Putra BINGO : from pen and paper to digital

Gamification is one of the trends in education that is best suited to the current learning environment. Putra BINGO is a transformative assessment tool that uses gamification techniques. This research starts by elaborating the concept of Putra BINGO and its implementation using traditional method with pen and paper. The feedbacks gathered from the implementation are analyzed and applied to develop a multiplayer educational online game using Unity Game Engine. This paper describes details of the development for its two components; the database and the digital online game. Putra Bingo is available on PC and Android devices. It required additional plugins such as Photon Networking to handle game communication between multiple players. This is crucial to accommodate its test case application as an alternative assessment for teamwork skills using Rubrics and questionnaires. Further research will be conducted to enhance its functionality and user experience after the initial development of the digital online version is completed

Application of Long-Short Term Memory for Accurate Biochemical Oxygen Demand Prediction in Rivers through Water Quality Parameters

Evaluating water quality is crucial for preserving the quality of river water. However, the typical technique of getting biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) values via laboratory testing might take several days, delaying the application of real-time measurement to improve water quality. This paper suggests using machine learning to predict BOD values from eight water quality measurements. The BOD rate in the Klang River, Selangor, Malaysia, was estimated using the long short-term memory (LSTM) method. The model was trained using historical data collected from eleven water collection points along the river. The predictive test results indicated that the LSTM model with 8 water parameters as input gave the most accurate predictions compared to the models with 5 and 3 water parameters. The results of this study indicate that machine learning methods can be used to predict BOD levels in real-time. It enables water quality managers to enhance water quality and safeguard human health proactively

Optimization of municipal solid waste conversion technology using process network synthesis

The number generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) is increasing year by year all around the world including Malaysia. For now, it still a big concern in Malaysia since we only dispose our MSW on landfills. Process Network Synthesis (PNS) is a tool to optimize technologies conversion of MSW. This study optimizes MSW conversion technologies using PNS tool which is Process Graph (P-Graph). Four highest composition (food waste, agriculture waste, paper and plastics) of MSW generated in Malaysia are optimized using P-graph. Two types of technologies conversion are considered which are biological conversion (Anaerobic Digestion) and thermal conversion (Pyrolysis and Incinerator). All these technologies conversion is compared with common method used; landfill. 100 feasible structure have been generated using P-graph. These optimization models allowed analysis of economic performance and environmental impact of MSW conversion technologies. Out of 100, 9 feasible structures have been analysed. Two feasible structures are selected based on maximum economic performance and minimum environmental impact

Evaluation of plated versus grated process deck in Foating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) from explosion perspective using safety offshore

Vapor cloud explosion is one of the major threats to Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facilities due to its congested and confined nature. Reduction in explosion overpressure can be achieved by improving the ventilation in FPSO. During early design stage of FPSO, designers consider providing grated process decks to improve the ventilation. However, there is limited research on the comparison of the explosion overpressure between the grated deck and the traditional plated deck. In this study, Vapor Cloud Explosion perspective of plated versus grated process deck in typical FPSO was evaluated by utilizing Det Norske Veritas’s (DNV) SAFETI OFFSHORE modelling tool. Representative leak scenarios were selected based on frequency analysis of major accident hazards associated with typical FPSO facility. This study revealed that the overpressure exceedance frequency in plated process deck was higher than the grated process deck for the selected scenario. This serves as quantitative guidance for designers to select an inherently safer type of decks in FPSOs from explosion perspective during the preliminary design stage. However, a detailed Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study is recommended to get an insight of dangers associated with the presence of plated and grated process decks in FPSO, by considering all the parameters and conditions applicable

Conversion technologies: evaluation of economic performance and environmental impact analysis for municipal solid waste in Malaysia

The generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) is increasing globally every year, including in Malaysia. Approaching the year 2020, Malaysia still has MSW disposal issues since most waste goes to landfills rather than being utilized as energy. Process network synthesis (PNS) is a tool to optimize the conversion technologies of MSW. This study optimizes MSW conversion technologies using a PNS tool, the “process graph” (P-graph). The four highest compositions (i.e., food waste, agriculture waste, paper, and plastics) of MSW generated in Malaysia were optimized using a P-graph. Two types of conversion technologies were considered, biological conversion (anaerobic digestion) and thermal conversion (pyrolysis and incinerator), since limited data were available for use as optimization input. All these conversion technologies were compared with the standard method used: landfilling. One hundred feasible structure were generated using a P-graph. Two feasible structures were selected from nine, based on the maximum economic performance and minimal environmental impact. Feasible structure 9 was appointed as the design with the maximum economic performance (MYR 6.65 billion per annum) and feasible structure 7 as the design with the minimal environmental impact (89,600 m3/year of greenhouse gas emission)

Externally initiated event in sequential risk assessment for the onshore LNG marine loading arm unit

This paper describes the failure assessment of the unloading arm unit that is connected to a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminal. In this work, an external event, i.e., lightning, was simulated as the triggering event. A Temporal Fault Tree (TFT) analysis was developed, and sequential failures that function under the Priority AND (PAND) gate were assessed. The results show that the highest contributing factor to the failure of the terminal unloading arm was the sequential failure due to the loss of sensors which can happen before or after lightning strikes. The occurrence of failures for the loading arm was estimated using a Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS). For service years of 32.7, the sequential failures occurred 131 times when preventive maintenance was not considered. This work also presents that the failure distribution of the marine loading arm follows the Weibull distribution characteristic with the scale (α) and the shape (β) parameters values of 132,817.5 h-1 and 1.556, respectively

Some emerging opportunities of nanotechnology development for soilless and microgreen farming

Global food demand has increased in tandem with the world’s growing population, prompting calls for a new sustainable agricultural method. The scarcity of fertile soil and the world’s agricultural land have also become major concerns. Soilless and microgreen farming combined with nanotechnology may provide a revolutionary solution as well as a more sustainable and productive alternative to conventional farming. In this review, we look at the potential of nanotechnology in soilless and microgreen farming. The available but limited nanotechnology approaches in soilless farming include: (1) Nutrients nanoparticles to minimize nutrient losses and improve nutrient uptake and bioavailability in crops; (2) nano-sensing to provide real-time detection of p H, temperature, as well as quantifying the amount of the nutrient, allowing desired conditions control; and (3) incorporation of nanoparticles to improve the quality of substrate culture as crop cultivation growing medium. Meanwhile, potential nanotechnology applications in soilless and microgreen farming include: (1) Plant trait improvement against environmental disease and stress through nanomaterial application; (2) plant nanobionics to alter or improve the function of the plant tissue or organelle; and (3) extending the shelf life of microgreens by impregnating nanoparticles on the packaging or other preservation method

Optimization of bokashi composting process using effective microorganisms-1 in smart composting bin

Malaysians generate 15,000 tons of food waste per day and dispose of it in the landfill, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. As a solution for the stated problem, this research aims to produce an excellent quality bokashi compost from household organic waste using a smart composting bin. The bokashi composting method is conducted, whereby banana peels are composted with three types of bokashi brans prepared using 12, 22, and 32 mL of EM-1 mother cultured. During the 14 days composting process, the smart composting bin collected the temperature, air humidity, and moisture content produced by the bokashi-composting process. With the ATmega328 microcontroller, these data were uploaded and synchronized to Google Sheet via WIFI. After the bokashi-composting process was completed, three of each bokashi compost and a control sample were buried in separate black soil for three weeks to determine each compost’s effectiveness. NPK values and the C/N ratio were analyzed on the soil compost. From the research, 12 mL of EM-1 shows the most effective ratio to the bokashi composting, as it resulted in a faster decomposition rate and has an optimum C/N ratio. Bokashi composting can help to reduce household food wastes. An optimum amount of the EM-1 used during the bokashi-composting process will produce good quality soil without contributing to environmental issues