and treated aluminium dross in the removal of congo red. Aluminium dross was leached with 250 ml of 1% of NaOH and and precipitated with 30% H2O2. The treated aluminium dross being calcined at 600°C for 3 hours. The surface area for untreated and treated aluminium dross was 10.06 m2/g and 79.80 m2/g respectively. Then the adsorption process was carried out on an orbital shaker at 200 rpm for 4 hours. In the effect of pH, it was found that untreated removes more congo red compared to the treated while in the effect of concentration solution and dosage of adsorbent, treated aluminium dross removes more congo red. In conclusion, this adsorbent was found to be effective and economically viable in the removal of congo red in waste water treatment. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Ag+ colorimetric sensor based on graphene oxide/nano-platinum composite

With the development of society, pollution accidents occur more frequently, and the efects of toxic substances containing silver on human health and environment are increasingly extensive. Therefore, the real-time on-site monitoring of silver ions is urgently needed. Based on the catalase-like properties of graphene/nano-platinum composites and the coupling efect between Pt and Ag+, a simple, unlabeled colorimetric sensing method is proposed to achieve the quantitative detection of Ag+. Under optimal conditions, the detection range of Ag+ by this colorimetric sensing method is 0.5–1000 μM, and the detection limit is 0.5 μM, which is lower than the previously reported detection limit of unlabeled Ag+ colorimetric sensing method, showing higher sensitivity and detection range. Under the same conditions, the sensor has almost no response to interference ions, showing good specifc recognition ability. In addition, the colorimetric sensing method can be used to detect Ag+ in actual water samples, serving as a new paradigm for visual detection of Ag+

Bioplastic classifications and innovations in antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant applications

Conventional plastics exacerbate climate change by generating substantial amounts of greenhouse gases and solid wastes throughout their lifecycle. To address the environmental and economic challenges associated with petroleum-based plastics, bioplastics have emerged as a viable alternative. Bioplastics are a type of plastic that are either biobased, biodegradable, or both. Due to their biodegradability and renewability, bioplastics are established as earth-friendly materials that can replace nonrenewable plastics. However, early bioplastic development has been hindered by higher production costs and inferior mechanical and barrier properties compared to conventional plastics. Nevertheless, studies have shown that the addition of additives and fillers can enhance bioplastic properties. Recent advancements in bioplastics have incorporated special additives like antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant agents, offering added values and unique properties for specific applications in various sectors. For instance, integrating antibacterial additives into bioplastics enables the creation of active food packaging, extending the shelf-life of food by inhibiting spoilage-causing bacteria and microorganisms. Moreover, bioplastics with antioxidant additives can be applied in wound dressings, accelerating wound healing by preventing oxidative damage to cells and tissues. These innovative bioplastic developments offer promising opportunities for developing sustainable and practical solutions in various fields. Within this review are two main focuses: an outline of the bioplastic classifications to understand how they fit in as the coveted conventional plastics substitute and an overview of the recent bioplastic innovations in the antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant applications. We cover the use of different polymers and additives, presenting the findings and potential applications within the last decade. Although current research primarily focuses on food packaging and biomedicine, the exploration of bioplastics with specialized properties is still in its early stages, offering a wide range of undiscovered opportunities. © 2023 The Author

CLEAN WATER PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT INDICATORS AND FACTORS: A REVIEW ON ULTRAFILTER MEMBRAN

This review aims to answer the question relating to the problem of measuring the clean water production performance of the Ultrafilter membranes. This review has designed to study the research journal articles recently published (from 2000 to 2022) on the clean water production performance of ultrafilter membranes. The focus of this study was to unlock the influence of feed water quality, pre-treatment efficiency, Productivity, and energy consumption of the ultrafilter membrane on clean water production performance. The outcome of this review revealed that four indicators and thirteen potential factors have used for measuring the clean water production performance of ultrafilter membranes. The potential factors are the feed water pre-treatment, feed water pressure, chemically enhanced backwash, and osmotic pressure. Additionally, the pH, total suspended solids, turbidity, and chemical oxygen demand of feed water are the sources of cake layer formation that affect energy consumption and the operating cost of ultrafilter membranes in producing clean water. The findings of this review have a few industrial and policy implications. The outcomes of this review could be used by industrial engineers and consultants for designing the ultrafilter membrane system to optimize clean water production. The policy makers involved in technology selection for water filtration also can be used. The outcome of this study concludes that the ultrafilter membrane is an effective water treatment technology, but its performance depends on a few potential operating factors. This study recommends further research for optimizing the factors affect UFM performance in producing clean wate

3D Printed Functionalized Nanocellulose as an Adsorbent in Batch and Fixed-Bed Systems

Nanocellulose, a refined form of cellulose, can be further functionalized on surface-active sites, with a catalyst as a regenerative agent. Newly developed adsorbents are expected to have the characteristics of good and rapid adsorption performance and regeneration properties with flexible structure using 3D printing technology. In this work, the adsorption performance of 3D printed functionalized nanocellulose was investigated using batch and fixed-bed column adsorption. Kinetics adsorption studies were divided into different adsorption models, with the pseudo-second order model showing a better correlation coefficient than the pseudo-first order and intraparticle diffusion models. The Langmuir and Thomas models were used to calculate the adsorption performance of batch and fixed-bed columns. Given the catalytic activity of Fenton oxidation, the fixed-bed column was regenerated up to five adsorption-desorption cycles, suggesting satisfactory performance of the column, with a slightly reduced adsorption capacit

OPTIMIZING DISCHARGEABLE EFFLUENT PRODUCTION FROM PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT: AN EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

This paper describes the research findings conducted with palm oil mill effluent and Nano membrane. This research investigated the performance of the Nano membrane (NM) in separating total organic materials (TOM) from POME. The performance of NM is measured in the scale of productivity and efficiency in producing dischargeable effluent from POME. Three NM of different pore sizes and primary POME treatment machinery have been used for the conducting of the experiment. The feed pressure of POME to NM was from 60 psi to 120 psi. The research findings demonstrated the optimum performance of NM in separating TOM about 90% at operating pressure 80 psi. The findings of this research would be useful in producing environmentally friendly effluent from POME. The novelty of this research is to use a POME feedstock of pH 7.0 with a Nanomembranes system in optimizing dischargeable effluent production performance