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In this paper, chemically modified cellulose was used instead of cellulose as it offers higher adsorption capacities, great chemical strength and good resistance to heat. As part of Phyto-Adsorption Remediation Method, citric acid modified cellulose (CAMC) was used to treat ferric ion. However, there is a large possibility that CAMC molecule might interact with water molecule that contain hydrogen bond and hence pose as a competitor to ferric acid and reduces the efficiency of CAMC in ferric ion removal. Thus, the aim of this work is to identify the most stable hydrogen bond between CAMC and water, by using a computational technique. The interaction between the water molecules and CAMC was observed by varying the volume of water molecule with modified cellulose by an expansion in amorphous region. The simulation result shows that for water loading less than 20 molecules, the interaction between water molecules and CAMC is higher at temperature 311K, whilst for water loading higher than 20 molecules, the interaction weakens at higher temperature. This work proves that water molecules have the tendency to bind to carboxyl group of glucose, to oxygen of ester and to oxygen of anhydride acid of the CAMC molecule, which might pose a competition for ferric acid removal. The calculation of coordination number has shown that the number of atoms present in the first hydration shell (of radius < 2.5Å) is more as the temperature increases from 298K to 311K, which indicates that the adsorption is better at higher temperature. For hydration shell at radius >2.5Å, cell temperature is not significant to the number of atoms present.

The use of phytoremediation in removing and degrade the contaminants gives great interest for researchers to explore further. This green technology is relatively eco-friendly and cost-effective. Before a full-scale system can be installed to ensure that the remedy is effective by selected plants using phytoremediation process, identification of these plants and its ability to resist toxicity of contaminants is crucial. In this study, the ability of native plants in Malaysia namely L. articulata, E. ochrostacys and E. dulcis to survive when exposed to acid mine drainage water (AMD) are investigated. This was done with free flow systems or free surface (FSF) for 30 days with water from ex mining lake, Tasik Puteri, Bukit Besi, Malaysia. The physical growth of those three plants such as height and withered leaves is monitored every seven day as indication of their survivability. Ferum (Fe) analysis is also carried out on the lower and upper part of the above three plants using Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). Results of the Fe analysis showed that E.ochrostacys has the highest accumulation ability compared to E.dulcis and L. articulata with a maximum accumulation of 123,584 mg Fe/kg at lower part and 55,151 mg Fe/kg at the upper part. Furthermore, E. ochrostacys was also able to tolerate and survive in the water of Tasik Puteri up to 80% survival rate during phytotoxicity study.

The effects of fiber content in sweet potato peel-plasticized polyvinyl alcohol blends were investigated. Plasticized Polyvinyl Alcohol (PPVA) was blended with Sweet Potato Peel (SPP). Prior to compounding process, PVA was plasticized with 30 phr glycerol as well as 10 phr distilled water. Blends of PPVA at composition of 80%, 70%, 60%, 50% and 40% of SPP were compounded using melt mixing equipment with an additional of 20 phr glycerol. A casting method was used to prepare the PPVA-SPP film sheet. Based on the tensile test results, PPVA with 80% SPP recorded the lowest tensile strength (5.385 MPa) as compared to blends which contain 40% SPP (13.612 MPa). The reduction of tensile strength with the addition of SPP was due to poor interfacial adhesion between the PVA and SPP which was proven by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis.

This project aimed at producing fertilizer from food waste through Bokashi and Berkeley method in laboratory scale and FTIR analysis used to determine the composition in each sample. These methods are easy to apply at home and the production was only within one month or less with low cost. FTIR analysis showed at the range of 3200-3600 cm-1 in both samples displayed higher relative absorption intensity compared to the black soil which has low absorption intensity. From this study, perhaps it could help to reduce food waste by converting it into fertilizer that proven to be commercially used by society. In fact, the cost of producing food waste into fertilizer by using hot composting and fermentation is relatively cheap due to the material and methods used. Keywords: food waste; fertilizer; Berkeley method; hot composting; Bokashi method; fermentation

Preliminary studies of Cabomba furcata from Chini Lake, Pahang, Malaysia has shown that this plant containing bioactive phytochemical such as saponin. Unfortunately no intensive research has been conducted since saponin are believed to have medicinal benefits to the humankind and they have the potential to be commercialized in pharmaceutical field. This study was done to identify the type of saponin that are present in C. furcata. Hot extraction was performed by using methanol and HPLC - Dad with C18 column had confirmed the presence of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid in the aquatic plant.

The effects of glycerol content in modified polyvinyl alcohol-tapioca starch were investigated. A series of plasticized polyvinyl alcohol (PPVA) and TS blends were prepared. Prior to compounding process, PVA was plasticized with 15–40 phr glycerol as well as addition of calcium stearate (CaS) and phosphoric acid. Blends of PPVA at composition of 50%, 60%, 70%, 80% and 90% TS with 20 phr glycerol were compounded using twin screw extruder. Blends of PPVA-TS were then processed via injection molding to produce test specimen for mechanical testing. It was found that the addition of glycerol in the blending is compulsory in order to have a better flowability during the processing process. In spite of that, the amount of glycerol inside the blending must be in the optimum composition to ensure that the mechanical properties of the blends are not affected.