The inhalation, ingestion, and body absorption of noxious gases lead to severe tissue damage, oph... more The inhalation, ingestion, and body absorption of noxious gases lead to severe tissue damage, ophthalmological issues, and neurodegenerative disorders; death may even occur when recognized too late. In particular, methanol gas present in traces can cause blindness, non-reversible organ failure, and even death. Even though ample materials are available for the detection of methanol in other alcoholic analogs at ppm level, their scope is very limited because of the use of either toxic or expensive raw materials or tedious fabrication procedures. In this paper, we report on a simple synthesis of fluorescent amphiphiles achieved using a starting material derived from renewable resources, this material being methyl ricinoleate in good yields. The newly synthesized bio-based amphiphiles were prone to form a gel in a broad range of solvents. The morphology of the gel and the molecular-level interaction involved in the self-assembly process were thoroughly investigated. Rheological studies ...
Zinc (Zn) was identified as one of the most toxic heavy metals and often found contaminating the ... more Zinc (Zn) was identified as one of the most toxic heavy metals and often found contaminating the water sources as a result of inefficient treatment of industrial effluent. A Green Emulsion Liquid Membrane (GELM) was proposed in this study as a method to minimize the concentration of Zn ions in an aqueous solution. Instead of the common petroleum-based diluent, the emulsion is reformulated with untreated waste cooking oil (WCO) collected from the food industry as a sustainable and cheaper diluent. It also includes Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (D2EHPA) as carrier, Span 80 as surfactant, sulfuric acid (H2SO4) as internal phase and ZnSO4 solution as external phase. Such formulation requires a thorough understanding of the oil characteristics as well as the interaction of the components in the membrane phase. The compatibility of WCO and D2EHPA, as well as the external phase pH was confirmed via liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method. To obtain the best operating conditions for Zn extracti...
Emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) is a potential method for extracting ibuprofen (IBP) from aqueous ... more Emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) is a potential method for extracting ibuprofen (IBP) from aqueous solution. The concentrations of the carrier, surfactant and internal phases are important parameters to optimise the extraction efficiency of IBP. The Box-Behnken design (BBD) is used to optimise the main parameters of ELM, which are Aliquat 336 (A), Span 80 (B) and sodium carbonate, Na2CO3 (C). The responses were calculated using quadratic polynomial regression and the model suggests a significant result with the experimental data set, with the F-value and p-value calculated at 17.88% and 0.05%, respectively. Span 80 and Na2CO3 had a mutual interaction which was significant for the IBP extraction by ELM. At the optimised parameters, namely Aliquat 336 concentration (2 wt%), Span 80 concentration (4 wt%) and Na2CO3 concentration (0.1 M) resulted in 96.78% of IBP extraction.
The hydrophobic membranes have been widely explored to meet the membrane characteristics for the ... more The hydrophobic membranes have been widely explored to meet the membrane characteristics for the membrane distillation (MD) process. Inorganic metal oxide nanoparticles have been used to improve the membrane hydrophobicity, but limited studies have used nano clay particles. This study introduces halloysite nanotube (HNT) as an alternative material to synthesis a hydrophobic poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-HNT membrane. The PVDF membranes were fabricated using functionalized HNTs (e.g., carnauba wax and 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl-trichlorosilane (FOTS)). The results were determined by Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflection, scanning electron microscope, goniometer and porometer to determine the desired hydrophobic membrane for direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD). The addition of FOTS-HNT (fs-HNT) and carnauba wax-HNT (fw-HNT) in the PVDF membrane enhanced the water contact angle (CA) to 127° and 137°, respectively. The presence of fw-HNT in the PVDF membrane ...
Photocatalytic membranes exhibit great potential for water treatment since they combine the filtr... more Photocatalytic membranes exhibit great potential for water treatment since they combine the filtration and photo degradation in a single unit. Although blending photocatalytic nanoparticles into polymeric thin film remains the simplest method to prepare the photocatalytic membrane, the entrapped photocatalyst showed less catalytic activity due to the agglomeration and shielding effects in the polymer matrix. In this work, PVP (polyvinyl pyrrolidone) and PVA (poly(vinyl alcohol)) were used to stabilize the photocatalytic nanoparticles (TiO2, Mn-TiO2 and ZnO) in the polysulfone (PSf) membrane. Most importantly, these additives affect the formation of finger-like pores which influence the separation performance and also the hindrance of photocatalytic activities. The surface hydrophilicity of PSf/PVP/TiO2 and PSf/PVP/Mn-TiO2 membranes increased by 12.25° and 16.67°, respectively after adding photocatalysts. On the other hand, the PSf membrane with PVP and ZnO nanoparticles exhibited im...
Extraction of Acetaminophen (ACTP) using vegetable oils-based emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) was ... more Extraction of Acetaminophen (ACTP) using vegetable oils-based emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) was investigated. ELM consists of membrane and internal phases that form the primary water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion by using an ultrasonic probe while the external phase consists of an ACTP aqueous solution. In promoting a greener development, vegetable oil was incorporated in the formulation of ELM, replacing the hazardous conventional petroleum derivatives diluent. The potential of vegetable oil-based solvent was confirmed via a compatibility study with the carrier and surfactant whereby sunflower oil showed an auspicious potential to be employed as a diluent in ELM formulation. The effect of emulsion formulation parameters of the vegetable oil-based ELM was investigated to obtain its best formulation, by taking into consideration the ACTP extraction efficiency. The extraction study carried out using Trioctylamine (TOA) & Aliquat 336 as carrier and ammonia & sodium chloride (NaCl) as internal...
This laboratory study investigated the effectiveness of two types of activated carbons (ACs), NOR... more This laboratory study investigated the effectiveness of two types of activated carbons (ACs), NORIT Granular Activated Carbon (NAC 1240) and NORIT Granular Activated Carbon 010 (NAC 010), for the removal of phenol from aqueous solutions. The study was carried out under batch mode at different initial concentrations (10-60 mg/I) and at temperature of 30°C. The adsorption isotherm parameters for the Langmuir and Freundlich models were determined using the adsorption data. It was found that both the Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherms described well the adsorption behavior of phenol on NAC 010, while the Freundlich isotherm described very well the adsorption of phenol on NAC 1240.
Maejo International Journal of Energy and Environmental Communication, 2020
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been used in various applications such as air purification, water pur... more Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been used in various applications such as air purification, water purification, and photoelectrochemical conversion systems. However, developing advanced materials with enhanced performance for catalytic applications, especially water treatment, is highly required. This work aims to study the effect of (TiO2) photocatalyst in pretreatment seawater desalination. The catalyst with a mass ratio of TiO2: palm oil fibre ash (POFA) at 0:100, 40:60, 60:40, and 100:0 was synthesized via wet impregnation. The catalyst was calcined at 500 ℃ for four hours. The mixture of artificial seawater and catalyst at a mass ratio of photocatalyst: artificial seawater at 1:300 was put in a one-litre borosilicate photo-reactor fixed with mercury light of 350 nm for two hours with stirring at 1000 rpm. In this investigation, an evaporator was used to collect the freshwater. The fresh and spent catalysts were characterized via X-Ray Diffractogram (XRD), Nitrogen physisorption ana...
Water scarcity with growing populated condition will create a massive problem of obtaining clean ... more Water scarcity with growing populated condition will create a massive problem of obtaining clean water source in the future. In this research, new developed PES hollow fiber membrane from USM is experimented to undergo water purification process using raw water samples obtained from Varsity Lake of UM and lake water source from Taman Jaya. The raw water sample will undergo water quality characteristics test to determine the classes of water quality based on national water quality standards. Both raw water samples have been characterized and belong to class II of water quality. Subsequently, both raw water samples are experimented for water purification through two types of filtration configuration, cross-flow and dead-end. Results shows that the water purification using PES hollow fiber can obtain water quality of class I for both samples. However, the presence of E.coli can still be detected in both purified water samples. From the results obtained, the fabricated PES membrane is a...
Water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion system in Emulsion liquid Membrane (ELM) consist of three ... more Water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion system in Emulsion liquid Membrane (ELM) consist of three main phases which are membrane phase, internal phase and external phase. However, ELM performance is reported to be heavily affected by the emulsion stability. Instability of emulsions occurred as a result of metastable colloids that are made of two immiscible liquids, where one being dispersed in the other with the presence of surface-active agent. Membrane breakage was identified as one of the causes of emulsion instability. This research work focuses on identifying best condition that records minimal breakage hence, high efficiency of solute removal can be anticipated. Influence of homogenization time and speed, carrier concentration and surfactant concentration on membrane breakage were investigated. Data recorded shows that the emulsion needs to be homogenized at 8000 rpm for 15 mins to obtain minimal breakage of membrane. On top of that, membrane phase consists of 4 wt% of carrier ...
Although textile dyes is basically available in very low concentration (10-200 ppm); it should be... more Although textile dyes is basically available in very low concentration (10-200 ppm); it should be removed due to the toxicity to human body and environment. Among the existing methods, emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) is a promising method by providing high interfacial area and the ability to remove a very low concentration of the solute. The optimal emulsions were produced using commercially supplied homogeniser. Initially, methylene blue in simulated wastewater was extracted using a Taylor-Couette column. Methylene blue concentration was determined using spectrophotometer. Complete extraction was performed in the designed column. The research obtained optimal extraction efficiency of about 99% at external phase pH of 10, carrier concentration of 9 wt. %, HCl concentration of 0.5 M, initial feed concentration of 20 ppm, volume ratio of emulsion to feed phase of 1:5, extraction time of 5 min, and extraction speed of 600 rpm.
In the present work, CO2 desorption (stripping) from diethanolamine (DEA) solution using polyviny... more In the present work, CO2 desorption (stripping) from diethanolamine (DEA) solution using polyvinylidene fluoride hollow fiber membrane contactor is theoretically investigated. A comprehensive two dimensional mathematical model is developed to evaluate the membrane wettability when DEA solution is used at different operating conditions such as sweeping gas flow rate, initial CO2 loading and liquid phase temperature. In addition, the impact of flow rate of liquid phase on the CO2 stripping performance was theoretically investigated. The simulated results were compared with the experimental data obtained from literature. The results revealed that the PVDF membrane was suffered from wetting at studied operating conditions.
Suspended solids and residual oil removal in a liquid are relevant to numerous research areas and... more Suspended solids and residual oil removal in a liquid are relevant to numerous research areas and industry. The suspended solid cannot be removed completely by plain settling. Large and heavy particles can settle out readily, but smaller and lighter particles settle very slowly or in some cases do not settle at all. Because of this, it requires efficient physical-chemical pretreatment methods. Our current research is to study the pretreatment methods in the removal of suspended solids and residual oil content in POME. Preliminary analysis shows that POME contains 40,000 mg/L suspended solid and 4,000 mg/L oil and grease content that relatively very high compared to the maximum allowable limit by the Malaysian Department of Environment which are only 400 mg/L and 50 mg/L respectively. The methods chosen were coagulation-sedimentation method for suspended solids removal and solvent extraction for residual oil removal. Jar test apparatus was used as the standard procedure for bench-...
Journal of Applied Membrane Science & Technology, 2017
The objective of this study was to investigate the potential process of the removal of carbon dio... more The objective of this study was to investigate the potential process of the removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from flue gases by using developed membrane gas absorption system. The experiments were performed in membrane gas absorption system consisted 0.45 μm pore size microporous polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) flat sheet membrane. Diethanolamine (DEA) solution was employed as the liquid absorbent. The operating parameters such as the gas and liquid flow rate were setup at 100 cm3/min and 25 cm3/min and liquid absorbent was at room temperature. The effect of DEA concentration was studied with variation in range 1 M to 5 M. In addition, the experiments were carried out with 20%, 40% and 100% gas ratio CO2 to N2. The results show that hydrophobic polymeric membranes such as PVDF can be efficiently used for gas absorption with optimized concentration of DEA.
The inhalation, ingestion, and body absorption of noxious gases lead to severe tissue damage, oph... more The inhalation, ingestion, and body absorption of noxious gases lead to severe tissue damage, ophthalmological issues, and neurodegenerative disorders; death may even occur when recognized too late. In particular, methanol gas present in traces can cause blindness, non-reversible organ failure, and even death. Even though ample materials are available for the detection of methanol in other alcoholic analogs at ppm level, their scope is very limited because of the use of either toxic or expensive raw materials or tedious fabrication procedures. In this paper, we report on a simple synthesis of fluorescent amphiphiles achieved using a starting material derived from renewable resources, this material being methyl ricinoleate in good yields. The newly synthesized bio-based amphiphiles were prone to form a gel in a broad range of solvents. The morphology of the gel and the molecular-level interaction involved in the self-assembly process were thoroughly investigated. Rheological studies ...
Zinc (Zn) was identified as one of the most toxic heavy metals and often found contaminating the ... more Zinc (Zn) was identified as one of the most toxic heavy metals and often found contaminating the water sources as a result of inefficient treatment of industrial effluent. A Green Emulsion Liquid Membrane (GELM) was proposed in this study as a method to minimize the concentration of Zn ions in an aqueous solution. Instead of the common petroleum-based diluent, the emulsion is reformulated with untreated waste cooking oil (WCO) collected from the food industry as a sustainable and cheaper diluent. It also includes Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (D2EHPA) as carrier, Span 80 as surfactant, sulfuric acid (H2SO4) as internal phase and ZnSO4 solution as external phase. Such formulation requires a thorough understanding of the oil characteristics as well as the interaction of the components in the membrane phase. The compatibility of WCO and D2EHPA, as well as the external phase pH was confirmed via liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method. To obtain the best operating conditions for Zn extracti...
Emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) is a potential method for extracting ibuprofen (IBP) from aqueous ... more Emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) is a potential method for extracting ibuprofen (IBP) from aqueous solution. The concentrations of the carrier, surfactant and internal phases are important parameters to optimise the extraction efficiency of IBP. The Box-Behnken design (BBD) is used to optimise the main parameters of ELM, which are Aliquat 336 (A), Span 80 (B) and sodium carbonate, Na2CO3 (C). The responses were calculated using quadratic polynomial regression and the model suggests a significant result with the experimental data set, with the F-value and p-value calculated at 17.88% and 0.05%, respectively. Span 80 and Na2CO3 had a mutual interaction which was significant for the IBP extraction by ELM. At the optimised parameters, namely Aliquat 336 concentration (2 wt%), Span 80 concentration (4 wt%) and Na2CO3 concentration (0.1 M) resulted in 96.78% of IBP extraction.
The hydrophobic membranes have been widely explored to meet the membrane characteristics for the ... more The hydrophobic membranes have been widely explored to meet the membrane characteristics for the membrane distillation (MD) process. Inorganic metal oxide nanoparticles have been used to improve the membrane hydrophobicity, but limited studies have used nano clay particles. This study introduces halloysite nanotube (HNT) as an alternative material to synthesis a hydrophobic poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-HNT membrane. The PVDF membranes were fabricated using functionalized HNTs (e.g., carnauba wax and 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl-trichlorosilane (FOTS)). The results were determined by Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflection, scanning electron microscope, goniometer and porometer to determine the desired hydrophobic membrane for direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD). The addition of FOTS-HNT (fs-HNT) and carnauba wax-HNT (fw-HNT) in the PVDF membrane enhanced the water contact angle (CA) to 127° and 137°, respectively. The presence of fw-HNT in the PVDF membrane ...
Photocatalytic membranes exhibit great potential for water treatment since they combine the filtr... more Photocatalytic membranes exhibit great potential for water treatment since they combine the filtration and photo degradation in a single unit. Although blending photocatalytic nanoparticles into polymeric thin film remains the simplest method to prepare the photocatalytic membrane, the entrapped photocatalyst showed less catalytic activity due to the agglomeration and shielding effects in the polymer matrix. In this work, PVP (polyvinyl pyrrolidone) and PVA (poly(vinyl alcohol)) were used to stabilize the photocatalytic nanoparticles (TiO2, Mn-TiO2 and ZnO) in the polysulfone (PSf) membrane. Most importantly, these additives affect the formation of finger-like pores which influence the separation performance and also the hindrance of photocatalytic activities. The surface hydrophilicity of PSf/PVP/TiO2 and PSf/PVP/Mn-TiO2 membranes increased by 12.25° and 16.67°, respectively after adding photocatalysts. On the other hand, the PSf membrane with PVP and ZnO nanoparticles exhibited im...
Extraction of Acetaminophen (ACTP) using vegetable oils-based emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) was ... more Extraction of Acetaminophen (ACTP) using vegetable oils-based emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) was investigated. ELM consists of membrane and internal phases that form the primary water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion by using an ultrasonic probe while the external phase consists of an ACTP aqueous solution. In promoting a greener development, vegetable oil was incorporated in the formulation of ELM, replacing the hazardous conventional petroleum derivatives diluent. The potential of vegetable oil-based solvent was confirmed via a compatibility study with the carrier and surfactant whereby sunflower oil showed an auspicious potential to be employed as a diluent in ELM formulation. The effect of emulsion formulation parameters of the vegetable oil-based ELM was investigated to obtain its best formulation, by taking into consideration the ACTP extraction efficiency. The extraction study carried out using Trioctylamine (TOA) & Aliquat 336 as carrier and ammonia & sodium chloride (NaCl) as internal...
This laboratory study investigated the effectiveness of two types of activated carbons (ACs), NOR... more This laboratory study investigated the effectiveness of two types of activated carbons (ACs), NORIT Granular Activated Carbon (NAC 1240) and NORIT Granular Activated Carbon 010 (NAC 010), for the removal of phenol from aqueous solutions. The study was carried out under batch mode at different initial concentrations (10-60 mg/I) and at temperature of 30°C. The adsorption isotherm parameters for the Langmuir and Freundlich models were determined using the adsorption data. It was found that both the Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherms described well the adsorption behavior of phenol on NAC 010, while the Freundlich isotherm described very well the adsorption of phenol on NAC 1240.
Maejo International Journal of Energy and Environmental Communication, 2020
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been used in various applications such as air purification, water pur... more Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been used in various applications such as air purification, water purification, and photoelectrochemical conversion systems. However, developing advanced materials with enhanced performance for catalytic applications, especially water treatment, is highly required. This work aims to study the effect of (TiO2) photocatalyst in pretreatment seawater desalination. The catalyst with a mass ratio of TiO2: palm oil fibre ash (POFA) at 0:100, 40:60, 60:40, and 100:0 was synthesized via wet impregnation. The catalyst was calcined at 500 ℃ for four hours. The mixture of artificial seawater and catalyst at a mass ratio of photocatalyst: artificial seawater at 1:300 was put in a one-litre borosilicate photo-reactor fixed with mercury light of 350 nm for two hours with stirring at 1000 rpm. In this investigation, an evaporator was used to collect the freshwater. The fresh and spent catalysts were characterized via X-Ray Diffractogram (XRD), Nitrogen physisorption ana...
Water scarcity with growing populated condition will create a massive problem of obtaining clean ... more Water scarcity with growing populated condition will create a massive problem of obtaining clean water source in the future. In this research, new developed PES hollow fiber membrane from USM is experimented to undergo water purification process using raw water samples obtained from Varsity Lake of UM and lake water source from Taman Jaya. The raw water sample will undergo water quality characteristics test to determine the classes of water quality based on national water quality standards. Both raw water samples have been characterized and belong to class II of water quality. Subsequently, both raw water samples are experimented for water purification through two types of filtration configuration, cross-flow and dead-end. Results shows that the water purification using PES hollow fiber can obtain water quality of class I for both samples. However, the presence of E.coli can still be detected in both purified water samples. From the results obtained, the fabricated PES membrane is a...
Water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion system in Emulsion liquid Membrane (ELM) consist of three ... more Water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion system in Emulsion liquid Membrane (ELM) consist of three main phases which are membrane phase, internal phase and external phase. However, ELM performance is reported to be heavily affected by the emulsion stability. Instability of emulsions occurred as a result of metastable colloids that are made of two immiscible liquids, where one being dispersed in the other with the presence of surface-active agent. Membrane breakage was identified as one of the causes of emulsion instability. This research work focuses on identifying best condition that records minimal breakage hence, high efficiency of solute removal can be anticipated. Influence of homogenization time and speed, carrier concentration and surfactant concentration on membrane breakage were investigated. Data recorded shows that the emulsion needs to be homogenized at 8000 rpm for 15 mins to obtain minimal breakage of membrane. On top of that, membrane phase consists of 4 wt% of carrier ...
Although textile dyes is basically available in very low concentration (10-200 ppm); it should be... more Although textile dyes is basically available in very low concentration (10-200 ppm); it should be removed due to the toxicity to human body and environment. Among the existing methods, emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) is a promising method by providing high interfacial area and the ability to remove a very low concentration of the solute. The optimal emulsions were produced using commercially supplied homogeniser. Initially, methylene blue in simulated wastewater was extracted using a Taylor-Couette column. Methylene blue concentration was determined using spectrophotometer. Complete extraction was performed in the designed column. The research obtained optimal extraction efficiency of about 99% at external phase pH of 10, carrier concentration of 9 wt. %, HCl concentration of 0.5 M, initial feed concentration of 20 ppm, volume ratio of emulsion to feed phase of 1:5, extraction time of 5 min, and extraction speed of 600 rpm.
In the present work, CO2 desorption (stripping) from diethanolamine (DEA) solution using polyviny... more In the present work, CO2 desorption (stripping) from diethanolamine (DEA) solution using polyvinylidene fluoride hollow fiber membrane contactor is theoretically investigated. A comprehensive two dimensional mathematical model is developed to evaluate the membrane wettability when DEA solution is used at different operating conditions such as sweeping gas flow rate, initial CO2 loading and liquid phase temperature. In addition, the impact of flow rate of liquid phase on the CO2 stripping performance was theoretically investigated. The simulated results were compared with the experimental data obtained from literature. The results revealed that the PVDF membrane was suffered from wetting at studied operating conditions.
Suspended solids and residual oil removal in a liquid are relevant to numerous research areas and... more Suspended solids and residual oil removal in a liquid are relevant to numerous research areas and industry. The suspended solid cannot be removed completely by plain settling. Large and heavy particles can settle out readily, but smaller and lighter particles settle very slowly or in some cases do not settle at all. Because of this, it requires efficient physical-chemical pretreatment methods. Our current research is to study the pretreatment methods in the removal of suspended solids and residual oil content in POME. Preliminary analysis shows that POME contains 40,000 mg/L suspended solid and 4,000 mg/L oil and grease content that relatively very high compared to the maximum allowable limit by the Malaysian Department of Environment which are only 400 mg/L and 50 mg/L respectively. The methods chosen were coagulation-sedimentation method for suspended solids removal and solvent extraction for residual oil removal. Jar test apparatus was used as the standard procedure for bench-...
Journal of Applied Membrane Science & Technology, 2017
The objective of this study was to investigate the potential process of the removal of carbon dio... more The objective of this study was to investigate the potential process of the removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from flue gases by using developed membrane gas absorption system. The experiments were performed in membrane gas absorption system consisted 0.45 μm pore size microporous polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) flat sheet membrane. Diethanolamine (DEA) solution was employed as the liquid absorbent. The operating parameters such as the gas and liquid flow rate were setup at 100 cm3/min and 25 cm3/min and liquid absorbent was at room temperature. The effect of DEA concentration was studied with variation in range 1 M to 5 M. In addition, the experiments were carried out with 20%, 40% and 100% gas ratio CO2 to N2. The results show that hydrophobic polymeric membranes such as PVDF can be efficiently used for gas absorption with optimized concentration of DEA.
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