Removal of ammonia in the sulfide-rich wastewater using Conventional Activated Sludge process

The objective of this research is to study the performance of conventional activated sludge in removing ammonia for the treatment of high sulfide wastewater. The variables in this project are Sludge Retention Time (SRT) and various concentration of sulfide in the wastewater. The scope of this project is to study the effect ofSRT on activated sludge process in removing ammonia under different sulfide concentration. The approach involves using waste water from Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in front of Village 2, University Technology of Petronas. The MLSS of primary sludge had a range of 2500 mg/L to 4500 mg/L. Five reactors was used with each SRT was varied at 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 days. The volume of each reactor was measured as 18 L each. Waste water was filled into every reactor and an approximate of 90 L of wastewater was fed into each reactor everyday in a 24 hours continuous operation. The feed flow rate was set at 6.5 ml/min. 5 containers was placed under the reactors to feed the effluent, which was used for sampling later. Each reactor had varied sludge age with different amount of sludge was wasted everyday. Gradually, synthetic hydrogen sulfide was added in the influent and the concentration was increased from 200 mg/L to 300 mg/L and finally 900 mg/L. Present results showed that activated sludge system can be used to nitrify waste water containing high amount of ammonia concentration at SRT of 10 days. In term9 of biomass growth, SRT of 10 days shows the highest biomass growth obtained, and thus proving to be the most optimum SRT in the removal of ammonia in sulphide-rich waste water. More over, the increase of sulphide concentration in the system did not affect the efficiency of each reactor since all the microorganisms had already adapted well with the sulphide-rich environment

Removal of ammonia in the sulfide-rich wastewater using Conventional Activated Sludge process

The objective of this research is to study the performance of conventional activated sludge in removing ammonia for the treatment of high sulfide wastewater. The variables in this project are Sludge Retention Time (SRT) and various concentration of sulfide in the wastewater. The scope of this project is to study the effect ofSRT on activated sludge process in removing ammonia under different sulfide concentration. The approach involves using waste water from Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in front of Village 2, University Technology of Petronas. The MLSS of primary sludge had a range of 2500 mg/L to 4500 mg/L. Five reactors was used with each SRT was varied at 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 days. The volume of each reactor was measured as 18 L each. Waste water was filled into every reactor and an approximate of 90 L of wastewater was fed into each reactor everyday in a 24 hours continuous operation. The feed flow rate was set at 6.5 ml/min. 5 containers was placed under the reactors to feed the effluent, which was used for sampling later. Each reactor had varied sludge age with different amount of sludge was wasted everyday. Gradually, synthetic hydrogen sulfide was added in the influent and the concentration was increased from 200 mg/L to 300 mg/L and finally 900 mg/L. Present results showed that activated sludge system can be used to nitrify waste water containing high amount of ammonia concentration at SRT of 10 days. In term9 of biomass growth, SRT of 10 days shows the highest biomass growth obtained, and thus proving to be the most optimum SRT in the removal of ammonia in sulphide-rich waste water. More over, the increase of sulphide concentration in the system did not affect the efficiency of each reactor since all the microorganisms had already adapted well with the sulphide-rich environment

Basics of teaching electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of electrolytes for ion-rechargeable batteries - Part 2:Dielectric response of (non-) polymer electrolytes

In the Part 2 of this article, we present the phenomenological response of the dielectric relaxation for polymer electrolytes monitored by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in terms of electrochemical point of view, such as impedance (Z∗), permittivity (ϵ∗), loss tangent (tan δ), modulus (M∗) and conductivity (σ∗) spectra. It is noteworthy to note that all the electrochemical aspects mentioned are of interest for conduction and seen as closely related to each other indirectly or directly. Two different systems; solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) [poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) + lithium perchlorate (LiClO4)] and non-SPE [poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) + LiClO4] were employed for discussion. EIS is a powerful technique to characterize the electrical properties of polymer electrolytes. The results suggest that impedance and modulus are of interest for decoupling of dielectric and electric properties by evaluating the short-range and long-range mobility of the charged entities, respectively. One is able to identify the conduction mechanism of the polymer electrolytes easily if the responses are well understood. The objective of this article to introduce a simplified yet an insightful background and technique that is easy to be followed and useful for educational purposes especially for beginners or young researchers for both undergraduates and postgraduates

Digital radiographic image enhancement for weld defect detection using smoothing and morphological transformations / Suhaila Abdul Halim, Arsmah Ibrahim and Yupiter Harangan Prasada Manurung

Accurate inspection ofweldedmaterials is important in relation to achieve acceptable standards. Radiography, a non-destructive test method, is commonly used to evaluate the internal condition ofa material with respect to defect detection. Thepresence ofnoise in low resolution ofradiographic images significantly complicates analysis; therefore attaining higher quality radiographic images makes defect detection more readily achievable. This paper presents a study pertaining to the quality enhancement of radiographic images with respect to different types of defects. A series of digital radiographic weld flaw images were smoothed using multiple smoothing techniques to remove inherent noise followed by top and bottom hat morphological transformations. Image quality was evaluated quantitatively with respect to SNR, PSNR andMAE. The results indicate that smoothing enhances the quality ofradiographic images, thereby promoting defect detection with the respect to original radiographic images

Inadvertent puncture of right vertebral artery during central venous line catheter insertion

The use of ultrasound has been proposed to reduce the number of complications and to increase the safety and quality of central venous catheter (CVC) placement. In this report, we recommend the structures approach for US-guided to insert venous access for clinical practice. To achieve the best skill for CVC placement, The knowledge from anatomic landmark techniques and knowledge from US-guided CVC placement need to be combined and integrated. 59 years old lady, planned for total abdominal hysterectomy for pelvic tumour excision. Anticipate massive bleeding with major fluids shift during intraoperative, invasive monitoring with CVC was inserted preoperative at right internal jugular vein. The procedure of insertion was done using US-guided with out-of-plane method. While connected to CVP monitoring noted to have arterial wave. Decided to keep the central venous line in-situ and referral to radiologist for imaging was arranged. CT angiogram's findings of a catheter were seen to transverse the right internal jugular vein through-and-through and seen to lie within the right vertebral artery coursing into the right subclavian artery. No evidence of carotid artery injury. Referred to intervention radiology and vascular surgery team for the best method of removal the central line catheter. Removal of CVC for inadvertent injury to right verterbral artery under guided contrast study by intervention radiologist. The case illustrates the importance of ultrasound-guided CVL insertion

The impact of educational intervention on attitude towards organ donation among healthcare workers in five hospitals in Malaysia

Introduction : The attitude of healthcare workers (HCW) are essential in influencing organ donation rates. Objective : The study aimed to assess the impact of educational intervention on attitudes towards organ donation among HCW. Methodology : A questionnaire-based interventional study was conducted among 458 HCW from five hospitals in Malaysia. A 26-item self-administered questionnaire was distributed online as a pre-intervention test. Afterwards, the respondents went through a website-based educative materials about organ donation and answered the same questionnaire again. Results : A total of 345 (75.3%) respondents completed the tests. Their attitude towards organ donation was positive pre-intervention. Following it, respondents expressed increase willingness to donate organs (P = 0.008) and their relatives’ organs (P <0.001); were more willing to adopt organ donation as part of the end-of-life care (P = 0.002) and were more comfortable to talk to relatives about organ donation (P = 0.001). There was increased willingness to admit patients to the Intensive Care unit for facilitating organ donation (P = 0.007); to employ the same resources to maintain a potential brain-dead donor (P <0.001); and to support organ donation if they or their relatives have end-stage organ failure (P = 0.008). However, there was increased negative attitude regarding association between organ donation with healthcare failure (P = 0.004), and with pain (P = 0.003). The positive attitude scores were higher following the intervention (P <0.001). Conclusion : An educational website-based intervention was able to improve HCW attitudes towards organ donation although some potential improvements are required

The Impact of educational intervention on attitude toward organ donation among health care workers in Malaysia

Background. The attitudes of the health care workers (HCWs) are essential in influencing organ donation rate. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of an educational intervention on attitudes toward organ donation among HCWs. Methods. A questionnaire-based interventional study was conducted with 458 HCW from 5 hospitals in Malaysia. A 26-item self-administered questionnaire was distributed online as a pre- intervention test. Respondents then went through website-based educational materials followed by a post-intervention questionnaire. Results. A total of 345 (75.3%) respondents completed the tests. Their attitude toward organ dona- tion was positive preintervention. After the intervention, respondents expressed an increase willingness to donate their own organs (P = .008) and their relatives’ organs (P < .001) after death; were more willing to adopt organ donation as part of end-of-life care (P =.002); were more comfortable talking to relatives about organ donation (P =.001); and expressed an increase consideration to execute the action at any time (P =.001). There was increased willingness to admit to the intensive care unit for facilitating organ donation (P =.007); to employ the same resources to maintain a potential brain-dead donor (P < .001); and to support organ donation in case they or their relatives were diagnosed with end-stage organ failure (P =.008). However, there was an increase in negative attitudes regarding the association between organ donation with health care failure (P =.004) and with pain (P =.003). Posi- tive attitude scores were higher after the intervention (P < .001). Conclusion. An educational website-based intervention was able to improve the attitudes of HCWs toward organ donation

Effects on the Properties after Addition of Lithium Salt in Poly(ethylene oxide)/Poly(methyl acrylate) Blends

The studies of phase behavior, dielectric relaxation, and other properties of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) blends with the addition of lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) were done for different blend compositions. Samples were prepared by a solution casting technique. The binary PEO/PMA blends exhibit a single and compositional-dependent glass transition temperature (Tg), which is also true for ternary mixtures of PEO/PMA/LiClO4 when PEO was in excess with low content of salt. These may indicate miscibility of the constituents for the molten systems and amorphous domains of the systems at room temperature from the macroscopic point of view. Subsequently, the morphology of PEO/PMA blends with or without salt are correlated to the phase behavior of the systems. Phase morphology and molecular interaction of polymer chains by salt ions of the systems may rule the dielectric or electric relaxation at room temperature, which was estimated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The frequency-dependent impedance spectra are of interest for the elucidation of polarization and relaxation of the charged entities for the systems. Relaxation can be noted only when a sufficient amount of salt is added into the systems

Basics of teaching electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of electrolytes for ion-rechargeable batteries - Part 2: Dielectric response of (non-) polymer electrolytes

In the Part 2 of this article, we present the phenomenological response of the dielectric relaxation for polymer electrolytes monitored by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in terms of electrochemical point of view, such as impedance (Z∗), permittivity (ϵ∗), loss tangent (tan δ), modulus (M∗) and conductivity (σ∗) spectra. It is noteworthy to note that all the electrochemical aspects mentioned are of interest for conduction and seen as closely related to each other indirectly or directly. Two different systems; solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) [poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) + lithium perchlorate (LiClO4)] and non-SPE [poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) + LiClO4] were employed for discussion. EIS is a powerful technique to characterize the electrical properties of polymer electrolytes. The results suggest that impedance and modulus are of interest for decoupling of dielectric and electric properties by evaluating the short-range and long-range mobility of the charged entities, respectively. One is able to identify the conduction mechanism of the polymer electrolytes easily if the responses are well understood. The objective of this article to introduce a simplified yet an insightful background and technique that is easy to be followed and useful for educational purposes especially for beginners or young researchers for both undergraduates and postgraduates

Basics of teaching electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of electrolytes for ion-rechargeable batteries - Part 1: A good practice on estimation of bulk resistance of solid polymer electrolytes

In this publication, we present the basic to characterize the electrical properties of electrolytes that are widely used in ion-rechargeable batteries using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). This simplified yet insightful background provided may be used for educational purposes, especially for beginners or young researchers for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. We start with introduction of electrolytes and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) instrumentation, following with the step-by-step guidelines using three different procedures to estimate the bulk resistance (Rb) of the electrolytes, which is inversely proportional to the conductivity (DC) of the materials (Rb 1/DC). Several examples and exercises on estimation of quantity Rb are supplemented for educational purposes. Comparison was made on estimation of Rb using manual graphical procedures, mathematical regression procedures using commercial graphical software and equivalent circuit fitting procedures using exclusive EIS software. The results suggest that the manual graphical technique may serves as a useful approach for beginners before venturing to exclusive software. Besides, the instructors may use the procedures to coach the users to extract reliable and reproducible data before data interpretation. Lastly, the phenomenological approach on dielectric relaxation for solid polymer electrolytes [poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) + lithium salt] and non-solid polymer electrolytes [poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) + lithium salt], in the classic sense will be addressed in terms of impedance (Z), permittivity , tangent loss (tan), modulus (M) and conductivity spectra in Part 2