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Progress, Prospect And Challenges In Glycerol Purification Process: A Review Feb 2015

Progress, Prospect And Challenges In Glycerol Purification Process: A Review

Faculty of Engineering University of Malaya

Glycerol surplus in recent decades due to global increase in biodiesel production has created a new form of challenge in terms of purification for crude glycerol. This review summarizes the progress of crude glycerol purification technologies using various techniques. Critical insights are given regarding the application of suitable techniques for crude glycerol purification which includes chemical pre-treatment, methanol removal, vacuum distillation, ion exchange, activated carbon and membrane separation technology. Extensive discussion is made in relation with stages and processes in the conventional, current and emerging glycerol purification technologies. Lastly, aspects concerning the challenges of glycerol utilization and purification are thoroughly …


Biogasoline: An Out-Of-The-Box Solution To The Food-For-Fuel And Land-Use Competitions Jan 2015

Biogasoline: An Out-Of-The-Box Solution To The Food-For-Fuel And Land-Use Competitions

Faculty of Engineering University of Malaya

Societal developments are hinged on the energy supplied by fossil fuels. However, the supply of these fuels is finite in the foreseeable future. This is aside the associated environmental degradation and economic sustainability of these fuels. These negative consequences and challenges spurred the search for sustainable energy sources such as biofuels. However, affordable feedstocks and efficient synthesis for renewable fuels remain indispensable and yet challenging line of research. Therefore, breakthroughs in plant biotechnology and mass production are essential prerequisites for ensuring the sustainability of biofuels as alternatives to petroleum-based energy. Conversely, public outcry concerning the food-for-fuel conflicts and land-use change …


Characterization And Prediction Of Blend Properties And Evaluation Of Engine Performance And Emission Parameters Of A Ci Engine Operated With Various Biodiesel Blends Jan 2015

Characterization And Prediction Of Blend Properties And Evaluation Of Engine Performance And Emission Parameters Of A Ci Engine Operated With Various Biodiesel Blends

Faculty of Engineering University of Malaya

The present research is aimed to investigate the feasibility of using palm (PB), mustard (MB) and Calophyllum biodiesel (CB) as renewable and alternative fuels. Biodiesels were produced from the respective crude vegetable oils and physicochemical properties of the biodiesel-diesel blends were graphically compared for all possible biodiesel blends at every 10% composition interval. By applying the curve-fitting method, equations were developed for predicting important properties, which show very close fit to the experimental data. This will help future research such as the optimization of blending percentage, engine combustion and performance and emission analysis. As up to 20% blends of biodiesels …


Evaluation Of N-Butanol As An Oxygenated Additive To Improve Combustion-Emission-Performance Characteristics Of A Diesel Engine Fuelled With A Diesel-Calophyllum Inophyllum Biodiesel Blend Jan 2015

Evaluation Of N-Butanol As An Oxygenated Additive To Improve Combustion-Emission-Performance Characteristics Of A Diesel Engine Fuelled With A Diesel-Calophyllum Inophyllum Biodiesel Blend

Faculty of Engineering University of Malaya

Alexandrian laurel or Calophyllum inophyllum oil is considered as one of the most forthcoming non-edible biodiesel sources in recent years. In the present study, the relative improvement of an Alexandrian laurel biodiesel-diesel blend (AL20) was attempted with the addition of 5-10% n-butanol (by vol), which is often used as an oxygenated cold starting additive. Constant 80 Nm torque at variable engine speed, ranging from 1000 to 3000 rpm was chosen as the operating condition on a 4-cylinder turbocharged, water cooled diesel engine. Brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake specific energy consumption (BSEC) and brake thermal efficiency (BTE) was measured to …


Effects Of Heat Treatment On Oil Palm Shell Coarse Aggregates For High Strength Lightweight Concrete, Hilmi Mahmud Feb 2014

Effects Of Heat Treatment On Oil Palm Shell Coarse Aggregates For High Strength Lightweight Concrete, Hilmi Mahmud

Hilmi Mahmud

In this study, the effects of heat treatment on oil palm shell (OPS) coarse aggregates are evaluated for high strength lightweight concrete (HSLWC). OPS coarse aggregates are subjected to heat treatment at two temperature settings (60 and 150. °C) and duration of heat treatment (0.5 and 1. h). The reduction in density is found to be within the range of HSLWC when heat-treated OPS aggregates are added into the oil palm shell concrete (OPSC). The results reveal that workability of the OPSC increases with an increase in temperature and duration of heat treatment of the OPS aggregates. It is found …


Engineering Properties Of Oil Palm Shell Lightweight Concrete Containing Fly Ash, Hilmi Mahmud Aug 2013

Engineering Properties Of Oil Palm Shell Lightweight Concrete Containing Fly Ash, Hilmi Mahmud

Hilmi Mahmud

The effect of cement replacement with type F fly ash at 0%, 10%, 30% and 50% on some engineering properties of an oil palm shell (OPS) high strength lightweight concrete was investigated. The properties studied include workability, density, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, water absorption and drying shrinkage. The effect of initial water curing periods of 2, 4 and 6. days after demoulding and air drying environment on the 28-day compressive strength was also investigated. The test results showed that even with 50% substitution of cement with fly ash, a low cost grade 30 OPS lightweight concrete can …


Refining Technologies For The Purification Of Crude Biodiesel, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman Dec 2011

Refining Technologies For The Purification Of Crude Biodiesel, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

In biodiesel production, downstream purification is an important step in the overall process. This article is a critical review of the most recent research findings pertaining to biodiesel refining technologies. Both conventional refining technologies and the most recent biodiesel membrane refining technology are reviewed. The results obtained through membrane purification showed some promise in term of biodiesel yield and quality. Also, membranes presented low water consumption and less wastewater discharges. Therefore, exploration and exploitation of membrane technology to purify crude biodiesel is necessary. Furthermore, the success of membrane technology in the purification of crude biodiesel could serve as a boost …


A Packed Bed Membrane Reactor For Production Of Biodiesel Using Activated Carbon Supported Catalyst, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman Jan 2011

A Packed Bed Membrane Reactor For Production Of Biodiesel Using Activated Carbon Supported Catalyst, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

In this study, a novel continuous reactor has been developed to produce high quality methyl esters (biodiesel) from palm oil. A microporous TiO 2/Al 2O 3 membrane was packed with potassium hydroxide catalyst supported on palm shell activated carbon. The central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to investigate the effects of reaction temperature, catalyst amount and cross flow circulation velocity on the production of biodiesel in the packed bed membrane reactor. The highest conversion of palm oil to biodiesel in the reactor was obtained at 70°C employing 157.04g catalyst per unit volume of the reactor …


Potassium Hydroxide Catalyst Supported On Palm Shell Activated Carbon For Transesterification Of Palm Oil, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman Nov 2010

Potassium Hydroxide Catalyst Supported On Palm Shell Activated Carbon For Transesterification Of Palm Oil, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

In this study, potassium hydroxide catalyst supported on palm shell activated carbon was developed for transesterification of palm oil. The Central Composite Design (CCD) of the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed to investigate the effects of reaction temperature, catalyst loading and methanol to oil molar ratio on the production of biodiesel using activated carbon supported catalyst. The highest yield was obtained at 64.1 °C reaction temperature, 30.3 wt.% catalyst loading and 24:1 methanol to oil molar ratio. The physical and chemical properties of the produced biodiesel met the standard specifications. This study proves that activated carbon supported potassium hydroxide …


Development Of Lightweight Concrete Using Industrial Waste Material, Palm Kernel Shell As Lightweight Aggregate And Its Properties, Hilmi Mahmud Jan 2010

Development Of Lightweight Concrete Using Industrial Waste Material, Palm Kernel Shell As Lightweight Aggregate And Its Properties, Hilmi Mahmud

Hilmi Mahmud

Agricultural industrial wastes produced after extracting palm oil from palm fruits known as palm kernel shell (PKS) are available in large quantities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria and other tropical countries. Malaysia is the second largest palm oil producing country in the world. This paper reports the results of an investigation conducted to utilize the PKS as lightweight aggregate to produce grade30 concrete with density of about 1850kg/m 3. The properties of both PKS and crushed granite aggregates were compared. The concrete produced using PKS referred to here after as palm kernel shell concrete (PKSC) and its properties were compared with …


Methanol Recovery During Transesterification Of Palm Oil In A Tio2/Al2o3 Membrane Reactor: Experimental Study And Neural Network Modeling, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman Jan 2010

Methanol Recovery During Transesterification Of Palm Oil In A Tio2/Al2o3 Membrane Reactor: Experimental Study And Neural Network Modeling, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman

High quality palm oil biodiesel can be produced by combination of alkali transesterification and separation processes in a TiO2/Al 2O3 membrane reactor. Due to the small molecular size, methanol molecules are able to pass through the membrane along with the products. Since methanol is one of the process reactants it is necessary to be recovered. Methanol recovery by means of continuous distillation was employed and the influences of different operational parameters including heating temperature permeate flow rate and reactants ratio were investigated. The results indicate that these parameters have significant effects on the rate of methanol recovery. To simulate the …


Environmentalism In Indonesian Politics, Robert Cribb Jan 2003

Environmentalism In Indonesian Politics, Robert Cribb

Robert Cribb

Environmential politics emerged in Indonesia during the autheoritarian Suharto era. Rather than being a reaction to Suharto's predatory approach to the environment, many environmental policies were closely tied to the managerial, technocratic and campaign-oriented approach of the New Order.


More Smoke Than Fire: The 1997 'Haze' Crisis And Other Environmental Issues In Indonesia', Robert Cribb Jan 1998

More Smoke Than Fire: The 1997 'Haze' Crisis And Other Environmental Issues In Indonesia', Robert Cribb

Robert Cribb

Reports on the 1987 haze crisis, analyses the four explanations put forward for the crisis and speculates on political consequences for the Suharto government.