Esterification of Free Fatty Acid in Palm Oil Mill Effluent using Sulfated Carbon-Zeolite Composite Catalyst

Free fatty acid esterification (FFA) in palm oil mill waste (POME) was carried out using a sulfonated carbon-zeolite composite catalyst. The catalyst is synthesized with carbon precursor obtained from molasses, which is adsorbed on the surface of the zeolite and then carbonized and sulfonated with concentrated H2SO4 to form a sulfonated carbon-zeolite catalyst composite, which will be used for the esterification catalyst and the optimization process for the esterification reaction is carried out using the response surface methodology (RSM) and experimental central composite design (CCD). Importantly, the observed independent variables were temperature, catalyst weight, and reaction time to produce fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) products. The catalyst was successfully synthesized, which was shown from the SEM characterization strengthened by the presence of a sulfate group in the FTIR results and the calculation results of high acidity properties. Optimization of FFA esterification with SCZ catalyst obtained optimal conditions with a temperature of 79oC, a catalyst weight of 3.00 g, and a reaction time of 134 minutes with a FAME product of 93.75%, considering that the viscosity of biodiesel is below that required by the API.

Rubber bark dust-zeolite composite improved mechanic strength of soft paddy soil through improved microstructure

<p>Soft paddy soils are not a stable soil structure that leads to the decline of rice production in Kedah, Malaysia. The soil had high compressibility and water content, and low soil strength thus the agricultural machines could not be operated above this soil. Therefore, this study was conducted to improve the mechanical strength of soft soils in paddy fields using an organic amendment. The organic amendment used in this study was made from amended materials comprising clinoptilolite, kieserite, humic acid, and rubber bark dust. The study was carried out in the paddy field area of Alor Pudak district, Kedah, Malaysia, and it was divided into five treatments of amendment dose, i.e: 0 kg (control or P0), 125 kg (P1), 250 kg (P2), 375 kg (P3) and 500 kg (P4) with each plot size about 0.20 ha. The soil samples were then analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the unconsolidated undrained triaxial compression test (UU-test) to characterize their amended properties. The XRD results clearly exhibited changes in the mineralogical composition of all treated plots with an increasing smectite content (1200 to 1300 intensity). Furthermore, the SEM results showed that clay particles in the treated plots have been flocculated to form close-knit, more stable soil structures. After the organic amendment application, the mechanical strength of the treated plots increased to an optimum level (50 kPa in P2) for resisting mechanical pressure from agricultural machinery. Overall, this study of the efficacy of organic amendment offers new insight into a soft paddy soil remediation method that is more effective and economical than the conventional method.</p>

Desiccation cracks behaviour of leachate in bentonite - zeolite composite liner

This study tested desiccation crack potential and migration of metals through pure bentonite and bentonite-zeolite composites to determine the best composition of the composite liner. Pure bentonite (B) and bentonite-zeolite composites of 2% (B2), 5% (B5), and 8% (B8) were used as controlled variables. The results showed that the addition of zeolite could not minimize the desiccation behavior in the liner. The value of crack intensity factor (CIF) of each sample B, B2, B5, and B8 was 3.44%, 3.51%, 3.58%, and 3.64%, respectively, indicating a moisture content of 29.95%, 34.54%, 30.88%, and 28.21%, respectively.

Removal of eriochrome black T from water using a chitosan/zeolite composite: a kinetic study

A composite material was prepared using chitosan and chabazite for the removal of Eriochrome T black dye from water. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses showed chabazite particles embedded in the chitosan matrix. Thermogravimetric analyses indicated that chitosan degrades chemically at temperatures above 225 °C; chabazite only experiences weight decrease due to moisture loss. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses on chitosan detected the presence of O-H, N-H, C-H, C-N and C-O bonds, protonated amino groups and saccharides. In chabazite, H2O molecules, T-O and O-T-O groups, where “T” corresponds to Si or Al atoms, isolated H-bonded O-H groups, and Si-O-Si groups were detected. In kinetic experiments, an 86 % decrease of the dye concentration in solution was achieved in approximately 500 minutes. The linearization method was used to evaluate the fit of the experimental data with the pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second order, Elovich and intra-particle diffusion adsorption kinetic models. The kinetic experiments showed that the sorption mechanism corresponds to a pseudo-second order model.