Preparation and modification of activated carbon from oil-palm shell and its adsorption capacity through speciation of chromium

A preparation and modification of activated carbon from oil-palm shell has been investigated in this paper. A pretreatment method has been established to avoid partial fusion and swelling in the carbonization stage. Carbonization has been studied at different temperatures and the structure of the microporous chars has been characterized. Activated carbon has been prepared from steam gasification of chars obtained at 800 OC. This activation increases both total and narrow microporosity and develops a substantial mesoporosity. Activated carbon with different pore size distribution is impregnated with zirconium chloride and iron chloride salts to give impregnated carbon with different metals loading. The presence of active metal on an impregnated activated carbon surface greatly affects the adsorption affinity since some inorganic compounds will then be adsorbed preferentially

The primary study of peat soil in wood plastic composite

The major factor driving the growth of the global wood plastic composite (WPC) market is the increasing use of wood plastic composites by the construction and construction sectors for various applications. However, the current WPC is worth examining as this composite can be analyzed by increasing its strength. Therefore, this study was conducted to study the effect of peat soil (PS) on the mechanical properties of wood plastic composite systems reinforced with kenaf fibers. This study uses 4 different composite proportions of i) 10% kenaf fiber and 90% polypropylene ii) 20% kenaf fiber and 80% polypropylene iii) 30% kenaf fiber and 70% polypropylene and iv) 40% kenaf and 60% polypropylene fiber with peat soil added 3%, 6% and 9%. The particle size for peat is 60μm. The method used to produce this wooden plastic composite is by mixing method and injection molding.The test performed on the sample is tensile test and flexural test. The results of tensile test are determined and show that 6% PS is reinforced with 10% KF and 90% PP has the highest tensile strength of 25.23 MPa. While the best results of flexural test were obtained with 3% PS reinforced with 10% KF and 90% PP had a maximum bending strength of 32.40 MPa

Porosity development in activated carbon from palm kernel and coconut shell by chemical activation method

A preparation and modification of activated carbon from oil-palm shell has been investigated in this paper. A pretreatment method has been established to avoid partial fusion and swelling in the carbonization stage. Carbonization has been studied at different temperatures and the structure of the microporous chars has been characterized. Activated carbon has been prepared from steam gasification of chars obtained at 800O C. This activation increases both total and narrow microporosity and develops a substantial mesoporosity. Activated carbon with different pore size distribution is impregnated with zirconium chloride and iron chloride salts to give impregnated carbon with different metals loading. The presences of active metal on an impregnated activated carbon surface greatly affect the adsorption affinity since some inorganic compounds will then be adsorbed preferentially

Porosity development in activated carbon from palm kernel and coconut shell by chemical activation method

Several series of activated carbons have been prepared by chemical activation with phosphoric acid from palm kernel and coconut shells to study the effect of preparation variables such as precursor, precursor size, pretreatment, impregnation condition and ratio and finally the carbonization temperature on specific surface area and pore distribution of the resulting active carbon. Both precursors showed similar N2 adsorption isotherms, an upward deviation at high relative pressure, revealing the presence of mesorpores when carbonized at 5000 C with H3PO4. The bigger hysteresis loop indicates higher mesoporosity in coconut shell derived carbon whereas palm kernel shell derived carbon showed a higher macroporosity nature Prolong sinking of the precursor in H3PO4 impregnation solution followed by carbonization at moderate temperature (450-500 0C) produces carbon of high surface area with a higher macroporosity. The lowering of precursor size favors micropore development and semi-drying of the impregnation chemical prior to carbonization diminishes the macroporosity to a great extent. Thus an appropriate choice of preparation variables enables us to produce high surface area of micro and mesoporous activated carbon

Porosity development in activated carbon from palm kernel and coconut shell by chemical activation method

Several series of activated carbons have been prepared by chemical activation with phosphoric acid from palm kernel and coconut shells to study the effect of preparation variables such as precursor, precursor size, pretreatment, impregnation condition and ratio and finally the carbonization temperature on specific surface area and pore distribution of the resulting active carbon. Both precursors showed similar N2 adsorption isotherms, an upward deviation at high relative pressure, revealing the presence of mesorpores when carbonized at 5000 C with H3PO4. The bigger hysteresis loop indicates higher mesoporosity in coconut shell derived carbon whereas palm kernel shell derived carbon showed a higher macroporosity nature Prolong sinking of the precursor in H3PO4 impregnation solution followed by carbonization at moderate temperature (450-500 0C) produces carbon of high surface area with a higher macroporosity. The lowering of precursor size favors micropore development and semi-drying of the impregnation chemical prior to carbonization diminishes the macroporosity to a great extent. Thus an appropriate choice of preparation variables enables us to produce high surface area of micro and mesoporous activated carbon

The importance of the agricultural sector to the Malaysian economy: analyses of inter-industry linkages

This paper assesses the importance of the agricultural sector to the economic growth in Malaysia. A hypothetical extraction method was used to quantify the relative strength of backward and forward linkages of the agricultural sector. For empirical analyses, we ran an extended input-output table that takes into account detailed agricultural sub-sectors. Findings suggested that the agricultural sector contributes mainly through forward linkages, implying that the output of this sector is demanded larger by other sectors, in particular the manufacturing sector as their input. Large-scale oil palm (estate and smallholdings) should be highlighted for growth policies due to strong pull effects on the rest of the economic sector

Chlorella vulgaris modulates genes and muscle-specific microRNAs expression to promote myoblast differentiation in culture

Background. Loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function due to gradual decline in the regeneration of skeletal muscle fibers was observed with advancing age. This condition is known as sarcopenia. Myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs) are essential in muscle regeneration as its activation leads to the differentiation of myoblasts to myofibers. Chlorella vulgaris is a coccoid green eukaryotic microalga that contains highly nutritious substances and has been reported for its pharmaceutical effects. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of C. vulgaris on the regulation of MRFs and myomiRs expression in young and senescent myoblasts during differentiation in vitro. Methods. Human skeletal muscle myoblast (HSMM) cells were cultured and serial passaging was carried out to obtain young and senescent cells. The cells were then treated with C. vulgaris followed by differentiation induction. The expression of Pax7, MyoD1, Myf5, MEF2C, IGF1R, MYOG, TNNT1, PTEN, and MYH2 genes and miR-133b, miR- 206, and miR-486 was determined in untreated and C. vulgaris-treated myoblasts on Days 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 of differentiation. Results. The expression of Pax7, MyoD1, Myf5, MEF2C, IGF1R, MYOG, TNNT1, and PTEN in control senescent myoblasts was significantly decreased on Day 0 of differentiation (p<0.05). Treatment with C. vulgaris upregulated Pax7, Myf5, MEF2C, IGF1R, MYOG, and PTEN in senescent myoblasts (p<0.05) and upregulated Pax7 and MYOG in young myoblasts (p<0.05). The expression of MyoD1 and Myf5 in young myoblasts however was significantly decreased on Day 0 of differentiation (p< 0.05). During differentiation, the expression of these genes was increased with C. vulgaris treatment. Further analysis on myomiRs expression showed that miR-133b, miR-206, and miR-486 were significantly downregulated in senescent myoblasts on Day 0 of differentiation which was upregulated by C. vulgaris treatment (p<0.05). During differentiation, the expression of miR-133b and miR-206 was significantly increased with C. vulgaris treatment in both young and senescent myoblasts (p<0.05). However, no significant change was observed on the expression of miR-486 with C. vulgaris treatment. Conclusions. C. vulgaris demonstrated the modulatory effects on the expression of MRFs and myomiRs during proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts in culture. These findings may indicate the beneficial effect of C. vulgaris in muscle regeneration during ageing thus may prevent sarcopenia in the elderly

The effects of macroeconomics determinants and secured financing of Islamic Banks on personal insolvency: an empirical investigation on Malaysia

Recent statistics from the Malaysian Department of Insolvency (MDI), and reports from the Malaysian Credit Management Counseling Agency (CMCA) highlight the increasing number of bankrupt borrowers and borrowers registered under the Debt Management Programme (DMP) organized by AKPK. Rising indebtedness can unfavorably influence economic monetary development as it successfully evacuates people from participating or contributing to the economy. Hence, this research is to investigate the issues of personal insolvency in Malaysia and to analyze several macroeconomic determinants, banking variables and Islamic secured financing that affects personal insolvency. The study attempts to inaugurate a long-run cointegration relationship between personal insolvency and independent variables by employing the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach and the Vector Autoregression (VAR) model. Based on quarterly data covering the period 2007Q1 to 2016Q4, this study documents evidence of a long-run dynamics with strong bidirectional causality between the house price index and personal insolvency in Malaysia. Accordingly, policies leading to a more efficient housing market while reducing the demand and supply gap affecting house prices will reduce insolvency in Malaysia

The effects of macroeconomic determinants and secured financing of Islamic banks and personal insolvency: an empirical investigation on Malaysia

Recent statistics from the Malaysian Department of Insolvency (MDI), and reports from the Malaysian Credit Management Counseling Agency (CMCA) highlight the increasing number of bankrupt borrowers and borrowers registered under the Debt Management Programme (DMP) organized by AKPK. Rising indebtedness can unfavorably influence economic monetary development as it successfully evacuates people from participating or contributing to the economy. Hence, this research is to investigate the issues of personal insolvency in Malaysia and to analyze several macroeconomic determinants, banking variables and Islamic secured financing that affects personal insolvency. The study attempts to inaugurate a long-run cointegration relationship between personal insolvency and independent variables by employing the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach and the Vector Autoregression (VAR) model. Based on quarterly data covering the period 2007Q1 to 2016Q4, this study documents evidence of a long-run dynamics with strong bidirectional causality between the house price index and personal insolvency in Malaysia. Accordingly, policies leading to a more efficient housing market while reducing the demand and supply gap affecting house prices will reduce insolvency in Malaysia