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Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) was prepared from the bleached kraft hardwood pulp using TEMPO/NaClO/NaBr oxidation system and high pressure homogenization. By changing dosages of the TEMPO, NaClO and NaBr, the pressure and times of homogenization, pretreatment and homogenization process were optimized. Experimental investigation indicated that for making MFC of high quality, 0.25%TEMPO, 2.5%NaBr, 60%NaClO (based on oven dry pulp), 20 times of homogenization, pressure of 60MPa in the process of treatment were required. At last, the mechanical and barrier properties were tested after the base paper was coated by homemade MFC. The study suggested that mechanical properties (especially 5 times increase of the folding strength) increased substantially and air permeability decreased by 100times.

The influence of coating layer structure on both physical and printing quality of the paper was studied. Different coating layers were obtained by changing the ratio of polyvinyl alcohol adhesives and silicon dioxide pigments in the coating formula. Then the structure, physical properties and ink-jet printing performance of the coated paper were measured. The influences of coating structure on physical properties and ink-jet printing performance were evaluated. The results showed that as the ratio of adhesive increased, the coating porosity decreased; the average pore diameter increased at first and then decreased, but in general tended to decrease; the initial drop contact angle increased, which testified the stronger hydrophobicity of the coated surface with higher adhesive ratio. The average pore diameter has a negative linear correlation with paper roughness while has a positive linear correlation with air permeability. The larger the average pore diameter, the greater the density values, as well as the better tone reproduction and the larger color gamut range. Average pore diameter also has a weak correlation with dot area and dot roundness.

The waste corrugated paper was grinded to paper pulp first, and then the paper pulp was used to prepare the foamed waste paper pulp/high density polyethylene（HDPE）composites by compression molding with HDPE. The Rosand double-barrel capillary rhepmeter was used to research the influences of the blowing agent AC(Azodicarbonamide) content，waste paper pulp content，temperature and different blowing agent on the melt of the composites. Scanning electron microscopy（SEM）was also used to observe the effects of different contents of AC and waste paper pulp on the cell morphologies.The results showed that: when the shear rate up to 600 S-1，the melt performs of the foamed waste paper pulp/ HDPE composites were pseudoplastic flow, and turn up wall slip phenomenon. The viscosity of melt was significantly reduced with the content of AC increased, but it increased with the content of the waste paper pulp increased. When the shear rate reduced to 275 S-1 or below, the viscosity of melt reduced as the temperature riased; while when the shear rate went up to 275 S-1 or high, the viscosity of melt increased as the temperature riased. When the shear rate reduced to 325 S-1 or below, the melt of endothermic blowing agent （NaHCO3）showed the highest viscosity; when the shear rate went up to 325 S-1 or high, the melt of exothermic blowing agent AC shows the highest viscosity. The number of cell increased and size of cell became smaller with the AC content increased , but the number of cell reduced and the size of cell became larger with the content of waste paper pulp increased observing by SEM.

This paper draws on a roll coating method which used for the production of coated paper. Polylactide coating cardboard was prepared through the solvent coating, and study its packaging performance. In this study, chloroform is based solvent, ethanol or n-propanol as auxiliary solvents, poly (ethylene glycol) or poly caprolactone as plasticizer, and the water vapor permeability, oxygen permeability and heat sealability of polylactic acid coated cardboard.

It is usually reported that chitosan is used as paper strengthening agent. However, it is sorry that the study choosing chitosan which DD (degree of de-acetyl )and viscosity is filtered by experiments is blank. Many chitosan samples of wide viscosity range and wide DD range were tested by their strengthening effect on bleched wheat straw pulp. Then a few sample of chitosan is selected because of their obvious strengthening effect on pulp. This study could be as the foundation of further research of chitosan used as paper strengthening agent.

Biocomposites sheets were prepared by compression molding from mixtures of corn starch plasticized by glycerol as matrix and cellulose fibers, extracted from used office paper, as reinforcement filler with contents ranging from 0 to 8% wt/wt of fibers to matrix. Properties of composites were determined by mechanical tensile test, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, water absorption measurement, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that higher fibers content raised the tensile strength and elastic modulus up to 109% and 112%, respectively, when compared to the non-reinforced thermoplastic starch (TPS). The addition of the fibers improved the thermal resistance and decreased the water absorption up to 63.6%. Scanning electron microscopy illustrated a good adhesion between matrix and fibers.

The novel flexible pressure sensor with skin-like stretchability and sensibility has attracted tremendous attention in academic and industrial world in recent years. And it also has demonstrated great potential in the applications of electronic skin and wearable devices. It is significant and challenging to develop a highly sensitive flexible pressure sensor with a simple, low energy consuming and low cost method. In this paper, the silver nanowires (AgNWs) as electrode material were synthesized by polyol process. The polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was chosen as a flexible substrate and polyimide (PI) film as dielectric layer. The AgNWs based electrode was prepared in two methods. One is coating the AgNWs on photographic paper followed by in situ PDMS curing. Another one is suction filtration of the AgNWs suspension followed by glass slide transfer and PDMS curing. Then the capacitive pressure sensor was packaged in a sandwich structure with two face to face electrodes and a PI film in the middle. The sensitivity of the sensor as well as the micro-structure of the electrodes was compared and studied. The results indicate that the roughness of the electrode based on AgNWs/PDMS micro-structure plays an important role in the sensitivity of sensor. The as-prepared flexible pressure sensor demonstrates high sensitivity of 0.65kPa-1. In addition, the fabrication method is simple, low energy consuming and low cost, which has great potential in the detection of pulse, heart rate, sound vibration and other tiny pressure.

Magnetic stripe cards and magnetic recording paper are commonly used in credit cards, identity cards, and transportation tickets. Barium ferrite was used to prepare magnetic inks and the magnetic ink was coated onto the paper substrate to obtain the magnetic papers. The crystal structure of barium ferrite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the magnetic property of barium ferrite was tested by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) The performance of the magnetic recording paper and the surface morphology of the coating magnetic layer were also characterized. The results show that the magnetic ink based on barium ferrite with the formula of 41wt% of the barium ferrite powder, 14wt% of polyurethane, 36wt% of solvent and 9wt% of PVP has good printing characteristics and the magnetic recording papers have good performance.

In order to investigate the influence of coating layer characteristics on the dynamic permeability and printing of ink-jet paper, coating was prepared by the precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) and white latex used as bottom coating (recipe label:A,B),and coating formula was made by silica (SiO2) and polyvinyl alcohol used as surface coating (recipe label:a,b,c).Then paper were coated respectively on single bottom, single surface and multilayer. Then the dynamic permeability and printing of ink-jet paper were analyzed systematically. The results showed that whether single layer or multilayer, the values of Ct, Ci were minimum when the ration of pigment and adhesive was 70:30, because the hole diameter of the coating layer was smallest, and the absorption was strongest, so the dynamic permeability was best, and the ability of ink absorption was best, color density and tone reproducibility were best. It concluded that when the proportion of SiO2 and PVA was 70:30, the dynamic permeability and printing ability of ink-jet paper were relative better.

The bonding mechanism between water-based UV curable ink and active groups on paper’s fiber during curing process was studied in this paper. Low viscosity water-based UV-cured resin was synthesized by epoxy resins, epoxy diluent, acrylic acid and maleic anhydride in the presence of catalyst. The viscosity of the synthesis system and synthetic products were significantly reduced when epoxy diluent was added to replace parts of the epoxy resin. Epoxy diluent was very useful in reducing the viscosity of the product, but over-dose would have negative effects on the quality of the cured film. The water-based epoxy acrylate prepolymer was used as the substitution for the ink to investigate the binding mechanism between the active groups of prepolymer and fiber under UV irradiation. The prepolymer and photoinitiator were mixed and the mixture was diluted to an appropriate viscosity by a small amount of water, then printed on the paper by the method of analog printing and curred by UV curing machine. The printed paper was used to extract lignin by enzymatic/mild acidolysis. FT-IR was used to characterize the changes of the active groups in lignin. The results showed that the changes of active groups in lignin were founded in the existence of ultraviolet and photoinitiator, which consistent with the change of double bonds in prepolymer. The free radicals produced by photoinitiator in curing process not only promoted the double bonds to polymerize, but also accelerated the active groups of lignin binding. Experiments show that chemical bonds exist between them.

The composite SiOx/polymer films are deposited as a top-coatings onto the paper substrates by radio frequency (RF) reactive magnetron co-sputtered two targets, silica and dicyclopentadiene dioxide cured with maleic anhydride (DCPD/MA).The samples prepared by changing PSiO2/PDCPD/MA, the ratio of RF powers density delivered to the individual target from 0.1 to 10 so as to prepare different SiOxcontent coatings. The wettability, mechanical properties, color reproduction printability, chemical characterization of the coatings are discussed in this paper, using contact angle measurements, electronic tensile testing machine, off-set printing test and FTIR. The static contact angle of water ranges from 129.7 to 90.7 o and tensile performance has improved significantly as the ratio of RF powers density change from 0.1 to 10. The ink density and depth of color during off-set printing are visually improved by using papers with hydrophobic surfaces coated composite films.

A novel method of direct aniline multi-interfacial polymerization on paper substrate is introduced in this paper. Cellulose base papers with and without PAE reinforced were discussed. The PANI-paper composites after more than 3 polymerizations had much lower surface resistivity. Their mechanical strength and thermal stability were analyzed by tensile test and GTA. FTIR results explained that there was strong interaction between NH groups in aniline monomers and OH groups in fibers. Conductive composites made with PAE treated paper had both good thermal stability and good mechanical strength with high conductivity.

The X-ray diffraction of hydrated calcium silicate is analyzed and is applied in papermaking. It shows that hydrated calcium silicate have certain crystalline state. The tensile strength, tearing strength and folding strength of paper decrease in different degree with the increase of dosage of hydrated calcium silicate while the whiteness and the printing color density of paper improve. T tensile strength and folding strength of paper decrease in varying degrees with the increase of dosage of PAM while the tearing strength of paper and the whiteness improve. And the printing color density of paper is the same.

In order to improve the physical and color laser printing properties of paper, the polyvinyl alcohol and silica were used for pigmental surface sizing of paper. Under the previous conditions of solid content 12% and 14%, the effects of different ratio of PVA and silica such as 100:0, 15:1, 10:1, 5:1, and 1:1 on the physical properties of paper and laser printing performance were investigated. The brightness, opacity, roughness, color density, gray scale and image definition were measured after the surface sizing paper was calendared under the condition of temperature 70°C and pressure 4MPa. When the solid content was 12%, PVA: SiO2 was 1:1 and the solid content was 14%, PVA:SiO2 was 10:1, the brightness and opacity of paper obtained the maximum values. With the increase of silica proportion roughness increased at first and then decreased. Color density and tone reproducibility of paper was significantly improved by the pigmental sizing treatment as well as the dots and lines definition. The reasonable pigmental sizing scheme was as follow: solid content was 12%, PVA:SiO2 was 1:1, sizing temperature was 60°C, calendar temperature was 70°C and calendar pressure was 4MPa.

Mica paper is made as one kind of insulation material, but low strength limits its applications. Surface modification is proved to be an effective way to enhance its strength. In this paper modifier like ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid, cationic polyacrylamide, cationic starch, ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid plus cationic polyacrylamide and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid plus cationic starch are introduced to improve strengths of mica paper. Finally ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid plus cationic starch is chosen as modifier of mica flakes. After modification mica paper can reach high tensile strength of 19.84N/cm, which is more than six times high than mica paper without any modification.

As a high technique environmental friendly material, Wood-plastic composite (WPC) material has wide range of applications and is extruded by recycled wood fiber products and wasted LDPE. Waste Paper-Al-Plastic materials including Tetrapak beverage and milk boxes are used to extrude the WPC as thermal insulation exterior wallboard instead of normal wood fiber material in the present research. In this paper, simulated thermal insulation and Oxygen index combustion test were operated at the Lab conditions. Some experimental results are presented as follow: heat transfer coefficient of 100mm thick WPC hollow wall is 0.922 W/m2•K, which is equivalent to the thermal insulation performance of a 0.35m thick fly ash aerated concrete block. Oxygen index of 27 indicates that WPC is inflammable material. Zinc borate (ZB) and ammonium polyphosphate (APP) are effective flame retardant for Paper-Al-Plastic WPC.

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of beating process to the characteristics of pulp and paper produced from oil palm oil male flower spikes (OPMFS). OPMFS pulp was prepared according to chemical Soda-AQ pulping process. 60 gsm handsheet of oil palm male flower spikes paper were prepared from OPMFS pulp with four different beating times which are 0 revolution, 1000 revolutions, 2000 revolutions and 3000 revolutions. All physical and mechanical characteristics were investigated according to TAPPI and MS ISO standards. The results show that overall physical and mechanical characteristics of POMFS paper were influenced and enhanced by beating process between 0 until 3000 revolutions. This research demonstrate some potential characteristics of palm oil male flower spikes (OPMFS) paper to be investigated as a newly explored non-wood based raw material for papermaking raw material for papermaking.

This study was carried out to investigate the characteristics of pulp and paper produced from oil palm oil male flower spikes (OPMFS). The evaluation of the pulping process was studied based on the chemical Soda Anthraquinone pulping process. 60 gsm papersheet of oil palm male flower spikes were prepared from unbeaten and unbleached OPMFS Soda-AQ pulp. All optical, physical and mechanical characteristics were investigated according to TAPPI and MS ISO standards. OPMFS pulp recorded value of 6.42 s, 353 ml, 76.5 %, 36.7 % and 9.35 for drainage time, freeness, moisture content, screened yield percentage and Kappa number respectively. OPMFS paper sheet recorded value of 56.99 g/m2, 131.11 µm and 0.43 g/m3for grammage, bulking thickness and apparent bulk density respectively. Unbleached OPMFS paper also recorded 26.49 % and 43.50 % for brightness and opacity. For mechanical characteristics, OPMFS paper recorded 39.10 N.m/g, 8.32 mN.m2/g, 3.15 kPa.m2/g and 38.50 for tensile index, tear index, burst index and folding endurance (no.) respectively. This research demonstrate some potential characteristics of oil palm male flower spikes (OPMFS) paper to be investigated as a newly explored non-wood based raw material for papermaking.

Biomass-derived materials such as kenaf pulp and wood chips are a perfect candidate to produce magnetic paper. Furthermore, by using biomass waste, such as paddy straw, sugarcane, bagasse and durian shell, the cost of producing magnetic paper can be further reduced while giving added value to the waste. This paper investigates the potential of producing magnetic sheet from durian shell. Initially, durian shells were dried before undergoing the pulping process. The resulted sheet was then combined with magnetic particles, the nano magnetite using either lumen loading or in-situ co-precipitation to produce a magnetic composite sheet. After being loaded with magnetic particles, the composite sheets were tested in terms of the homogeneity of the magnetic particles in the samples, degree of loading of the magnetic particles and the magnetic properties of the samples. Results obtained show a great success in producing the magnetic sheet from durian shell waste and nano magnetite particles. It was also found that the lumen loading method gives better magnetic properties compared to the in-situ co-precipitation method.

The layer-by-layer deposition technique was adopted in this paper to improve the physical strength properties of alkaline peroxide mechanical pulp (APMP). The cationic starch (CS), anionic polyacryamide (APAM) and cationic polyacryamide (CPAM) were chosen and used to build-up polyelectrolyte multilayers on surface of APMP fibers. The improvements of physical strength of pulp through adsorption of different polyelectrolyte onto fibers were discussed and compared. The results showed that when the APMP fibers were treated with CPAM, the breaking length and burst index were 53% and 83% respectively, higher than that of untreated pulp. The optimal treatment conditions are 60 mgCPAM/g pulp, 1.5% pulp concentration and 9min treatment time. The pulp deposited by CPAM-APAM polyelectrolyte multilayer gave a highest physical strength compared with pulp with other multilayer deposition such as CS-APAM. At the whole beating degree range investigated in this paper, the CPAM-APAM deposition on fiber surface can improve the physical strength properties significantly, especially when the beating degree is at 40oSR. In addition, the improvement of physical strength can be remained even after pulp refining.

Binder is the essential component of coating color recipe. The amount and type of latex binder has a significant effect on both the structure and chemical-physical properties of coated paper, which affect critical surface properties, e.g., print gloss, roughness, ink setting rate via liquid absorption, and print mottle The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of coating solid on the binder distribution in the method of numerical analysis by Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope (LSCM). In this study, Rhodamine B was used to stain the binder and as the probe to characterize z-directional distribution of the binder using LSCM. The results implied that it was reliable and effective method using LSCM to characterize the z-directional distribution of binder and analyze the influence of coating solid on binder distribution in the z-direction. It could be concluded that the coating solid played an important effect on binder distribution in coated paper and low coating solid with more water accelerated binder migration to the interior of base paper, sample with 60% coating solid is good to binder distribution and coating layer forming.

Graphene is a material that has been heavily investigated in many researches due to its beneficial characteristics such as large surface area, low manufacturing cost, high electro conductivity and incredible mechanical strength. Applying the graphene in water-based solvents however can cause agglomeration due to its hydrophobic properties. Researchers have composited the graphene with other materials in overcoming its hydrophobicity. In this research, graphene was nanocomposited with thionine to make it disperse well in water-based solvents while preserving its intrinsic properties. The nanocomposition process involves mixing of both graphene oxide with thionine and were reduced by hydrazine hydrate while reflux heating. The produced mixture was then filtered to obtain the Thionine-Graphene nanocomposite. The obtained sample was then characterized to confirm the composition of both graphene and thionine. Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy was operated to investigate the chemical bonds and hence concluding the presence of both graphene and thionine in the sample. The preservation of the intrinsic properties of graphene was also investigated through observing the absence of functionalized graphene bonds. Post-investigation reports that the chemical bonds from both of the materials, graphene and thionine were detected confirming the successfulness of the nanocomposition.

In this present work, the impact of blending n-butyl alcohol, a next generation biofuel with jatropha biodiesel on the performance of a diesel engine are examined. Tests were performed on a constant speed compression ignition engine using n-butyl alcohol / jatropha biodiesel blends. N-butyl alcohol was added to jatropha biodiesel by 10, 20 and 30% by volume. Performance parameters namely break thermal efficiency (BTE), Brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and Exhaust gas temperature (EGT) were analyzed in this work. It was experimentally found that by adding n-butyl alcohol to neat jatropha biodiesel, significant reduction in viscosity was observed. In addition, break thermal efficiency was increased by 0.8 % due to improved atomization of the blends. Further, brake specific fuel and exhaust gas temperature was further reduced due to lower viscosity and improved combustion rate with addition of n-butyl alcohol to jatropha biodiesel.

A blend of natural rubber (NR) and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) was tested against conventional rubber products sold in department stores and markets, using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to measure the amount of natural or synthetic rubber in the product. 1H-NMR spectroscopy was employed for the rubber blend and 13C-NMR spectroscopy for conventional products. The chemical shift of all the samples from the structure of natural rubber (cis-1,4 polyisoprene) was observed.

The waste from the kenaf water retting; kenaf core can be used to create by-product. The characteristics of the kenaf are important to create new by-product. Cellulosic materials can be obtained from fibrous plants which known as cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, waxes, and several water-soluble compounds. Kenaf was categorized as one of the fibrous family plants. Hence, its cellulosic materials need to be determined before extraction process. This research was conducted to determine the cellulosic materials concentration in kenaf core using Thermal Gravimetry Analyzer (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). As result, the percentage of degradation and decomposition of cellulosic materials were recorded and analyzed as reported in this paper.

Renewable energy is rapidly gaining importance as an energy resource to help aid the national energy depletion crisis of fossil fuel and coal. One of the most potential renewable energy sources in Malaysia is hydropower followed by solar energy. This paper presents the fabrication of Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) using organic dyes from dragon fruit and chlorophyll which is extracted from spinach. The fabrication of DSSC uses the Dr.blade method. Result shows that the efficiency by using dragon fruit as sensitizer at 40µm TiO2 Thickness is 6.45%, better than the usage of chlorophyll dye which is 4.23% at the same thickness. Result also shows that at 80µm by using the dyes from chlorophyll extract has higher solar cell efficiency compare to dragon fruit. This shows that both the chlorophyll extract and dragon fruit shows potential in the development of a feasible working organic dye.

Surface preparation is a process of treating a surface to increase its attraction to coatings and imperative to ensure satisfactory coating can be attained. Conventional techniques of surface preparation usually involve blasting of abrasive material on the surface which usually associated with airborne debris and hazardous contaminant from the process. A relatively new technology in surface preparation is the usage of sponge media as an alternative to the conventional abrasive material. Being soft and elastic, sponge media can reduce airborne emission from surface preparation significantly while being able to be recycled. Unfortunately, the recovery of used sponge media becomes difficult during rainy conditions in which the sponge absorbs water and quickly becomes saturated. Therefore, this paper presents the drying characteristics of sponge media using a swirling fluidized bed dryer (SFBD) for rapid drying to overcome the long, inefficient sun drying as per current practice. Several laboratory scale experiments were carried out to dry water laden of the sponge media in the SFBD. Three bed loadings of 1.7, 2.0 and 2.3 kg were used at drying temperatures of 80°C, 90°C and 100°C. The experimental works revealed the excellent potential of the SFBD in drying the sponge media rapidly. The behaviour of moisture ratio and drying rate against time were discussed. Keywords: Sponge media drying, Swirling Fluidized Bed Dryer (SFBD), Moisture ratio, Drying rate

In this paper, the effect of sodium hexametaphosphate on the hematite was studied and the mechanism was analyzed. The results indicated that under the condition of the optimal grinding medium, compared with the result without sodium hexametaphosphate added, with citric acid added at the mass of 0.30% of the hematite, the content of-0.074mm of grinding production was increased by 6.38%; physical adsorption and chemical adsorption which were on the surface of hematite produced by sodium hexametaphosphate can reduce viscosity of grinding pulp, change surface potential of the hematite, and reduce the hardness on the surface of the hematite. Therefore citric acid can improve the grinding efficiency of the hematite.

In this paper, the effect of citric acid on the hematite was studied and the mechanism was analyzed. The results indicated that under the condition of the optimal grinding medium, compared with the result without citric acid added, with citric acid added at the mass of 0.10% of the hematite, the content of-0.074mm of grinding production was increased by 7.11%; physical adsorption and chemical adsorption which were on the surface of hematite produced by citric acid can reduce viscosity of grinding pulp, change surface potential of the hematite, and reduce the hardness on the surface of the hematite. Therefore citric acid can improve the grinding efficiency of the hematite.

Dual-frequency ultrasonic assisted ozonation was proposed to degrade pesticide wastewater. The frequencies of ultrasound were 28 kHz and low-MHz (208 kHz, 495 kHz, 679 kHz and 890 kHz). The influence of ultrasound frequency was investigated in this paper. The electrical conductivity of deionized water was measured under different conditions, and degradation rate of acephate solution was used to verify degradation effect of the treatment. The results implied that the 208 kHz system was suitable for ozone dissolving and 495 kHz system was suitable for acephate degradation.

In this paper, under the premise of maximum temperature not more than 200 °C, the diethanolamine pulping process of pinus kesiya was optimized. AQ was used as the additive for pulping. Under the optimum pulping condition, the pulp properties were as follows: screened pulp yield 61.9%, viscosity 1306mL•g-1 and kappa number 24.3. The handsheets physical properties were as follows: tensile index 77.6N•m•g-1, bursting index 6.40kPa•m2•g-1, tearing index 10.63mN•m2•g-1

The migration behavior of UV ink photoinitiators from the substance of the food packaging to the food is simulated by photoinitiator spectrometry analysis. The different food simulants 10% ethanol, 95% ethanol and 97% isooctane migration behavior of the photoinitiators 1-Hydroxycyclohexyl phenyl ketone (184) are simulated on the polyethylene (PE) coated paper 4018,4025 and 4918 PE coated layer at different temperatures of 30°C, 45°C and 60°C. The qualitative and quantitative analysis is done using infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet spectrophotometry. It is discussed that the effect of the temperature, swelling, PE lamination layer thickness as well as the paper thickness of pollutants by the different thickness of the polymer coating on the migration to food simulants.

Chitosan solution was applied to coated ivory board as a barrier material, and the surface microstructure, oxygen resistance and water vapor permeability of chitosan-coated paper under different coating weight were studied. According to the images of scanning electron microscope(SEM) and Atomic force microscope(AFM), the coated ivory board surface has a smooth contour without pores and cracks after coating with chitosan. Increasing in coating hold-out of chitosan, the smoothness and the oxygen barrier properties of coated paper were improved considerably, but no improvement on water vapor resistance. An Oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of 119.0 cm3/m2•24h•0.1MPa was obtained when the coating weight of chitosan was 3.96 g/m2. Single-layer and double-layer techniques were used to coat coated ivory paper with chitosan; it was found that the OTR of paper, obtaining by double-layer coating technique, was lower than that of single-layer paper at similar coating weight. For the purpose of reducing water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of chitosan-coated paper, Poly(vinyldene chloride)(PVDC) was applied on the chitosan-coated paper. Water vapor and oxygen barrier properties were enhanced as the coating weight of PVDC increased from 1.05 g/m2to 7.40 g/m2. While the chitosan and PVDC was coated on coated ivory paper through bi-layer technique for 1.96 g/m2and 7.40g/m2, respectively, the WVTR and OTR of paper decreased by 66.3% and 98.0% separately, compared to that of the chitosan-coated paper for 1.96g/m2.

Every year, the sago processing industry in Sarawak-Mukah had generated huge amount of sago waste after the milling process and scientists have employ the waste into composite material. The fabrication and testing method are based on the Japanese A5908 Industrial Standard. Single-layer particleboards with targeted density of 600kg/m3 were produced from different sizes of sago particles. The mechanical properties of sago waste were investigated to study the feasibility of using this sample as a raw material in particleboard manufacturing. The results of the test demonstrate that samples with different sizes of particles have great influence on the mechanical properties such as Young’s Modulus, Tensile Strength and Impact Strength. The findings show that the performance of the board is affected by the different sizes of sago particles used in the experiment and had proved that sago plants can be used as an alternative raw material in the particleboard manufacturing industry.

The extended uses of mineral oil based lubricant have continuously troubling the global environment issues. The remaining mineral oil resources also being the most debated issues in renewable energy conferences. Vegetable oils are still offering the highest possibility in replacing the mineral oil resources. This research is concerning on how to eliminate one of the disabilities found in palm oil based lubricant which is oxidation. Palm oil possessed unsaturated double bond in which susceptible to oxidation process. The simplest approach is to blend the palm oil based with anti – oxidant agent homogenously. This research was conducted using double fractionated palm oil (SPL) as lubricant and Tertiary-Butyl-Hydroquinone (TBHQ) as anti – oxidant agent to determine the tribology behavior including the coefficient of friction, wear scar diameter and the surface roughness profile. The experiment was also conducted using four-ball tribotester by following ASTM D4172B standard. Superior Mineral Engine Oil (EO) was used as comparison. The results found that SPL+TBHQ was able to reduce the coefficient of friction and provided lower surface roughness value. However it was unable to minimize the mean wear scar diameter compared to EO. The physical appearances of wear worn are also being observed in this research.

This paper studies the properties of the blends composed of DCLR (direct coal liquefaction residue) and asphalt using two different processing methods, compares the regulation that the DCLR additive content and processing method take influence on the high-temperature properties, low-temperature properties and durability of the blends. It is found that the DCLR can improve the high-temperature properties of asphalt but degrade its low-temperature properties. The properties of blends composed of DCLR, asphalt and furfural extract oil are tested and analyzed by adding a certain amount of furfural extract oil into it, which shows that adding DCLR can improve the high-temperature properties of asphalt and reduce its low-temperature properties but can hardly cause any impact on the properties of the blends. In addition, the processing method has a direct influence on the properties of blends.

Graphene sheets offer extraordinary thermal, electronic and mechanical properties which could enhance the performance of the device for various applications. However, a large quantity production and the direct dispersion of graphene or graphite sheets in water without the assistance of dispersing agent has been considered to be a challenging issue. In this study, we reported that by introducing the functional group on the graphene basal plane started from natural graphite can readily form stable graphene oxide (GO) solution in a large quantity through modified hummers method. Structural and physiochemical properties of the GO were investigated with help of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The effects of the annealing treatment on a GO surface were analyzed using a Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer (SPA) in order to obtain the electrical resistance measurement. Based on the thermal reduction results, the resistance of drop casting is greater than spray coating which indicates that, the drop casting method is more reliable to be used in any application.

We study the heating energy of briquettes from cashew nut shell (CNS), cultivated in south Thailand. CNS briquettes (CNSB) were produced by mixing CNS powder with the cassava starch ratio 5:1w/w. A chemical component analysis of the CNSB was performed, and the heat utilization efficiency was compared with firewood charcoal. CNSB were found to have a fixed carbon content of 49.2%, ash content of 4.2% (750°C°C at 6 hours), and moisture content of 6.6% (105°C for 24 hours). It was observed that CNSB consists of energy consumption at 0.440-0.456 KW/kg and high compressive strength of 60.2 kg/cm2.The value of heat utilization efficiency obtained inside the fuel briquette of 18.01%, attributed to the burn rate average at 11.90 g/min. CNSB could be used to replace firewood and reduce cost for heating manufacturing processes.

TheProduction of biofuel from biomass sources is believed to reduce the reliance of fossil fuel and its cost. This investigation was aimed to produce and characterize the bio-oil obtained from co-pyrolysis. Two different feed stocks were used for co-pyrolysis; one is Mahua seed (MS) and the other one is Polystyrene (PS). The effect in addition of plastic to biomass in pyrolysis process were investigated on the yield and quality of products. Experiments were conducted in a semi-batch pyrolysis reactor under various parameters of temperature, heating rate and blending ratio. The results indicated that a temperature of 525 °C, and blend ratio of 1:1is maximumwith a heating rate of 20 °C/min. The yield of bio-oil obtained from the co-pyrolysis was found to be approximately 71%, which was higher about 22% than that of yield obtained from pyrolysis of Mahua seed (MS) alone. Further the bio-oil was characterized using different spectroscopic and chromatographic analyses. The analysis of the results for characterization of bio-oil indicated that the synergetic effect increased the bio-oil yield and its quality.

Cashew nut shell oil (CNSO) is potential alternative fuel for diesel engine. Its drawback is incomplete combustion and low brake thermal efficiency (BTE) due to high viscosity. To overcome this problem the CNSO was blended with diethyl ether (DEE) which is less viscous and burns easily. The influence of blends on CO, NOx and smoke emission is investigated by emission tests. The fuel containing 20% CNSO and 80% diesel fuel (B20), 95% B20 and 5% DEE by volume (B20D5), 90% B20 and 10%DEE by volume (B20D10) 85% and B20 and 15% DEE by volume (B20D15) are tested. Initially the experiment was conducted with different blends of CNSO-diesel blends like 10%, 20%, & 30% by volume basis in a diesel engine.The aim for the research of alternative fuel is to replace the sufficient amount of diesel fuel without affecting the existing engine performances. Increasing CNSO diesel blends performances reduces marginally. B10 shows more closer performances to diesel fuel, but replacement of 10% only diesel is not much. Using B30 and higher blends gives poor result. Hence it was decided to be B20. In the second stage B20 as a base fuel and it is blended with DEE 5%, 10% & 15% by volume basis at different load conditions. The result shows that B20D15 has BTE 26.50% which is very close to the base diesel fuel. The B20D15 emits 1200 PPM of NOx while diesel emits 1195 PPM but B20 emits 1450 PPM of Nox. Carbon monoxide (CO) emission also reduces for different blends of DEE. The smoke emission is 3.96, 3.38, 3.15 FSN of B20, B20 D15 and diesel respectively.

Cement-based solidification/stabilization (S/S) has been considered as an effective method to deal with hazardous wastes such as textile dyeing sludge. In this study, sludge from textile wastewater treatment plant was solidified by Portland cement and attapulgite at different mass ratios (sludge 0.1~0.8, cement 0.1~0.8, attapulgite 0.1~0.8), and the characteristics of the solidified blocks were evaluated. The maximum unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of 15.8 MPa was obtained at 28 d when the mass ratio of attapulgite, sludge and cement was 0.1:0.1:0.8, while in toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) test, relatively low concentrations of COD (100~150mg/L) in the leachate were found when the mass ratio was set to 0.3:0.1:0.6. Results of XRD and SEM/EDS indicated the existence of calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) in the solidified blocks. ANOVA results proved that the quadratic model could be utilized to characterize the relationship between COD of the leachate and the components in the mixture.

With the gradual increase of the global environmental awareness and environmentally friendly voice rising, the deal with the problem of plastic waste has become the focus of public opinion around the world has also become a hot topic of scientific research. This paper can be made of polystyrene as main raw material, adding starch and antibacterial agents containing silver nanoscale titanium dioxide, and by the synthesis of biodegradable packaging materials performance. The results showed that: 0.25mm sheet of polystyrene made of the thickness of the main raw material by injection molding process, and factors affecting the performance of the sheet, the better the performance of the film material process parameters. According to the definition of the GB/T1040-92 national standards of the People's Republic of China "plastic tensile properties of test methods and GB/T20197-2006 degradable plastics, classification, marking, and degradation of the performance requirements" and GB4789.3-94 "State Microbiological examination of coli form bacteria in the standard of food hygiene as determined by experimental methods for testing. The orthogonal experiment results show that the expandable polystyrene Dosage: 80%; starch dosage: 2%; toluene, acetone and put ratio: 3:2 .The mechanics of materials, degradation, and antimicrobial properties.

In this paper, the compound shellac fruit wax was prepared by SiO2 aerogel, shellac, sodium hydroxide, fungicide. The obtained fruit wax was used to preserve the mango in tropical area. The results show that the compound shellac fruit wax with 0.2% SiO2 aerogel can suppresses water loss, adjust the respiration, reduce the rot rate, thus extending the preservation time of mango.

A research on the application of calcium hydroxide as a binder for briquetting of durian peels has been performed. The main aim of the present research is to improve the structure of the briquette and to observe basic fuel properties of durian peels in the presence of calcium hydroxide. The carbonization of durian peels was carried out at 370 °C for one hour. Durian peels briquette was characterized by the proximate analysis, calorific value, compressive tests and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). The briquette was formed by the cyclindricalmould and hydraulic press.The comparison of the compressive strength between durian peels briquette with and without calcium hydroxide as a binder was in the range of 11.41 MPa to 17.38 Mpa. The calorific value of the durian peels briquettevaries from 4968 to 5883 cal/g. The calorific value results show that the durian peels briquette has strong potential to be applied as solid biofuel.

Disposal of alum sludge (AS) in such an economical and environmental friendly way is a major challenge that water treatment plants around the globe had to deal with. AS cannot be dumped into landfills as it contains heavy metals which are harmful to the environment. In this study, alum sludge is utilised as partial replacements (0, 5 and 10%) of natural granite coarse aggregate (by mass) to form a lightweight concrete. The water/cement ratio is 0.65. The water absorption of the alum sludge is 22.06%. The slump, density, compressive strength and split tensile strength of the lightweight alum sludge aggregate concrete (LASAC) reduce as the AS aggregate content increase. The density of the 10% AS aggregate concrete is 2185.3 kg/m3. The compressive strength reduced from 25.6 MPa to 16.7 MPa and 14.2 MPa at 0, 5 and 10% replacement of AS aggregate respectively. The 2.18 MPa tensile strength of the control concrete reduced to 1.53 MPa at 10% replacement of AS aggregate. But as for the flexural strength, it increases from 5.42 MPa for the control up to 5.55 MPa and 5.63 MPa for 5 and 10% replacement of AS aggregate respectively. Results show that strength of alum sludge lightweight aggregate concrete is better than lightweight crumb tyre aggregate concrete and is at par with oil palm coconut shell aggregate concrete.

Graphene oxide is prepared by modified Hummers method with the expanded graphite prepared from large flake graphite as raw material. The large tracts of graphene sheets prepared by ascorbic acid chemical reduction of graphite oxide are characterized by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. The electrochemical performances of graphene sheets are studied successively. The results show that large tracts of graphene sheets as an anode for lithium-ion batteries exhibits a high capacity of 1693 mAh·g-1 after initial discharge at a current density of 100 mA·g-1 and remains 426 mAh·g-1 after 100 cycles. The graphene sheets show good cycling stability even at high current density. The reversible specific capacities remains 218 mAh g-1 at the current densities of 1000 mA g-1 after 100 cycles.

The performance comparisons of engine fueled with butanol/gasoline and ethanol/gasoline blends were tested. It was indicated from the experimental results that, compared with pure gasoline, power and fuel economy of engine fueled with butanol/gasoline and ethanol/gasoline blends reduced slightly, while HC and CO emission reduced significantly, and NO emission increased. It can be concluded that, the performance of engine fueled with butanol/gasoline blends was better than ethanol/gasoline blends, and B20 was better than B30.

The actual problem of necessity of additional water processing for the consumer’s drinking purposes is considered. It is connected with water passing through the city pipes the condition of which is unsatisfactory, repeatedly become soiled by physical, chemical, and bacteriological components; it is also promoted by greater duration of stay of water in the water delivery system. The technique of modifying activated coals by fullerenes is presented. The technique of research of the initial and modified birch and coconut drawn up coals is developed by filtering. Permanganate demand, chromaticity, the content of ferrum in the initial and treated water is chosen as controllable parameters. Results of comparative laboratory researches of the initial and modified activated coal as a result of additional water processing are demonstrated. An original technique of regeneration of the used activated coals with application of sodium hypochlorite is developed. Bactericidal properties of the activated coal modified by fullerenes are confirmed. Dependences of duration of filter runs and efficiency of additional water treatment in filters with birch activated coal modified by fullerenes are obtained.

Porous graphene has been easily synthesized by hydrothermal treating reduced graphene oxide in alkaline solution, and the porous structure was confirmed by transmission electron microscope. When used as supercapacitor electrode, porous graphene holds a specific capacitance of 88 F g-1 at an ultra-high current density of 50 A g-1, an increase of about 83% compared with that for the pristine graphene sheets. The results demonstrate that porous graphene opens a new and short way for ion transportation. Furthermore our findings provide a novel strategy to fabricate porous graphene and the process is simple, low-cost and environmentally friendly.

Metalworking fluids (MWFs) are widely used in machining process to improve its performance and product quality. It acts as a coolant and lubricant to reduce heat between the contact of two surfaces. However, commercial MWFs used in the industry were usually from petroleum-based oil which is toxic to the environment, difficult to dispose and caused significant health. Therefore, it is essential to develop a bio-based MWFs to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks. This study was aimed to determine the effect of chemically modified crude jatropha oil (CJO) with trimethylolpropane (TMP) at different molar ratio on tribological characteristic. The produced TMP esters are compared with synthetic ester in terms of wear scar diameter, coefficient of friction and friction torque. From the result, it shows that modified jatropha oil was equivalent with synthetic ester and provided good lubrication and reduce friction and wear.