Mohamed Aroua
Sunway University, Department of Science and Technology, Faculty Member
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As a by-product of the biodiesel industries, glycerol has been vastly generated which surpasses the market demand. It is imperative to develop an efficient glycerol valorization processes in minimizing the net energy requirement and... more
As a by-product of the biodiesel industries, glycerol has been vastly generated which surpasses the market demand. It is imperative to develop an efficient glycerol valorization processes in minimizing the net energy requirement and intensifying the biodiesel production. In this study, base-catalyzed transesterification of glycerol with dimethyl carbonate using microwave irradiation as heating method to produce glycerol carbonate was conducted by varying grades of glycerol, i.e. 70%, 86% and 99% purity, that is obtained from biodiesel plant. Metal oxide catalysts were used with varying operating parameters including reaction time, DMC/glycerol molar ratio, catalyst weight %, temperature and stirring speed. From the study on the effect of different operating parameters it was found that the type of catalyst used has the most significant effect on the transesterification reaction. Amidst the metal oxide catalysts examined, CaO gave the best performance. This study indicates the feasib...
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This work presents an investigation on the performance of CO2absorption into aqueous alkanolamine solution using a hollow fiber membrane gas–liquid contactor. Aqueous solution of ethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA),... more
This work presents an investigation on the performance of CO2absorption into aqueous alkanolamine solution using a hollow fiber membrane gas–liquid contactor. Aqueous solution of ethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), 2–amino–2–methyl–1–propanol (AMP) and piperazine anhydrous (PZ) were chosen as the absorption liquids. A microporous hollow fiber membrane made of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was used as the medium for gasliquid absorption process. In this study, the operating temperature is fixed at 30°C, while the flowrate of CO2 and alkanolamine were in the range of 1000–5000 ml/min and 50–280 ml/min respectively. The feed gas was introduced directly to the shell of the module at 1–1.5 bar and the liquid flowed through the fiber lumen side. The CO2 transfer through the membrane was found to be reaction controlled and dependent on the type of amine used. The use of piperazine as an accelerator in the mixture of the absorption liquids gives a good impact on increasing the perfor...
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In this study a new approach based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) has been designed to predict the density of various vegetable oil-based ethyl esters and palm oil-based methyl esters biodiesel. The experimental densities data... more
In this study a new approach based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) has been designed to predict the density of various vegetable oil-based ethyl esters and palm oil-based methyl esters biodiesel. The experimental densities data measured at various temperatures from 15°C to 90 °C at 1 °C interval were used to train the networks. The present work, applied a three layer back propagation neural network with nine neurons in the hidden layer. The results from the network are in good agreement with the measured data and the average absolute percent deviation was 0.29, 0.35, 0.72, 0.54, 0.68 and 0.72 % for the palm oil methyl esters and the ethyl esters of palm, canola, com and ricebran oil,respectively. The results of ANNs have also been compared with the results of theoretical estimations.
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Event though the price of fossil fuel now is lower than what it was six months ago, there is no guarantee that the price will remain low and may even set new price record because the oil reserves are declining. Biodiesel is one of the... more
Event though the price of fossil fuel now is lower than what it was six months ago, there is no guarantee that the price will remain low and may even set new price record because the oil reserves are declining. Biodiesel is one of the promising sustainable energy sources that can be a serious contender for fossil fuel if the raw materials can be obtained at an economically viable level. Efforts are underway to identify such raw materials and source from waste is definitely one of the main candidates. Some waste such as waste frying oil, bleaching earth and coffee ground are examples of waste that can be used to produce biodiesel at varying technical difficulties directly. However any other waste containing C, H, Nand P sources can be also potentially used for producing biodiesel indirectly, after transformation process involving microbes. For example,algae that grows on a C,H, Nand P sources from domestic and industrial wastewater (food,rubber, palm oil industries) and CO2 (from combustion of fuel) can be a source of raw material for biodiesel production. In this work, various challenges and opportunities available for producing biodiesel from waste sources, directly and indirectly are conceptually discussed.
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Research Interests: Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Catalysis, Biodiesel, Vegetable Oils, and 13 moreAlcohol, Coal to Methanol Synthesis, En, Methanol, Ethanol Production from Lignocellulosic Waste, Ethanol, Oil palm, Biodiesel Production, Diesel Fuel, Transesterification, Oil Palm, Potassium Hydroxide, and Mixed Methanol/ethanol System
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Research Interests: Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Chromatography, Biodiesel, and 15 moreDesign of Experiments, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Jatropha, Enzymatic Synthesis of Advanced Materials, Biofuel, Coal to Methanol Synthesis, Ionic liquids and solvents, Chemical reactors, Enzyme activity, Bio Diesel from Jatropha Oil, Flow Rate, Lipase, Jatropha Oil, Enzymatic Transesterification, and Immobilized Lipase(Design of Experiments, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Jatropha, Enzymatic Synthesis of Advanced Materials, Biofuel, Coal to Methanol Synthesis, Ionic liquids and solvents, Chemical reactors, Enzyme activity, Bio Diesel from Jatropha Oil, Flow Rate, Lipase, Jatropha Oil, Enzymatic Transesterification, and Immobilized Lipase)
(Design of Experiments, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Jatropha, Enzymatic Synthesis of Advanced Materials, Biofuel, Coal to Methanol Synthesis, Ionic liquids and solvents, Chemical reactors, Enzyme activity, Bio Diesel from Jatropha Oil, Flow Rate, Lipase, Jatropha Oil, Enzymatic Transesterification, and Immobilized Lipase)
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Research Interests: Engineering, Chemistry, Technology, Response Surface Methodology, Medicine, and 15 moreBioscience, Optimization, Biological Sciences, Ph, Denitrification, Bacteria, Nitrite, Reduction, Interaction effect, Central Composite Design, Bicarbonate, Experimental Data, Sodium Bicarbonate, Nitrites, and Response surface design
... methanol recovery unit to produce palm oil biodiesel Saeid Baroutian, MK Aroua Ã,y, AR Abdul Aziz and Nik MN Sulaiman Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia... more
... methanol recovery unit to produce palm oil biodiesel Saeid Baroutian, MK Aroua Ã,y, AR Abdul Aziz and Nik MN Sulaiman Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia SUMMARY ...
Research Interests: Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Energy, Biodiesel, and 12 moreOptimization techniques, Waste Management, Optimization, Methanol, Ritual Purity, Palm Oil, Biodiesel Production, Pulp and Paper Industry, Production of Biodiesel from Transesterification, Transesterification, Palm Methyl Esters, and Electrical And Electronic Engineering
Research Interests: Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biodiesel, Microbial Enzymes, and 15 moreOrganic Solvents, Coal to Methanol Synthesis, Methanol, Esterification, Palm Oil, Ethyl Esters, Enzymatic biodiesel production, Castor Oil, Oilseeds Pathology, Different Operating Conditions, Agitation Rates, Enzymatic Transesterification, Hydroxyl Groups, Lipozyme TL IM, and Methyl Acetates
This study investigated the biological denitrification method which is a treatment method able to reduce inorganic nitrate compounds to harmless nitrogen gas. Autohydrogenotrophic denitrifying bacteria were used in this study to prevent... more
This study investigated the biological denitrification method which is a treatment method able to reduce inorganic nitrate compounds to harmless nitrogen gas. Autohydrogenotrophic denitrifying bacteria were used in this study to prevent any problematic outcomes associated with ...
Research Interests: Engineering, Chemistry, Environmental Remediation, Electrochemistry, Response Surface Methodology, and 11 moreActivated Carbon, Physical sciences, Nitrate, Nitrogen, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, Hydraulic Retention Time, Central Composite Design, Carbon Fibers, Cathode, Granular Activated Carbon, and Carbon Source
A gas sparged method was investigated for reducing cake layer formation and enhancing the crossflow ultrafiltration process. The injection of nitrogen gas promotes turbulence and increases the permeate flux of the process fluid.... more
A gas sparged method was investigated for reducing cake layer formation and enhancing the crossflow ultrafiltration process. The injection of nitrogen gas promotes turbulence and increases the permeate flux of the process fluid. Experiments were carried out using a ...
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Nitrates in different water and wastewater streams raised concerns due to severe impacts on human and animal health. Diverse methods are reported to remove nitrate from water streams which almost fail to entirely treat nitrate, except... more
Nitrates in different water and wastewater streams raised concerns due to severe impacts on human and animal health. Diverse methods are reported to remove nitrate from water streams which almost fail to entirely treat nitrate, except biological denitrification which is capable of reducing inorganic nitrate compounds to harmless nitrogen gas. Review of numerous studies in biological denitrification of nitrate containing water resources, aquaculture wastewaters and industrial wastewater confirmed the potential of this method and its flexibility towards the remediation of different concentrations of nitrate. The denitrifiers could be fed with organic and inorganic substrates which have different performances and subsequent advantages or disadvantages. Review of heterotrophic and autotrophic denitrifications with different food and energy sources concluded that autotrophic denitrifiers are more effective in denitrification. Autotrophs utilize carbon dioxide and hydrogen as the source of carbon substrate and electron donors, respectively. The application of this method in bio-electro reactors (BERs) has many advantages and is promising. However, this method is not so well established and documented. BERs provide proper environment for simultaneous hydrogen production on cathodes and appropriate consumption by immobilized autotrophs on these cathodes. This survey covers various designs and aspects of BERs and their performances.
Research Interests: Biochemistry, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Bioelectrochemistry, Carbon Dioxide, and 15 moreElectrochemistry, Carbon, Environmental Chemistry, Medicine, Denitrification, Animal health, Hydrogen Production, BER, Electrons, Autotroph, Bioreactors, Industrial wastewater, Electrodes, Energy Source, and Bioresource technology
In this study the kinetics of autohydrogenotrophic denitrification was studied under optimum solution pH and bicarbonate concentration. The optimal pH and bicarbonate concentration were firstly obtained using a design of experiment (DOE)... more
In this study the kinetics of autohydrogenotrophic denitrification was studied under optimum solution pH and bicarbonate concentration. The optimal pH and bicarbonate concentration were firstly obtained using a design of experiment (DOE) methodology. For this purpose a total of 11 experiments were carried out. Sodium bicarbonate concentrations ranging of 20-2000 mg/L and pH values from 6.5 to 8.5 were used in the optimization runs. It was found that the pH has a more pronounced effect on the denitrification process as compared to the bicarbonate dose. The developed quadratic model predicted the optimum conditions at pH 8 and 1100 mg NaHCO(3)/L. Using these optimal conditions, the kinetics of denitrification for nitrate and nitrite degradation were investigated in separate experiments. Both processes were found to follow a zero order kinetic model. The ultimate specific degradation rates for nitrate and nitrite remediation were 29.60 mg NO(3)(-)-N/g MLVSS/L and 34.85 mg NO(3)(-)-N/g MLVSS/L respectively, when hydrogen was supplied every 0.5h.
Research Interests: Chemistry, Hydrogen, Kinetics, Medicine, Multidisciplinary, and 15 moreOptimization, Denitrification, Nitrates, Nitrate, Nitrogen, Nitrite, Design of experiment, Oxygen, Analysis of Variance, Lumping Kinetic Model, Bicarbonate, Optimality Condition, Nitrites, Bioresource technology, and Kinetic model
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Research Interests: Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Biochemical Engineering, Carbon, Activated Carbon, and 15 moreBioreactor, Copper, Bacillus, Bacteria, Acinetobacter, Acclimatization, Corynebacterium, Alkalinity, Autohydrogenotrophic Bacteria, Biological Denitrification, Carbon Source, Alcaligenes, Bioelectrochemical Reactor, Continuous Flow Reactor, and Cytophaga
ABSTRACT
Research Interests: Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Poverty Reduction Strategies, Waste Management, Ultrafiltration, and 15 moreProcess Engineering, Biodegradation, Installation, Biological Nitrogen Fixation, Recycled Tire Rubber, Biophysics of biological membranes, Aeration, Suspended Solids, Total Dissolved Solids, Bubble Formation, Crossflow Ultrafiltration, Gas Sparging, Skim Latex Serum, Sparging, and Ammoniacal-nitrogen(Process Engineering, Biodegradation, Installation, Biological Nitrogen Fixation, Recycled Tire Rubber, Biophysics of biological membranes, Aeration, Suspended Solids, Total Dissolved Solids, Bubble Formation, Crossflow Ultrafiltration, Gas Sparging, Skim Latex Serum, Sparging, and Ammoniacal-nitrogen)
(Process Engineering, Biodegradation, Installation, Biological Nitrogen Fixation, Recycled Tire Rubber, Biophysics of biological membranes, Aeration, Suspended Solids, Total Dissolved Solids, Bubble Formation, Crossflow Ultrafiltration, Gas Sparging, Skim Latex Serum, Sparging, and Ammoniacal-nitrogen)
Abstract: Nitrates in different surface and groundwater resources became a worldwide problem which raised concerns due to severe impacts on human and animal health. Although diverse abiotic methods were reported to remove nitrate from... more
Abstract: Nitrates in different surface and groundwater resources became a worldwide problem which raised concerns due to severe impacts on human and animal health. Although diverse abiotic methods were reported to remove nitrate from water, they fail to entirely treat ...
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Appropriate selection of cleaning agent is an important factor to achieve a better cleaning efficiency and this topic has become an ongoing discussion. This work assesses the impacts of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium hypochlorite... more
Appropriate selection of cleaning agent is an important factor to achieve a better cleaning efficiency and this topic has become an ongoing discussion. This work assesses the impacts of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) aqueous solution towards polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) stability at the typical concentrations used in membrane cleaning. The cleaned membranes were characterised using held emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), pure water flux measurement, contact angle, protein retention and tensile testing. Membrane cleaned at elevated temperature and higher concentration presented a higher water flux than the virgin membrane which can be a worrying sign of alteration in membrane properties. The FIR spectra indicated that the alteration in chemical composition of the membrane causes a reduction in the degree of hydrophilicity. The mechanical properties of the membrane were compromised based on the declination of te...
Research Interests: Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Phase Transformations, Water quality, Slope Stability, and 10 moreUltrafiltration, Sodium Hypochlorite, Land Degradation, Chemical Engineering Science, Water Quality, Alkaline Treatment, Membrane Cleaning, Pemurnian Minyak Tanah Dengan Naoh, Naocl, and Uf Membranes
It is an urgent act to limit greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the harmful effects of climate changes. In this work, the binary and ternary systems of guanidinium trifluoromethanesulfonate ([gua][OTf]) in N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA)... more
It is an urgent act to limit greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the harmful effects of climate changes. In this work, the binary and ternary systems of guanidinium trifluoromethanesulfonate ([gua][OTf]) in N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and/or water were examined as alternative solvents for gas treatment process. The thermodynamic properties including density, rho, viscosity, eta, thermal expansion, alpha(p) and physical solubility of CO2 in the systems were measured as a function of molar composition with a temperature range of 293.2-333.2K at 100-1000 kPa. The presence of [gua][OTf] accelerates CO2 absorption process. The present study offers equations of correlation providing a reliable prediction of the binary and ternary systems as a function of concentration. The linear equation, quadratic equation, extended Arhenius equation and Henry's Law equation have been applied to assess the validity of the finding. The CO2 solubilities in [gua][OTf] systems are found higher compared ...
Research Interests: Chemical Engineering, Carbon Dioxide, Aqueous Solutions, Classical Physics, Density Functional Theory, and 11 moreViscosity, Binary mixtures, Fluid phase equilibria, Capture, Alkanolamine, Soil physical property, Alkanolamines, Guanidinium cation, N-Methyldiethanolamine Solutions, Elevated Pressures, and Diethanolamine
In this study, sludge from an electroplating wastewater treatment facility was treated with acids to extract heavy and precious metals. Metals of interest in the study were Aluminium and Silver, which were relatively high in concentration... more
In this study, sludge from an electroplating wastewater treatment facility was treated with acids to extract heavy and precious metals. Metals of interest in the study were Aluminium and Silver, which were relatively high in concentration in the sludge sample. Acids used in the study were Hydrochloric and Nitric acid. Experiments were conducted at various temperatures and acid concentrations. It was observed that maximum Aluminium was extracted using a mixture of Hydrochloric and Nitric Acid at a ratio of 3 to 1, known as the aqua regia phase. About 24% Aluminium, in the form of Aluminium Chloride aqueous solution was obtained at room temperature at these conditions. Maximum Silver, about 90%, in the form of Silver Nitrate aqueous solution was obtained when refluxed with Nitric acid at a temperature of 110°C.
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Protein rich wastes from aquaculture systems result in total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), total organic carbon (TOC) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). A number of conventional approaches have been adopted for the removal of these wastes in... more
Protein rich wastes from aquaculture systems result in total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), total organic carbon (TOC) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). A number of conventional approaches have been adopted for the removal of these wastes in aquaculture ponds and hatcheries with varying degrees of success but they face critical problems such as membrane fouling, high cost or the generation of toxic by-products. To overcome such issues, electrochemical technology is commonly employed. The advantages of electrochemi-cal treatment include high efficiency, ambient operating conditions, small equipment sizes, minimal sludge generation and rapid start-up. An even better system involves bio-electrochemical reactors (BERs), which have the potential to generate energy from wastewater (by means of microbial fuel cells) or a valuable prod-uct such as hydrogen (using microbial electrolysis cells). Mechanisms of cathodic nitrate reduction and anod-ic oxidation in electrochemical and bio-electrochemi...
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In this study, a new approach based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) has been designed to estimate the density of pure palm oil-based methyl ester biodiesel. The experimental density data measured at various temperatures from 14 to... more
In this study, a new approach based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) has been designed to estimate the density of pure palm oil-based methyl ester biodiesel. The experimental density data measured at various temperatures from 14 to 90°C at 1°C intervals were used to train the networks. The present research, applied a three layer back propagation neural network with seven
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The absorption of carbon dioxide in the 4 mol/L aqueous solution of methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) mixed with three types of ionic liquids, 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF(4)]), 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate... more
The absorption of carbon dioxide in the 4 mol/L aqueous solution of methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) mixed with three types of ionic liquids, 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim][BF(4)]), 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate ([bmim][Ac]) and 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium dicyanamide ([bmim][DCA]) were measured as a function of temperature, CO(2) partial pressure and concentration of ionic liquids in the solution. The data for aqueous MDEA + ILs solutions were obtained for temperature, CO(2) partial pressure and ionic liquids concentrations ranging from 303 to 333 K, 100 to 700 kPa and 0 to 2 mol/L, respectively. The CO(2) loading in all the studied mixtures decreases with an increase in temperature and increases with an increase in the CO(2) partial pressure, at a given temperature. Also, it is found that the CO(2) loading decreases significantly as the ionic liquid concentration increases, but this reduction in solutions contained [bmim][BF(4)] was less than other types...
Research Interests: Chemical Engineering, Carbon Dioxide, Ionic Liquids, Classical Physics, Luminescence of lanthanide ions, and 10 moreAbsorption, Fluid phase equilibria, Partial Pressure Measurement, Atmospheric Composition, MDEA, Aqueous Mixtures, Dicyanamide, Liquid Concentration, Methyldiethanolamine, and Tetrafluoroborates
In this study, the physical solubility and diffusivity of N2O in aqueous MDEA+[bmim][BF4] solutions were measured over a range of temperatures of 303–333K and [bmim][BF4] concentrations of 0–2.0molL−1 at atmospheric pressure. The total... more
In this study, the physical solubility and diffusivity of N2O in aqueous MDEA+[bmim][BF4] solutions were measured over a range of temperatures of 303–333K and [bmim][BF4] concentrations of 0–2.0molL−1 at atmospheric pressure. The total MDEA concentration in the solutions was kept constant at 4molL−1. The “N2O analogy” was then used to estimate the physical solubility and diffusivity of CO2 in aqueous MDEA+[bmim][BF4] solutions. The density and viscosity of aqueous MDEA+[bmim][BF4] solutions were also measured over the same range of temperatures and concentrations of the ionic liquid. These data were used to develop correlations for the prediction of CO2 diffusivity in these systems.
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The kinetics of CO2 absorption in aqueous solutions of MDEA+[bmim][BF4] were investigated using a stirred cell reactor where the relevant parameters were evaluated. The rate equation of the absorption reaction was found to be close to... more
The kinetics of CO2 absorption in aqueous solutions of MDEA+[bmim][BF4] were investigated using a stirred cell reactor where the relevant parameters were evaluated. The rate equation of the absorption reaction was found to be close to first order with respect to CO2 at temperatures ranging from 303 to 333K and [bmim][BF4] concentration from 0 to 2.0molL-1. The activation energy decreased
Research Interests: Chemical Engineering, Carbon Dioxide, Kinetics, Reaction engineering, Ionic Liquids, and 12 moreHeat and Mass Transfer, Enzyme Kinetics, Chemical Reaction Kinetics, Laser Rate Equations, Activation Energy, First Order Logic, Music as a Factor in Mental Enhancement, MDEA, Absorption Reactions, Carbon Dioxide Absorption, Hatta Numbers, and Stirred Cell Reactors
ABSTRACT In this work, p-benzoquinone (p-BQ) electro-degradation in three carbon black diamond (CBD) composite electrodes is studied under conditions of 200 mg/L initial concentration, 45 mA/cm2 applied current density, pH 3, and 0.25 M... more
ABSTRACT In this work, p-benzoquinone (p-BQ) electro-degradation in three carbon black diamond (CBD) composite electrodes is studied under conditions of 200 mg/L initial concentration, 45 mA/cm2 applied current density, pH 3, and 0.25 M Na2SO4 as a supporting electrolyte. The performance of the CBD electrodes was compared with that of a platinum electrode. Results showed that the optimal p-BQ degradation, COD removal efficiency, and current efficiency may be obtained from the CBD electrode containing 20% carbon black (20CBD). After 20 min of electro-degradation, p-BQ removal on 20CBD reached 96% at pH 6 and 61.5% at pH 3. However, after 180 min of p-BQ degradation, COD removal on this electrode reached 45% at pH 6 and 70% at pH 3. Increases in applied current during p-BQ electro-oxidation were related to the initial p-BQ concentration. Significant differences were observed in the solution containing 200 mg/L p-BQ as the current density was increased from 20 mA/cm2 to 45 mA/cm2 ; no such effects were observed in the solution with 1000 mg/L p-BQ.
Research Interests: Engineering, Water and wastewater treatment, Codicology, Physical sciences, Code Switching, and 8 moreCHEMICAL SCIENCES, Chemical Equilibrium On Aqueous Solution Concept, Bdd location de voiture, Electrochemical Oxidation, Current Efficiency, Boron Doped Diamond, Carbon Black Diamond Composite Electrodes, and P-Benzoquinone
ABSTRACT Common design and operational issues to evaluate the performance of an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane water treatment plant are highlighted with a case study on an industrial-scale drinking water treatment plant located in... more
ABSTRACT Common design and operational issues to evaluate the performance of an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane water treatment plant are highlighted with a case study on an industrial-scale drinking water treatment plant located in Malaysia. This treatment plant has been in operation since February 2013 using dead-end polyethersulfone UF membrane filtration system to produce up to 14 million litres a day of drinking water to a small township. Literature solutions are compared with the practised solutions and elucidated with the case study. Gaps between literature solutions which are mainly based on lab-scale research and industry practices are identified. Reducing this gap will have vast implication to improve the design and operation of industrial-scale UF treatment system. (C) 2014 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187610701400279X