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Landfill leachate is a liquid generated due to rainwater percolation through the waste in a landfill or dumping site that may contain high levels of organic matter, both biodegradable and non-biodegradable, which are the major sources of water pollution. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH

When the inevitable generation of waste is considered as hazardous to health, damaging ecosystem to our environment, it is important to develop an innovative technologies to remediate pollutant sources for the safety and environmental protection. The development of adsorption technique for the reduction of extremely effective pollutants in this regard. Green mussel and zeolite mixing media were investigated for the reduction of the concentration of organic constituents (COD) and ammoniacal nitrogen from leachate. The leachate treatability was analyzed under various stages of treatment parameter, namely mixing ratio, shaking speed, contact time, and pH. Both adsorbent were sieve values in between 2.00-3.35 mm particle size. The optimum pH, shaking speed, contact time, and mixing ratio were determined. Leachate samples were collected from influent untreated detention pond at Simpang Renggam landfill site in Johor, Malaysia. The result of leachate characterization properties revealed that non-biodegradability leachate with higher concentrations of COD (1829 mg/L), ammoniacal nitrogen (406.68 mg/L) and biodegradability value (0.08) respectively. The optimal reduction condition of COD and ammoniacal nitrogen was obtained at 200 rpm shaken speed, 120 minute shaken time, optimum green mussel and zeolite mix ratio was 2.0:2.0, and pH 7. The isothermic study of adsorption shows that Langmuir is best suited for experimental results in terms of Freundlich model. The mixing media also provided promising results to treating leachate. This would be greatly applicable in conventionally minimizing zeolite use and thereby lowering the operating cost of leachate treatment.

The worldwide increasing amount of municipal solid waste causes a major problem in managing waste as well as requires an effective solution to manage the waste generation. In Malaysia, landfilling is the main alternative technique for managing solid waste. In the same way, the main advantage of having a landfill is that it is easy to operate and comparatively lower in cost. Thus, in Malaysia, total 296 municipal solid waste landfills are open to overcome this issue. Drawbacks of landfilling can includes; i) generation of noxious gases, ii) leachate wastewater contamination of both ground and surface water, iii) problems such as odor, noise, and dust, iv) attraction of disease vectors and, v) the requirement for considerable land area. This present research study focuses on the characterization of Simpang Renggam Landfill (SRLS) Site such as its organic constitutes (mg/L), Ammoniacal Nitrogen (mg/L), SS (mg/L), BOD5/COD, BOD5 (mg/L), and pH. All the analyzed results were compared with the past researchers’ researches and also were compared with Malaysian Environmental Quality Act 1974. From the results, it is concluded that the Simpang Renggam Landfill Site was characterized old (stabilized) landfill leachate wastewater with BOD5/COD > 0.1. For the SRL site, it is recommended that physical-chemical method is better fitted for the leachate wastewater treatment and the aerated lagoon technique does not support the treatment of aging leachate.

This paper reports have three goals to find out: the description of the higher education system in developed countries; the description of the higher education system in developing countries; and the decision support system syllabus in developed and developing countries that related to the higher education system. The development of technology and information has an influence on people's needs and the transformation of the labor market, so higher education is involved in intense competition. For this reason, the higher education system must be dynamic and sustainably able to enter the uncharted domain, so that in order to achieve it, developing countries need to learn about the higher education system in developed countries to improve the higher education system in their country. The method used is descriptive study and critical study taking into account the guidelines proposed by Kitchenham and adjusted to the literature review which consists of 2 main stages, namely planning and implementation. At the planning stage, broadly the selection of studies related to education, research, and information systems with criteria, namely studies published between 2012 and 2018, and studies that describe the higher education system, as well as decision support systems as topics. The study category consists of tertiary education in developed and developing countries, the higher education system when the study is conducted, and the efforts made regarding the higher education system in the country. Content analysis makes it possible to find research trends on a topic. In the event of a difference, resolved through discussion. By highlighting the positive aspects of the picture of the higher education system in developed and developing countries, and the decision support system course as a topic, it is hoped that it can assist in shaping education reform with the assumption that countries are willing to learn from each other about success from other countries.

There was range of disadvantages in the informal roadside metalwork fabrication apprenticeship practice in North Western Nigeria that includes the lack of appropriate Technical skills to better serve the society. The purpose of this research was to identify those Technical skills desirable for the informal roadside metalwork fabrication apprenticeship practice in Nigeria. To this effect an investigation was carried out through survey research, using questionnaire instrument and interview as entailed by methodological triangulation. The survey research was conducted using140 population of master craft persons from sampled workshops in seven states of North West geo-political zone of Nigeria. Interview of 10 participants was made, who were randomly selected from, Industry-based trainers, lecturers and instructors within the seven states in North Western Nigeria. The interviews were conducted to have a balance result. Open coding was made, followed by Axial coding, Selective coding was lastly made, results were interpreted as they complemented the descriptive results which entailed the methodological Triangulation method. To validate the results obtained from methodological triangulation, eleven Delphi panel of experts were involved. Binary analysis and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (Kendall’s Wa ) were used to measure and determine the consensus of the experts on the Technical skills items. Positive results were obtained because, the level of consensus between the participants was strong, the Technical Skills needed items score was 0.621. The result also indicated an inter-judge reliability. Suggestions were made for the improvement of the sector, as the appropriate and valid Technical skills needed were outlined.

Kitchen wastewater that is discharged to the environment is one of the contributing factors to water pollution in developing countries. Adsorption is one of the emerging technology of biological treatments that is an environmentally friendly for the removal of pollutants. Banana trunk fiber with chitosan as an adsorbent was investigated for minimizing COD and ammonia from the kitchen wastewater. The raw kitchen wastewater sample used in the study was collected from the Arked food court located in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia in Johor (Malaysia). The optimum of ratio, pH, shaking speed and contact time for COD and ammonia removal were determined. The result indicated the optimum mix ratio of fiber with chitosan, pH, shaking speed and contact time respectively was 50:50, pH 7, 125 rpm and 120 minutes based on the adsorption of COD (87%) and ammonia (90%) by banana trunk fiber with chitosan. Kinetic study of the results gave a pseudo-second order the R2 was closed to unity which was 0.998. It will significantly be considered for efficient removal of organic and nutrient pollutants present in kitchen wastewater treatment.

The rapid generation rate of solid waste is due to the increasing population and industrialization. Nowadays, solid waste has been a major concerning problem in handling and disposal thus adsorption treatment process has been introduced which is an effective and low-cost method in removing organic and inorganic compounds from leachates such as chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammoniacal nitrogen (NH

In the informal roadside metalwork fabrication apprenticeship practice, which is now commonly practiced in north western Nigeria, the lack of right attitude were evident in the case of the apprentice. These attitudes range from; attitudes towards facilities mishandling, tools, equipment, co-workers, client and crafts master. These lacks of right attitudes hinder better services rendered to the society. The purpose of this research was to identify those right attitudes needed for the informal roadside metalwork fabrication apprenticeship practice in Nigeria. To this effect an investigation was carried out through survey research, using questionnaire instrument and interview as entailed by methodological triangulation. The research was survey using140 population of master craft persons from sampled workshops in seven states of North West geo-political zone of Nigeria, using structured questionnaire instrument. Interviews were conducted involving ten participants, randomly selected from, Industry-based trainers, lecturers and instructors within the seven states in north western Nigeria. The interviews were to have a balance result. Series of coding were made to obtain the results which were interpreted as they complemented the descriptive results as known by the methodological Triangulation method. To validate the results obtained from methodological triangulation, eleven Delphi panel of experts were engaged. Binary analysis and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (Kendall’s Wa) were used to measure and determine the consensus of the Delphi panel of experts on the Attitude items. Results obtained were positive because, the level of consensus between the panelist was strong, the Attitude needed items score was 0.716. The result also indicated an inter-judge reliability. Suggestions were made for the improvement of the practice, as the right Attitudes needed were outlined and validated.

There was range of disadvantages in the informal roadside metalwork fabrication apprenticeship practice in North Western Nigeria that includes the lack of appropriate Technical skills to better serve the society. The purpose of this research was to identify those Technical skills desirable for the informal roadside metalwork fabrication apprenticeship practice in Nigeria. To this effect an investigation was carried out through survey research, using questionnaire instrument and interview as entailed by methodological triangulation. The survey research was conducted using140 population of master craft persons from sampled workshops in seven states of North West geo-political zone of Nigeria. Interview of 10 participants was made, who were randomly selected from, Industry-based trainers, lecturers and instructors within the seven states in North Western Nigeria. The interviews were conducted to have a balance result. Open coding was made, followed by Axial coding, Selective coding was lastly made, results were interpreted as they complemented the descriptive results which entailed the methodological Triangulation method. To validate the results obtained from methodological triangulation, eleven Delphi panel of experts were involved. Binary analysis and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (Kendall’s Wa ) were used to measure and determine the consensus of the experts on the Technical skills items. Positive results were obtained because, the level of consensus between the participants was strong, the Technical Skills needed items score was 0.621. The result also indicated an inter-judge reliability. Suggestions were made for the improvement of the sector, as the appropriate and valid Technical skills needed were outlined.

Micro-peat (M-P) was demonstrated in the present study as a potential low cost natural adsorbent for the removal of COD and ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N) from landfill leachate. A series of batch experiments were carried out under fixed conditions and the influence of mixture ratio was investigated. The characteristics of leachate were then determined. Results indicated that leachate is non-biodegradable with high concentration of COD (2739.06 mg/L), NH3-N (1765.34 mg/L) and BOD5/COD ratio (0.09). The optimum ratio for activated carbon (AC) and M-P in the removal of COD and NH3-N obtained were at 2.5:1.5 (87%) and 1.0:3.0 (65%) respectively. The low-cost natural adsorbent used in the present investigation is an attractive alternative to the conventional adsorbent (AC). Thus, M-P can be appropriated for use in leachate treatment that could be cost-effective due its local availability and adsorption property.

Pulp and paper production from wood material as their main resources have a total capacity about more than one million tons per year. Malaysia has a high scale of deforestation based on the main resource for pulp and paper-based industry. Malaysia as its rate is accelerating faster than any other tropical countries in the world. This problem also affects the economic losses of some countries that face deforestation. To overcome this, Napier grass as a substitute material from non-wood material had been choose for pulp and papermaking industry. This study through the full fibre analysis and morphological characterization, pulpability at kappa number via soda-AQ pulping and the characteristic. These conclude that Napier grass had a high percentage of pulp yields; with a low screening rejects; good mechanical properties by TAPPI method. Thus, Napier grass has a potential to be substitute material for becoming waste-wealth product especially for Malaysia’s pulp and papermaking industry.

The potential of Empty Fruit Bunch obtained from palm oil tree as a low-cost adsorbent is a sustainable approach in wastewater treatment. The objective this study to investigate the capability of EFB for removal colour from natural rubber wastewater as well as the influence of adsorbent dosage, pH, shaking speed and contact time. The results of the analysis show that all selected factors exhibit significant effect on removal of colour. Maximum removal (87.1%) for colour was achieved at 3.5 g of adsorbent dosage, pH 7, 150 rpm of shaking speed, 120 min of contact time. The Langmuir isotherm (R2= 0.9913) described colour adsorption slightly better than the Freundlich isotherm (R2= 0.9805), suggesting a monolayer adsorption behavior of the adsorption processes

There have been concerns about the performance of Nigerian school teachers’ in delivering occupational related courses. However, there are currently limited empirical data on this phenomenon – in particular with respect to the teaching of engineering drawing – to justify further actions from educational managers and policy makers. The aim of this study was to assess teachers’ performance in teaching engineering drawing using students’ perception as indicator of teachers’ performance. The study utilized a cross-sectional research design method with the target population of technical education students drawn from four (4) Federal Colleges of education (Technical) in Northern Nigeria. Stratified proportionate sampling technique was used to arrive at the study sample of 253 technical education students. A specifically designed instrument, the Students’ Perceptions of Teachers’ Performance Scales (SPTPS) was used to gather data on the three performance dimensions namely contextual, task and adaptability performance. The exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis methods were conducted to validate the performance constructs. The instrument has a high reliability of 0.90 based on the Cronbach Alpha method. The result of the analysis using estimation method indicates that students perceive their teachers’ performance to be at a slightly above average level (M= 3.51 ± 0.05 at the 95% confidence level). The teachers’ task performance, in particular, is found to be the least developed among the three dimension of performance while their adaptability performance is the highest while still being less than excellent. The data support the conclusion that there are aspects of teachers’ performance in teaching engineering drawing that is less than excellent and in need of further enhancements.

An enduring question for educational research is the result of individual deviations in the efficacy of learning. The individual learning differences that have been much explored relate to differences in personality, learning styles, strategies and conceptions of learning. This article studies the personality and the learning style profile exhibited by students in a practical based approach of vocational courses. The relationship between personality and learning styles among students was assessed as the students got along through the curriculum. The analysis show that students are more oriented towards an active learning mode in a practical-based approach. Given a specific instruction, some people will learn more effectively than others due to their individual personality and learning styles. This study will help a vocational instructor and advisors to understand their students and to design instruction that can benefit students to accomplish a respectable performance in their learning process.

Natural rubber processing wastewater contains high concentration of organic compound, colour, nitrogen, and other contaminants. This study evaluated a chitosan bead as an adsorbent in adsorption process for natural rubber wastewater treatment. The effects of adsorbent dosage, pH, shaking speed and contact time and adsorption isotherm on colour adsorption onto chitosan beads were evaluated using batch experiments. Meanwhile, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were used to validate the experimental data. Maximum removal of 71.5%, for colour was observed for an adsorbent dosage 4.5 g, pH 7, and shaking speed 150 rpm. Equilibrium was achieved in 120 min. The equilibrium data were fitted to Langmuir isotherm model when compared with Freundlich isotherm models.

The optimal conditions for the reduction of COD and NH3-N using cockle shells (CS) from a stabilised landfill effluent were analyzed. The influence of two variables (adsorbent dosage and pH) were analysed through the application of response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD). Quadratic models were developed for the removals of COD and NH3-N parameters. The optimum conditions for removal of 65.6% and 53.6% for COD and NH3-N respectively was achieved at pH 6.34, adsorbent dosage of 20.21 g having 0.888 desirability value. The model F-value obtained for NH3-N removal Prob. > F value of 0.0001 with F-value of 104.21 was obtained. Similarly the Prob. > F value of < 0.0001 for COD with F-value of 82.74 was obtained, these P-values confirmed the significance of the model. The predicted response versus the experimental response depicted that the experimental data were relatively close to the predicted data. Thus, the generated models significantly enclosed the correlation between the process variables and the response. GMT Detect languageAfrikaansAlbanianArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CroatianCzechDanishDutchEnglishEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKoreanLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSerbianSesothoSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduUzbekVietnameseWelshYiddishYorubaZulu AfrikaansAlbanianArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CroatianCzechDanishDutchEnglishEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKoreanLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSerbianSesothoSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduUzbekVietnameseWelshYiddishYorubaZulu Text-to-speech function is limited to 200 characters Options : History : Feedback : DonateClose

Leachate are very high strength wastewaters that contain a variety of pollutants that pose a serious threat to the environment if appropriate control measure is ignored. Composite adsorbent is an emerging, interesting and attractive alternative to conventional adsorbents and having the ability to act as catalysts due to their high reactivity and excellent selectivity towards specific pollutant compounds. This study investigated the potential of biocomposite adsorbent made from a combination of chitosan, feldspar and zeolite (CFZ) for the treatment of Iron (Fe) from leachate wastewater. Leachate characterization and batch adsorption experiments was conducted to determine the optimum conditions for pH, dosage and contact time parameter in the removal of Fe. The result shows that the concentration of Fe was 15.82 which exceeded the recommended limit. The optimum conditions also occurred at pH 5 with 6 gram of biocomposite dosage and at 180 minutes contact time. The corresponding removal efficiency for Fe is 90% with 0.0127 mg/g uptake capacity

Transportation is a critical factor in the economic growth and development. Inadequate transport system limits a nations ability to utilize its natural resources, distribute goods and other finished goods. Hence transportation is the most bases for economic growth and development in most societies. This study examines the Impact of Transportation on Economic Development of Fufore Local Government Area of Adamawa State. The study covered five villages which were selected using multistage sampling technique. About 105 respondents were also selected and administered a set of questionnaires using random method. Descriptive statistics were used foe analysis of data gathered. The findings of the analysis revealed that 44.79% of the respondents are farmers. It also shows that the most common means of transportation in the study area is motorcycle and lack of good roads makes it difficult for the respondents to access good markets for their farm produce as more than 65.63% of roads in the area are in bad condition which leads to rise in cost of transportation. This was discovered to have affected the economic activities of the people thereby increasing the level of poverty in communities in the study area. The construction of new roads and maintenance of existing ones is therefore recommended to reduce cost of transportation of goods and services thereby reducing poverty and boosting economic growth and development.

Plant waste such as Delonix Regia Pods have the potential to be used as absorbents. A study of activated carbon derived from delonix regia pods was carried out for the removal COD in natural rubber wastewater. Sample wastewater was obtained from the rubber processing industry and characterized to determine the level of pollutant content. Results of the analysis of wastewater characterization shows that the COD value was 5196 mg/L which is above discharge standards. Laboratory experiments was conducted to determine the optimum dosage, pH, shaking speed and contact time using response surface methodology. The results showed that the optimal dosage, pH, shaking speed and contact time were 4 g, pH 8, 150 rpm and 100 minutes with COD removal value of 70.65 %. The model F-value obtained for COD was 68.27 with the Prob. > F value of < 0.0001 indicating the significance of the model. The predicted versus the empirical data were relatively close to each other, therefore the developed models sufficiently described the response and variables interaction in the adsorption process. The results also indicate the suitability of the adsorbent for application in a sustainable wastewater treatment. It is recommended that further study be carried out to assess its application for other pollutants derived from non-rubber industries.

Leachate is a liquid generated due to rainwater percolation through the wastes in a landfill or dumping site that may contain high levels of organic matter including both biodegradable and non-biodegradable which major source of water pollution. In this research work, landfill leachate has been characterized and found to contain very high COD and color. Adsorption process was performed to find out the performance of different combinations ratio between limestone (LS) and zeolite (ZEO). The removal efficiencies of different ratios were examined for reduction of COD and color. The optimum mixture ratio of adsorbents (LS:ZEO) at 10:30 and 15:25 were found to be more effective in reducing COD and color respectively as compared with the use of individual media. The highest removal percentage were found at approximately 55% of COD and 76% of color with 120 minutes of contact time, 200 rpm in shaking speed at pH7. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm model exhibited a better fit with high correlation R2=0.9991 for COD and R2=0.9827 for (color) respectively, which implies that the adsorption of leachate in this study onto LS-ZEO is homogeneous with monolayer. It was observed that limestone and zeolite mixture provides an alternative medium for removing COD and color at a considerably lower cost.

Plant waste such as Delonix Regia Pods (DRP) have the potential to be used as adsorbents. A study of lignocellulose delonix regia pods was carried to assess ammoniacal nitrogen removal from natural rubber wastewater. Sample wastewater was taken from the rubber processing industry and characterization was carried out. Outcomes from the analysis shows that the ammoniacal nitrogen concentration was 66 mg/L and higher than the recommended wastewater discharge standards. Batch experiments were conducted on the effect of dose, pH, shaking speed and contact time parameters for optimum condition. The results revealed that the optimal dosage, pH, shaking speed and contact time is 4.5 g, pH 8, 150 rpm and 120 minutes with ammoniacal nitrogen removal efficiency of 74.3 % and the adsorption capacity of 1.22 mg/g. Pseudo second order kinetic model was found to fit the data better and the R2 obtained was 0.9992. From the study, it can be concluded that the media can be used for the removal of ammoniacal nitrogen in natural rubber wastewater and subsequently reduce environmental pollution. Hence, it can be sustainable and environmentally friendly.

The objective of this study was to identify the performance of empty fruit bunch (EFB) to assess its use as potential adsorbent in treat ammonia nitrogen in natural rubber wastewater. The adsorption method was employed to investigate the effect of a number of factors, namely, adsorbent dosage, pH, shaking speed and contact time. The results revealed that the removal of ammonia nitrogen up to 79.5% from natural rubber wastewater. The adsorption efficiency of EFB fibre was maximum at 3.5 g dosage, pH 7, 150 rpm shaking speed and 120 min contact time. The results proved that EFB fiber are good alternative low cost adsorbent for the removal of ammonia nitrogen from natural rubber wastewater. The Langmuir isotherm (R2=0.9923) described ammonia nitrogen adsorption slightly better than the Freundlich isotherm (R2 = 0.9450), suggesting a monolayer adsorption behaviour of the adsorption processes.

A novel approach for the low-cost bioadsorbent for the removal of leachate pollutants is presented herein. In this study, limestone is combined with zeolite in order to fabricate biocomposite media with different ratios. Results revealed that limestone-zeolite biocomposite adsorbed ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N) and COD, which could possibly be used for the adsorption of NH3-N and COD efficiently from leachate. The optimum mixing ratio by means was carried out using series of batch experiments for limestone and zeolite to measure the remediation of NH3-N and COD in a stabilized leached. The optimum ratio for limestone and zeolite in the remediation of NH3-N and COD obtained were at 25:15 (82%) and 30:10 (75%), respectively. Indeed, the prepared limestone-zeolite biocomposite is a low-cost and effective adsorbent was potential used to derive the NH3-N and COD for a promising adsorption efficiency from stabilized landfill leachate.

The robust combination of landfill waste recognized as a potential source of hazards. Landfills is one relatively distinctive issue associated with leachate. Generally, zeolite is considered a known adsorbent however relatively very high in cost. Meanwhile, Feldspar is the world’s most common mineral groups which making up as much as about 60 percent of the crust of the earth. Its quality and availability makes the feldspar become relatively low price material. The mixture of feldspar-zeolite are believe to produces effective and inexpensive composite for the treatment of leachate wastewater. The batch experiment was conducted in an Erlenmeyer flask, 250 mL volume with varying the volume of composite mixture ratio and then shaking for 5 hrs with 200 rpm at pH7. The optimum mixing ratio of feldspar-zeolite is chosen 1:1. The optimum removal of COD and ammonical nitrogen is 55% and 50% respectively. The availability of low-cost materials such as feldspar in the composite has helped to minimize the cost of treatment and has helped to increase the potential capacity for adsorption.

Attempts were made this study to examine of coagulation and flocculation process using ferric chloride and polyelectrolyte (cationic) for the treatment biodiesel wastewater. Removal of SS (suspended solid), color, COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) and Oil and Grease (O&G) using ferric chloride and organic polyelectrolyte during coagulation/flocculation process were investigated. Also the optimum condition for coagulation/flocculation process, such as pH, coagulant dosage and polyelectrolyte dosage of solution were investigated using jar test experiment. The effect of different dosage of polyelectrolyte in combination with coagulant was also studied. The result revealed that in the range of pH tested, the optimal pH is 6. Percentage removal of 95%, 93%, 63%, 97% for SS, color, COD and O&G respectively, were achieved at optimum dosage value; 350 mg/L. While, 86.3%, 86.7%, 57.2, 81% removal of SS, color, COD, O&G respectively, were achieved with the addition 10 mg/L cationic to 125 mg/L ferric chloride. It can be conclude from this study that coagulation/flocculation may be a useful as a pre-treatment process for biodiesel wastewater.

Malaysia has high rates of accelerating faster on depleting activities compared any other tropical countries in the world. This problem also affects the economic losses of some countries that face deforestation. To overcome this, Napier grass from non-wood was chosen between new methods by xylanase enzyme treatment for pulp production. This study going through the morphological characterization, pulpability at kappa number and the characteristic for biochemical pulping process. These conclude that biochemical had a high percentage of pulp yields; with a low screening rejects; good Kappa number by TAPPI method. Thus, xylanase enzyme has a potential to be sub-treatment for Malaysia’s pulp and papermaking industry to produce a good waste-wealth product in future.

Natural rubber is an important material because of its high strength compared to synthetic rubber. However, the production process of natural rubber discharges a large amount of wastewater containing high concentrations of organic compounds and nitrogen. Therefore, discharging natural rubber processing wastewater without an appropriate treatment can lead to environmental problems such as deterioration of water quality and eutrophication. In this study, the batch adsorption experiment was carried out for the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen from natural rubber wastewater using kaolin as adsorbent. The efficiency of the kaolin was studied by varying the parameters adsorbent dose, pH, shaking speed and contact time. The experimental equilibrium data for this system has been analyzed using the linearized forms of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. COD and ammonia nitrogen removal efficiencies were 71.6% and 75.8%, respectively. While, Langmuir isotherm was found to provide the best theoretical correlation of the experimental data.

Malaysia has a high rate of depleting forest activities than any other tropical countries in the world. This lead to an increasing of pollution and loss of forest trees include animal to our nature. Lemon grasses as a substitute material from non-wood material had been choose for pulp and papermaking industry. This study was going through the chemical composition analysis and fibre properties for lemon grass pulp. These conclude that lemon grass had a high percentage of cellulose; with a low lignin content; good fibre length by TAPPI method. Thus, lemon grass has a potential to be alternative material for becoming waste-wealth product especially for Malaysia’s pulp and papermaking industry.

The agriculture waste material can give benefit to many production industries. The studied crop is corn (Zea Mays)stalk. The objective of this work was to analysis the chemical composition; to study chemical pulping and papermaking properties of corn stalk and; to investigate the fiber morphology of properties of those crops. Firstly, the chemical composition of corn stalk were determined and compared with other non-woods. After that, chemical corn stalk was conducted in this analysis followed the physical and mechanical properties. The result showed that, corn stalk have cellulose (39.0%) and lignin content is the lowest (7.3%) content rather than other composition. In chemical pulping, reached high pulp yields had been produced and the strength properties: tear index, tensile index, burst and fold verified that they were of an acceptable quality for papermaking. This crop morphology was observed by Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM), which showed a condensed composition of fiber structure. This study can developed a friendly product and promote the green technology, suitable to be used as an alternative pulp in paper making industry.Keywords:Fiber, Corn stalk, Composition, Green technology, Pulp and paper making.

Landfills generate leachate that contains elevated concentration of contaminants and is hazardous to human health and the ecosystem. In this study, the mixture of granular feldspar and cockle shells was investigated for remediation of COD and ammonia from landfill leachate. All adsorbent media were sieved to a particle size between 2.00 and 3.35 mm. The results revealed that the optimum mixing ratio of feldspar and cockle shells was 20:20, shaking speed was 150 rpm, pH level was 6, shaking time was 120 min, and dosage was 30 g. The adsorption isotherm analysis reveals that the Langmuir isotherm yielded the best fit to experimental data as compared to the Freundlich isotherm. The media produce encouraging results and can potentially be used as a good and sustainable adsorbent.

This paper reported the optimization of COD and NH3-N reduction from a stabilised leachate by zeolite (ZE) and moringa oleifera leaf powder (MP) mixture using response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD). Quadratic polynomial equations were obtained for the removal process. An initial experiment was conducted to establish the optimum mixed ratio between ZE:MP and resulted in a ratio of 24:16. Independent variables investigated in the subsequent optimization experiments include pH ,dosage and contact time. The results revealed that the optimal reduction of COD and NH3-N from landfill leachate was considerable at pH 5.9 , optimal time of 113 minutes and 100gL-1 of adsorbent dosage with desirability value of 0.917. The upper limits for the actual versus predicted reduction were 70.14 against 69.13% and 86.94 against 86.55 % respectively for COD and NH3-N which defined that the experimental values were relatively close to the predicted values. The study also revealed that ZE:MP mixture has a very high potential for the remediation of COD and NH3-N from a stabilized leachate.

Leachate is one of the major problems to overcome in managing the landfill. Low cost treatment, less maintenance and environmental friendly are considered as the best practices to treat leachate. Without a proper treatment, leachate could give a negative effect to the environment and become a pollutant. This research focused on the effectiveness of Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket on leachate treatment using reactor tank in lab-scale. The effectiveness of this system was evaluated by comparing the percentage of nutrient removal. Moreover, leachate characteristic was conducted to determine the nutrient content. Five (5) main parameters were selected to be monitored which are Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solid (TSS), Total Nitrogen (TN) and Total Phosphorus (TP). Experiments were run for 30 days and the readings were recorded every 3 days. Results show that the capability of UASB in the removal several parameters. This UASB had a greater ability in removal of Total Phosphorus and TSS with 89% and 81% average removal each. COD removal shows encouraging removal graph more than 70%. While BOD, 64% and Total Nitrogen as 50%. Results showed that UASB system was capable to remove major pollutants from landfill leachate.

Malaysia has moved towards an industrialised country, and the quality and competence of manpower have become one of the main debates. While the focus on generic competences has largely related to definition and standards development, the implementation of these skills is seen as a teaching and learning issue. Thus, this paper analysed and evaluated current teaching and learning practices in Malaysian technical and vocational educational (TVE) system, focusing on polytechnics. The central objective of this study was to examine the current teaching and learning strategies in developing students’ generic competences that focus particularly on teamwork, communication, problem solving and critical thinking skills. The discussion focused on the modes of delivery a lesson by lecturers in teaching an engineering subject (Concrete Technology). It also explored the problems faced in the teaching and learning in providing sufficient competences to students as some of these challenges can be country- specific. A set of questionnaire was employed to 192 first semester students undertaking three-year Civil Engineering Program, in three polytechnics in various states in Malaysia. Semi structured interviews were also conducted to six teachers to gather additional insights regarding teaching approaches, subjects/course value, and the extent of students learning. Findings from this study show that the pattern of teaching and learning processes in the majority of polytechnics are more traditionally focused in which teacher serves as a major repository of knowledge. Whilst students on the other hand, expect more active learning activities that could maximise their involvement. These approaches are found to be inadequate for developing generic competences. It is also found that few factors have influenced teachers in the selection of their preferred teaching approaches. Therefore, this study is significant as it provides a basis for a more effective and systematic structure for teaching and learning processes in polytechnics to respond to the changing needs of the new competent work force.

Water is fresh potable water is not always available at the right time or the right place for human or ecosystem use [1]. According to Straskraba and Tundisi (1999), water impoundments constructed by damming rivers are called dam reservoirs. Under the Malaysian Western Johore Agricultural Development Project, the main function of the Sembrong dam is flood mitigation. The secondary function of the dam is to provide clean water supply to 240,000 consumers in Kluang district area [2]. Water from the Sembrong dam reservoir is treated at the West Sembrong Water Treatment Plant before the distribution. Daily reservoir inflow data were extracted by applying the water balance model to the Sembrong dam reservoir. Developing hydrologic hazard curves for risk assessment uses the length of record and type of data to determine the extrapolation limits for flood frequency analysis [5]. Extrapolation beyond the data is often necessary to provide information needed for dam safety risk assessments [6]. The sources of information used for flood hazard analyses include stream flow and precipitation records and pale flood data.

Rivers play a major role for communities especially in fisheries and as a source of water for people residing within the vicinity. Water quality is of utmost importance and it covers a wide range of approaches and conflicts. Water is super abundant on the planet, as whole, but fresh potable water is not always available at the right time or the right place for human or ecosystem use [3]. Water quality refers to the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance can be assessed. Sembrong dam reservoir was built by damming a river. When a reservoir is built along a river’s flow, the physical, chemical and biological conditions of the river are disrupted to some degree [2]. Since Sembrong dam reservoir is constructed on large lowland rivers with gradually sloping banks, it can be characterized by inundation of large areas, extreme horizontal variability with extensive shallows riparian vegetation and shallow reservoir. Such reservoir is usually eutrophic and high natural organic load are likely to contribute to the formation of an anoxic hypolimnion [9]. Shallow reservoir is usually well mixed by wind, and this leads to non-stratified condition [7]. Therefore, Sembrong dam reservoir can be categorized as shallow unstratified reservoir.

Coagulation and flocculation are essential processes in a number of diverse disciplines, including biochemistry, cheese manufacturing, rubber manufacturing, and in water and waste water treatment. Coagulation-flocculation is effective for removing high concentration organic pollutants and heavy metals in water and wastewater. However, limited information exists on the efficiency of this coagulation-flocculation process for biodiesel wastewater treatment. The biodiesel wastewater is basic (alkaline), with a high content of oil and grease, and a low content of nitrogen and phosphorus. As such, biological treatment of the biodiesel wastewater is expected to be very difficult. For this reason supportive physic-chemical methods are often used. Although one of the most frequently employed method is coagulation. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the efficiency of coagulation and flocculation processes for removing suspended solid (SS), color, COD and oil and grease from biodiesel wastewater. Aluminum sulfate, polyaluminum chloride, ferric chloride and ferric sulfate as a coagulant in biodiesel wastewater treatment were studied using a standard jar test apparatus. The result shows that, at the optimum dose of PAC (300 mg/L), the percentage removal of SS, color, COD and oil and grease respectively 97%, 95%, 75% and 97% compared to only 92%, 92%, 53% and 99% at the optimal dose alum (500 mg/L), 95%, 93%, 63% and 97% at the optimum dose of ferric chloride (350 mg/L) and 88%, 88%, 54% and 94% at the optimum dose of ferric sulfate (450 mg/L). The effect of coagulant dosages on suspended solid (SS), color, COD and oil and grease removal showed similar trend and PAC was found to be superior was observed at reasonable lower amount of coagulant i.e. 300 mg/L. The results showed that coagulation-flocculation is effective as a pre-treatment for treating biodiesel wastewater.

In recent years, monitoring quality of water body or reservoir has become a main concern for the determination of current condition and long-term pattern for future management. This study focused on hydrology properties and water quality of Sembrong Dam in Johor, Malaysia. The Sembrong dam reservoir is constructed on large lowland rivers with gradually sloping banks, it can be characterized by inundation of large areas, extreme horizontal variability with extensive shallow riparian vegetation and shallow reservoir. The secondary function of the dam was to provide a clean water supply to 240,000 consumers in Kluang district area were used for daily activities. Extrapolation beyond the data is often necessary to provide information needed for dam safety risk assessments. Thus, quality of the water from Sembrong dam important for future. The rainfall data were sourced from the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia whilst reservoir inflow data were extracted using a water balance equation. For water quality study, there were a total of 17 water quality sampling stations. The result indicated that Sembrong River Dam slightly shows high soil loss (487.12 kg/km2/day) where is consist of soft fine grained silty clay material with organic matter, tree roots and decaying timber. For rainfall and evaporation records are 1862 mm and 1098 mm. Sembrong River (Zone A) generally slightly polluted compared Merpoh River (Zone B) where is clear from pollution in Sembrong Dam. Due to Biological parameter where the Sembrong River shows a high of Total Coliform rather Merpoh River. The chemical parameters show that Sembrong River was not a good condition. According to Water Quality Index, Sembrong River was truly slightly polluted compared Merpoh River in Sembrong Dam. As a conclusion, Sembrong dam categorized as Class III according to NWQS

Malaysia has an abundance of agro waste material that have not been fully utilized to a maximum production. Thus, the finding of a new alternative fiber in non wood material will be favorable in paper production. Pineapple (Ananas Comosus) is the common tropical plant, which consists of coalesced berries. This pineapple is leading member of the family of Bromeliaceae and it came from genusAnanas. Fiber bundle from pineapple leaf can be separated from the cortex where it reveals the pineapple leaf fiber in multi-cellular and lignocelluloses pattern. This leaf has a ribbon-like structure and cemented together by lignin, pentosan-like materials, where it contributes to the strength of fiber [7]. All parts in pineapple from fruits to leaves could be consumed to give a health benefit for human life. Pineapple had been used as textile fiber, anti-inflammatory and also anti-helminthic agent. According to the FAO online database, the Malaysian country had consumed 255,000 tones per year and in third position in the world of consuming pineapple production. Pineapple is mainly produced as canned fruits and also coarse textiles in some Southeast Asian countries. Leaves of pineapple had been used as coarse textiles because of the fiber composition and structure inside the leaves [3]. All fibrous in non wood materials especially pineapple leaf consists of cellulose, holocellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin along with some extraneous material called extractives such as gum and resin. Previous research indicates pineapple leaf fiber contained higher cellulose content than wood fiber. Pineapple leaf fibers also consist of lignin [23], an adhesive component that binds the cellulose and hemicellulose. Pineapple leaf fiber had the lowest lignin content than other alternative fiber, which is favorable during chemical processing [12]. The chemical composition aspects have been considered in the previous literature, such as banana stem, coconut and oil palm and had been reported extensively. Pineapple leaf reported has a lowest lignin (10.5%) rather than banana stem (18.6%), oil palm (20.5%) and coconut (32.8%) that suggest can undergo bleaching more easily and have high fiber strength [12]. Besides that, pineapple leaf contains high holocelulose content (87.6%) than banana stem (65.2%), oil palm (83.5%) and coconut (56.3%) [11]. Those properties depend on the content of chemical composition in the pineapple leaf fiber, which is cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin content [15].

The dominant pedagogy for engineering education, especially for numerical subject still remains “chalk and talk”. Recent years in engineering education have encouraged teachers to engage their students in various forms of communication. Therefore, this paper presents a learning approach towards the environment of the engineering classroom in improving a communication skill. The quasi experimental study was conducted involving the engineering students, which comprised one experimental group and one control group. The learning process covered a period of 8 weeks for teaching and learning in phase 1 and phase 2. In the learning process, students learn how to analyse the unstructured problem given among the small group members and develop an idea into the discussion. Through this approach, students acquire communication skills in generating the ideas. The role of learning approach used to enhance the capability of communication skills among students. This study was used to measure the influence of the communication skills towards the students’ academic achievement and to measure the percentage of the students’ acceptance of this learning approach. The results of this study show that the effects of this learning approach upon the capability of students’ communication skills and student learning approach were significant.

The forest tree had become beneficial as the major source of raw materials for paper production. However, the main concern is the dwindling forest tree resources. Fibre substitution from non-wood sources can overcome this problem. The abundance of napier grass is characterized as agro waste material, and has a high potential to become one of the substitution fibres. The objective of this work was to analyse the chemical composition of napier grass and to investigate the morphological properties of napier grass fibre. The chemical composition of the fibre was analysed by the TAPPI test method, chlorination method and Kuchner–Hoffner method. The results indicate the potential of napier grass as a fibre. The napier grass morphology showed a condensed composition of fibre structure under a scanning electron microscope. This study of napier grass indicated the suitability for promoting the green technology in developing an eco-friendly product.

Sanitary landfills are important means of disposing municipal solid waste in developing countries. However, these landfills are associated with the generation of leachate, which if untreated may pose severe public health risk and may damage the ecosystem in the long term. In this study, cockle shells were explored as an adsorbent media for the treatment of a stabilized landfill leachate. The optimum shaking speed, pH, and dosage for chemical oxygen demand (COD) parameter removal were investigated using the adsorbent media of particle sizes ranging from 2.00 mm to 3.35 mm. Leachate characteristics were then determined. Results indicated that leachate is non-biodegradable with high concentrations of COD (1763 mg/L), ammonia nitrogen (573 mg/L), and biochemical oxygen demand/COD (0.09). The optimum conditions for shaking were determined at 150 rpm according to the adsorption of COD by the media. Optimum pH and dosage was 5.5 and 35 g/L, respectively. The adsorption isotherms indicated that Langmuir isotherm is better fitted than Freundlich isotherm.

Proper waste management in Malaysia is needed for the organic wastes such as pineapple leaf and cassava peel where affects the increase the amount of solid waste dump into landfill. Thus, to overcome this problem agro waste material can be constructed in many production industries to commercialize the use of alternative fibre for the paper industry. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the use of fibrous in pineapple leaf and cassava peel by production of alternative fibre based on chemical properties and surface morphology characteristic. This study conducted for the chemical composition by analysed by TAPPI Test method, Chlorination method and Kuchner-Hoffner method. Every chemical components analyse; Cellulose (Kuchner-Hoofner), Holocellulose (Chlorination method), Hemicellulose (Chlorination method), Hemicellulose, Ash content (T211-om-93), Lignin content (T222-om-98) and Sodium Hydroxide soluble (T203-om-88). The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe and determine the morphological characteristic of both crops. The result indicates that pineapple leaf more suitable for becoming an alternative fibre than cassava peels. Pineapple leaves have a high Holocellulose content (85.7%), cassava peels 66%, followed by Cellulose pineapple leaf (66.2%), cassava peels (37.9%). However, hemicellulose content in pineapple leaf (19.5%) less than cassava peels (37.0%). Lignin content of pineapple leaf is lower (4.2%) compared to cassava peels (7.52%) in this study. From SEM images, cassava peel contained abundance fibre such as hemicellulose and cellulose that is held by the lignin in it and Pineapple leaves give a condensed composition of fibre structure. The chemical compositions and morphology study of pineapple leaf and cassava indicate pineapple leaf have a high percentage to be used as an alternative pulp in paper making industry, promoting the green technology. However, cassava peels make some of properties that can also be through for the paper industry.