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Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) from bamboo is a natural biodegradable polymer that can be applied as barrier materials in the form of films. Bamboo contributes to 90% of the total mass of the dry weight comprised of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. In this study, Gigantochloaalbociliata (Buluh Madu) was chosen due to the fast-growing species, cheaper and abundance in Malaysia. This bamboo was undergone Kraft pulping process to get the pure cellulose and then continued with the acid hydrolysis process to produce microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). In this study, thin-film PLA/PBAT reinforced with microcrystalline cellulose derived from Gigantochloaalbociliata were produced. PLA is high in strength and ductility, but it is brittle while PBAT is elastic and strong. Therefore, PBAT is a great candidate for PLA hardness. The thin film was characterized with XRD, DSC and TGA to compare the thin film from microcrystalline cellulose derived from bamboo (B-MCC) with the commercial microcrystalline cellulose (C-MCC). The C-MCC was used as reference material. From the results, B-MCC has the same crystallinity index as C-MCC with a value of 51.3%. It can be concluded that B-MCC is can be one of the alternatives for the microcrystalline cellulose due to the abundance of bamboo as fast-growing species. Furthermore, it exists naturally, has low cost, is biodegradable, is a low-density compound, and fits best in the field of renewability.

The importance of mangrove forests in protecting shorelines and mangrove ecosystems is very crucial. Due to industrialization and monetary demands, mangrove forests are at risk of losing their function and integrity over time. The commitment and awareness of the community are critical factors in the success of the mangrove conservation in Tumpat. With a quantitative approach, we collected demographic information from 116 (male 58.6%, female 41.4%) respondents to evaluate their knowledge and perception of mangrove conservation efforts in Tumpat, Kelantan. This study revealed that respondents’ level of knowledge and perception is significantly influenced by gender, age, level of education, occupation, income, and locality of residency which was analyzed using the Chi-square test (p

The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects have always been the most challenging topics in education. One of the reasons is the dearth use of technology, especially for underprivileged students located in rural areas. Incorporating a drone in the STEM curriculum supports education that incorporates tangible experience such as observations, formation of concepts as well as creating imaginative and creative thinking. A drone@school initiative was introduced to foster the ICT technical and knowledge sharing among underprivileged students, hence exposing them to the recent technology in strengthening STEM education. The project has been carried out using an online platform by introducing the theoretical and application of drones in real-life practices. The responses from this project were very encouraging whereby utilizing drones as the medium, the level of understanding in STEM education had increased to 96.6%. Besides, the respondents’ interest in STEM subjects significantly increased from 53.4% to 89.8%. The findings from the pre-and post-surveys revealed that the drone-based STEM learning approach had a positive impact on rural students’ enthusiasm and excitement.

In recent times, awareness on plastic pollution had increase which brings innovation on new productions to be environmental friendly. Various polymers has been used to analyse the suitability to produce thin films. In this study, Poly lactic acid (PLA) and Polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) reinforced with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) were investigated. MCC were produced from selected bamboo for obtaining cellulose, then followed by an acidic hydrolysis process for the processing of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). In this study, the thin film are focusing on the barrier properties such as water absorption, solvent resistance and absorption test. From the results shows that, the lowest rate of water absorption rate is 1.9% by 1% B-MCC/PLA/PBAT, meanwhile, the highest rate of water absorption is 60.1% by 5% C-MCC/PLA/PBAT. The water absorption rate decrease gradually with the decreasing of amount of MCC in the samples. Lastly, the thin film samples can resist with oleic acid solvents as the condition of thin film samples is still remain but they were not resistance with xylene as the thin film samples were shrinked and degraded. This thin film have a potential to replace the non-biodegradable petrochemical polymer based on their properties such as food contact, availability and cost.