An Experimental Study on Thermal Properties of Sustainable Bricks Made from Local Industrial Waste

Rapid development around the globe, increase of population and construction with the latest and megastructures have escalated the demand for energy. The increasing of ambient outdoor temperature requires mechanical air conditioners to maintain a comfortable environment within the building, this contributes to high energy consumption. Building with good thermal conductivity properties passively reduces energy consumption. This experimental work focuses on four (4) brick systems which are Laterite Clay (LC), Solid Waste Fly Ash (SWFA) Bricks, Laterite SWFA (LS) Brick, and Laterite SWFA Paint Sludge (LSP) Bricks. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Hydrate Lime (HL), and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) were used as stabiliser. Higher thermal conductivity was recorded for all bricks systems that stabilised with HL. Thermal conductivity was significantly reduced when GGBS was incorporated as a blended stabiliser. SWFA bricks system recorded the lowest thermal conductivity of all bricks systems investigated. A lower thermal conductivity value indicates better thermal properties. In all brick-wall systems, the thermal conductivity was found to increase linearly with density.

Physical Properties of Rice Husk-Pine Wood Particleboard

Rice husk is one types of sustainable and economical agricultural wastes that could produce particleboard as the substitute for solid wood. The problems that encourage this research are due to the increasing of deforestation and the increment demand for solid wood in various industries. Malaysia produces a significant amount of agricultural biomass waste every year. It is noteworthy to mention that agricultural wastes can be fully used in an environmentally friendly way. This study aims to evaluate the properties of particleboard made from rice husk at different fibre loading and mixture. Different formulated composition of rice husk and pine wood shaving was prepared for the production of particleboard by hot pressing at temperature 160 °C for 6 min using Urea-Formaldehyde (UF) resin with additional of ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) as a hardener. The results showed the density values and moisture content of particleboards ranging from 0.547 to 0.660 g/cm3 and 8.072 to 8.929 %, respectively. The thickness swelling and water absorption were increased as the increment of soaking time. Besides, the colour of the rice husk-pine particleboards has no significant difference and changes except for particleboard made from 100% rice husk. While the more proportion of pine wood shaving has the better compaction of particleboards, and the addition of grinded rice husk also make the particleboards have fewer voids. This study is expected to reduce deforestation activities and to maximize the usage of agricultural wastes.

Effect of Material Composition on Thermal Stability Analysis of Coated and Uncoated FeCrAl CATCO by γ-Al2O3 Ultrasonic-Electroplating Technique

Catalytic Converter (CATCO) material become an interesting field to investigate due to the common CATCO material being ceramic material that has high brittleness than metallic materials. Therefore, this research investigates the FeCrAl metallic material as CATCO substrate that is coated by γ-Al2O3 as a washcoat, Nickel Oxide (NiO) as a catalyst. The coating analysis was performed by ultrasonic using a frequency of 35 kHz and various ultrasonic times of 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3 hours and electroplating technique by sulphamate types electrolyte using variation times of 15, 30, 45, 60, and 75 minutes, a current density of 8 A/dm2. The result shows that the raw material was consists of Fe, Cr and Al with Fe element was dominated for 74.13wt%. Coated sample by ultrasonic consists of Fe, Cr, Al, O, and C elements due to FeCrAl substrate was deposited by γ-Al2O3 powder and by electroplating technique consists of Fe, Cr, Al, O, C, Ni and Na elements due to NiO deposition as catalyst material. TGA analysis observed that the highest mass change was observed by raw material 23.39 mg and UB+EL 30 min samples for lowest mass change of 2.85 mg with a point of the reaction is 0.07 mg/min may be caused by a protective oxide layer that developed during the coating process. Therefore, the coated metallic CATCO has a promising prospect to replace the ceramic CATCO due to high thermal stability by protecting layer and low mass change.

Adsorption of Methylene Blue Using Activated Carbon Made from Watermelon Rinds

This work reports the possibility of using sustainable waste from watermelon rinds as a potential candidate for the removal of Methylene Blue (MB) from aqueous solution in batch mode. The adsorbent was characterized by FTIR and SEM where the FTIR analysis shows peaks at 3370 cm-1 that corresponds to –OH stretching vibration for lignin, pectin and cellulose, at 1728 cm-1 corresponds to –C=O stretching of esters, carboxylic acids, and as well peak in the range of 1350 – 1000 cm-1 which indicates stretching vibration of alcohols and carboxylic acids. The availability of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups enhance high MB uptake at lower pH. The SEM image of raw adsorbent shows no development of pores, but after carbonization the pores were developed due to escape of volatile groups during carbonization and activation process. Adsorption studies using batch mode were performed by varying adsorption parameters such as adsorbent dosage, contact time, pH of the solution and initial dye concentration. The maximum capacity of the adsorbent was found to be 0.4g dosage, pH 4, 20mg/L of initial MB concentration and 60 minutes contact time that removes maximum of 197.5 mg g-1. The results indicated that watermelon rind is a successful agricultural waste that could be utilized for sustainable removal of cationic dyes in aqueous solutions.

Effects of Addition Clove Oil to Extra Virgin Olive Oil on Microbial Activity for Use as Transformer Oil

Transformer oil is a liquid insulating material that is used as insulator and as a coolant in transformers. In this study, the addition of clove oil to extra virgin olive oil were performed to determine its effect on antibacterial activity and its usefulness in its ability as a transformer oil. The breakdown voltage test on transformer oil is carried out using various oil temperatures (room temperature and 90oC) because the oil temperature inside the transformer when working/operating can be different, which can be caused by disturbances, excessive loading, and temperature conditions outside the transformer. In addition, the presence of contamination caused by chemical interactions with windings and other solid insulation is catalyzed by high operating temperatures. That causes a gradual change in the original chemical properties of the oil and microbial growth that over time makes it ineffective for use. The method used in this research is by mixing 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% of clove oil with extra virgin olive oil to determine the change in breakdown voltage and microbial activity. The test results found that, the addition of clove oil has a vital role in inhibiting bacterial growth. The more clove oil added, the better its antimicrobial properties.

Sustainable Perspective of Electric Vehicles and Its Future Prospects

Vehicles running on fossil fuel are creating a threat to the environment by emitting pollutants such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and sulfur and nitrogen oxides into the environment. Electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles provide a perennial solution to this problem and since the utilization of renewables for charging, the market is on verge of electric vehicle revolution. Electric propulsion systems can also be used in heavy transport vehicles, thus transitioning them to electric. This paper puts forth an overview of the electric vehicles for transportation of masses and freight across the globe and emphasis on the battery charging infrastructures. Recent trends and advancements in electric vehicle batteries are discussed briefly, along with sustainability in Li-ion batteries and its materials; moreover, a comparative study of different electric vehicles available in the Indian market is done. Similarly, the incentives offered by government, challenges faced by these vehicles and future development areas are conversed at the end of the paper.