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Rhizophora spp. (R. spp.) particleboard phantoms based on defatted soy flour and soy protein concentrate were fabricated using itaconic acid polyamidoamine-epichlorohydrin (IA-PAE) at different concentrations with the incorporation of NaOH. The results showed that the mass attenuation coefficients and effective atomic numbers of the particleboard phantoms at 16.59–25.26 keV photon energies were in good agreement within 0.88% and 0.01% of the XCOM values in water with p-values of 0.072 and 0.075. In addition, DSF-SPC-R. spp. phantom with 15 wt% IA-PAE content shows the nearest CT numbers, electron density, and density profiles to water substitutes at three CT energies. These results indicate the suitability of cured DSF-SPC-R. spp. particleboards as phantom materials for the selected X-ray energies.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of corn starch-bonded Rhizophora spp. particleboards as phantom for SPECT/CT including the image contrast, source dimension ratio and recovery coefficient values. Phantom set made of the Rhizophora spp. particleboards was constructed according to the Jaszczak phantom commonly used in SPECT/CT with external dimension of 22 and 18 cm diameter and length respectively. Cylindrical vials with different diameter sizes filled with 99mTc unsealed source were inserted in drilled holes of the constructed particleboards phantom. The particleboards phantom was scanned by using SPECT/CT scanning mode and the SPECT images were reconstructed using clinical protocol. The results showed that the contrast value, source dimension ratio and recovery coefficient of Rhizophora spp. particleboards in good agreement with Jaszczak phantom. The overall results showed an excellent agreement of performance between corn starch-bonded Rhizophora spp. particleboards to the Jaszczak (water) as standard phantom material. The overall results indicated that the corn starch-bonded Rhizophora spp. can be highly recommended to be used as tissue-equivalent phantom material for Quality Assurance and dosimetry works in SPECT/CT imaging.

Improvement of the robustness of hydrophobic surfaces is crucial to achieving commercial applications of these surfaces in such various areas as self-cleaning, water repellency and corrosion resistance. Compressed oil palm trunk (OPT) panel is one of potential product which can be used as panelling and indoor furniture application. By adding hydrophobic properties to compressed oil palm trunk panel might increase the application of compressed oil palm trunk especially for outdoor application. In this study, fabrication is using the sol-gel technique. Sol-gel was prepared by adding ethanol with Hexadecyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB) solution with Tetraethyl Orthosilicate (TEOS) with surface modification of chlorotrimethylsilane (CTMS). The surface with hydrophobic coating was undergone surface analysis with contact angle machine with the aid of software SCA 20 and the determined of the morphology of surface with scanning electron microscope (SEM). The produced compressed oil palm trunk surfaces exhibited promising hydrophobic properties with a contact angle of 104° and the relatively better mechanical robustness.

In the decade, oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) in Malaysia is one of the conventional sources that will be rising, and the rate of biomass will considerably increase in yet to come. Presently, oil palm biomass is going through research and development and appears to be the most sustainable alternative. Investigations on oil palm biomass have been conducted to support in draw out waste of oil palm and in the meantime can help economic yield to the country. This study was expected to estimate the effect of power intensity properties of microwave modified oil palm trunk lumber. Microwave treatment of oil palm trunk samples was set of connections by using a microwave operating at 2.45 GHz with the liberated process input power intensity (600-1000W) were studied under the given condition. Impact and compression of the samples were tested. The analysis of properties of the fresh material and dry samples was employed by scanning electron microscopy. Oven drying technique also was involved as a comparison of the conventional drying process in this research. Based on the outcomes of this study, both drying methods improved the characteristics of the specimens.

Particleboards made of Rhizophora spp. with addition of tannin adhesive were fabricated at target density of 1.0 g/cm3. The physical and mechanical properties of the particleboards including internal bond strength (IB) and modulus of rupture (MOR) were measured based on Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS A-5908). The characterisation of the particleboards including the effective atomic number, CT number and relative electron density were determined and compared to water. The mass attenuation coefficient of the particleboards were measured and compared to the calculated value of water using photon cross-section database (XCOM). The results showed that the physical and mechanical properties of the particleboards complied with Type 13 and 18 of JIS A-5908. The values of effective atomic number, CT number and relative electron density were also close to the value of water. The value of mass attenuation coefficients of the particleboards showed good agreement with water (XCOM) at low and high energy photon indicated by the χ2 values.