Locational Differences Of Gaseous Emission Effects From A Semi-Aerobic Landfill

Landfill gas is a mixture of methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2) and small quantities of other odorous gas including ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S). The major problem associated with landfill sites in Malaysia are odour from waste decomposition, flies, vermin and leachate into nearby water body from the landfill. Recognizing the importance of landfill gas, the study investigated the effect of landfill gas on human being. Four landfill gas constituents (CH4, CO2, CO and H2S) were monitored from 15 December 2009 until 11 January 2010, a period of 28 days

Composting of Garden Waste using Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) as Organic Additive

Garden waste (GW) is considered as one of the types of municipal solid waste because of its biodegradable organic fraction.  To avoid the disposal of green waste by open burning, incineration and landfill site, it can be manage by composting process.  The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of composting garden waste (dry leaves) by using indigenous microorganisms in term of the compost quality (pH, temperature, moisture content, C:N ratio and nutrient content). The compost has been prepared from three different mixtures of food waste for 30 days. IMO used as an organic additive during composting were prepared according to the method from previous study. The preparation of IMO consists of several phases include phase I until V with a mixture of various materials for each phase. During the composting process, all the parameters of IMO-compost obtained in a range like; pH value 8-9, temperature 30-48°C, moisture content 36-65%, nitrogen 2- 7%, phosphorus 4-8%, potassium 12-18% and C:N ratio 6-12.  The result showed that all compost quality for IMO-compost obtained in an acceptable range for final compost to establish

Characteristics of biofilm formation from mixed microflora at mesophilic and thermophilic fermentative hydrogen production / Lam Wai Fung

Biofilm-based systems have been extensively used as immobilized cell systems as they enhance the reaction rates and population dynamics. Therefore, this study was done to characterize the biofilm formation from anaerobic sludge for fermentative hydrogen (H2) production at mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. This study has been focusing on the development of mixed microflora biofilms whereby the physical and chemical characteristics of the biofilm will be studied. Several tests were done to characterize the biofilm formation, which included the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to test the functional group present in the immobilized cell, analysis on the gas produced by the immobilised cells using a gas analyser, and lastly analysis on the chemical compositions presence in the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of biofilm. This study had identified that the highest amount of gas collected which representing hydrogen is 470 ppm with the condition of 60 °C with GAC. From the FTIR analysis, the functional group exist in two peak 3308.3cm-1 and 1637.12cm-1 are the hydroxyl (O-H) group and the combination of C–N + N–H groups in proteins respectively. The transmission of each peak from the FTIR result, and the concentration of the carbohydrate and protein in the extracted EPS had increased with the increasing of the fermentation day, indicates that the physical and chemical properties of the EPS may change more than expected during biofilm growth and alteration

Performance of Lightweight Foamed Concrete with Waste Clay Brick as Coarse Aggregate

AbstractPerformances of lightweight foamed concretes that are made from partial substitution of waste clay brick as coarse aggregate has been investigated in this study. The research aims were to identify the properties and characteristic of lightweight foamed concrete using waste clay brick as alternative materials to reduce the depletion of normal coarse aggregate from granite. Four different percentages of concrete mixtures using new coarse aggregate have been prepared that consist of 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% waste clay brick. Foamed were injected into concrete mixture to produce lightweight concrete with appropriate proportions. The samples have undergone several testing including compression test, water absorption test, workability test and density test. From the results obtained, lightweight concrete that were produced with 25% substitution of waste clay brick showed the highest compressive strength of 25MPa with density of 1647kg/m3

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

Composting of Garden Waste using Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) as Organic Additive

Garden waste (GW) is considered as one of the types of municipal solid waste because of its biodegradable organic fraction.  To avoid the disposal of green waste by open burning, incineration and landfill site, it can be manage by composting process.  The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of composting garden waste (dry leaves) by using indigenous microorganisms in term of the compost quality (pH, temperature, moisture content, C:N ratio and nutrient content). The compost has been prepared from three different mixtures of food waste for 30 days. IMO used as an organic additive during composting were prepared according to the method from previous study. The preparation of IMO consists of several phases include phase I until V with a mixture of various materials for each phase. During the composting process, all the parameters of IMO-compost obtained in a range like; pH value 8-9, temperature 30-48°C, moisture content 36-65%, nitrogen 2- 7%, phosphorus 4-8%, potassium 12-18% and C:N ratio 6-12.  The result showed that all compost quality for IMO-compost obtained in an acceptable range for final compost to establish

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