Search results for: Palm Fiber

Authors: Adil Elrayah, Jie Weng, Esra Suliman

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The mineral in human bone is not pure stoichiometric calcium phosphate (Ca/P) as it is partially substituted by in organic elements. In this study, the copper ions (Cu²⁺) substituted hydroxyapatite (CuHA) powder has been synthesized by the co-precipitation method. The CuHA powder has been used to fabricate CuHA fiber scaffolds by sol-gel process and the following sinter process. The resulted CuHA fibers have slightly different microstructure (i.e. porosity) compared to HA fiber scaffold, which is denser. The mechanical properties test was used to evaluate CuHA, and the results showed decreases in both compression strength and hardness tests. Moreover, the in vitro used endothelial cells to evaluate the angiogenesis of CuHA. The result illustrated that the viability of endothelial cell on CuHA fiber scaffold surfaces tends to antigenic behavior. The results obtained with CuHA scaffold give this material benefit in biological applications such as antimicrobial, antitumor, antigens, compacts, filling cavities of the tooth and for the deposition of metal implants anti-tumor, anti-cancer, bone filler, and scaffold.

Keywords: fiber scaffold, copper ions, hydroxyapatite, in vitro, mechanical property

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Yanto Santosa, Rozza Tri Kwatrina

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High Conservation Value (HCV) is an area with conservation function within oil palm plantation. Despite the important role of HCV area in biodiversity conservation and various studies on HCV, there was a lack of research studying the factors determining its success. A preliminary study was conducted to identify the determinant factor of HCV that affected the diversity. Line transect method was used to calculate the species diversity of butterfly, birds, mammals, and herpetofauna species as well as their richness. Specifically for mammals, camera traps were also used. The research sites comprised of 12 HCV areas in 3 provinces of Indonesia (Central Kalimantan, Riau, and Palembang). The relationship between the HCV biophysical factor with the species number and species diversity for each wildlife class was identified using Chi-Square analysis with Cross tab (contingency table). Results of the study revealed that species diversity varied by research locations. Four factors determining the success of HCV area in relations to the number and diversity of wildlife species are land cover types for mammals, the width of area and distance to rivers for birds, and distance to settlements for butterflies.

Keywords: wildlife diversity, oil palm plantation, high conservation value area, ecological factors

Procedia PDF Downloads 152

Authors: Nuntaporn Aukkanit

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The aim of this study was to determine the effect of oils on chemical, physical, and sensory properties of deep-fried dough stick. Five kinds of vegetable oil which were used for addition and frying consist of: palm oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, rice bran oil, and canola oil. The results of this study showed that using different kinds of oil made significant difference in the quality of deep-fried dough stick. Deep-fried dough stick fried with the rice bran oil had the lowest moisture loss and oil absorption (p≤0.05), but it had some unsatisfactory physical properties (color, specific volume, density, and texture) and sensory characteristics. Nonetheless, deep-fried dough stick fried with the sunflower oil had moisture loss and oil absorption slightly more than the rice bran oil, but it had almost higher physical and sensory properties. Deep-fried dough sticks together with the sunflower oil did not have different sensory score from the palm oil, commonly used for production of deep-fried dough stick. These results indicated that addition and frying with the sunflower oil are appropriate for the production of deep-fried dough stick.

Keywords: deep-fried dough stick, palm oil, sunflower oil, rice bran oil

Procedia PDF Downloads 281

Authors: He Li Wen, Meng Qing Xiang, Li De Yong, Zhang Ya Wei, Ren Li Ping

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Stress always exerts some extent adverse effects on the animal production, food safety and quality concerns. Stress is commonly-seen in livestock industry, but there is rare literature focusing on the effects of nutrition stress. What’s more, the research always concentrates on the effect of single stress additionally, there is scarce information about the stress effect on waterfowl like goose as they are commonly thought to be tolerant to stress. To our knowledge, it is not always true. The object of this study was to evaluate the response of growing Greylag geese offered different fiber sources to the comprehensive stress, primarily involving the procedures of fasting, transport, capture, etc. The birds were randomly selected to rear with the diets differing in fiber source, being corn straw silage (CSS), steam-exploded corn straw (SECS), steam-exploded wheat straw (SEWS), and steam-exploded rice straw (SERS), respectively. Blood samples designated for the determination of stress status were collected before (pre-stress ) and after (post-stress ) the stressors carried out. No difference (P>0.05) was found on the pre-stress blood parameters of growing Greylags fed alternative fiber sources. Irrespective of the dietary differences, the comprehensive stress decreased (P<0.01) the concentration of SOD and increased (P<0.01) that of CK. Between the dietary treatments, the birds fed CSS had a higher (P<0.05)post-stress concentration of MDA than those offered SECS, along with a similarity to those fed the other two fiber sources. There was no difference (P>0.05) found on the stress response of the birds fed different fiber sources. In conclusion, SOD and CK concentration in blood may be more sensitive in indicating stress status and dietary fiber source exerted no effect on the stress response of growing Greylags. There is little chance to improve the stress status by ingesting different fiber sources.

Keywords: blood parameter, fiber source, Greylag goose, stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 518

Authors: Ashiq Rahman, Sunil Thapa, Shunyao Fan, Niloy K. Dutta

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A 20-GHz and a 50-GHz pulse train are generated using a fiber ring laser setup that incorporates Rational Harmonic Mode Locking. Two separate experiments were carried out using charcoal nanoparticles and graphene nanoparticles acting as saturable absorbers to reduce the pulse width generated from rational harmonic mode-locking (RHML). Autocorrelator trace shows that the pulse width is reduced from 5.6-ps to 3.2-ps using charcoal at 20-GHz, and to 2.7-ps using graphene at 50-GHz repetition rates, which agrees with the simulation findings. Numerical simulations have been carried out to study the effect of varying the linear and nonlinear absorbance parameters of both absorbers on output pulse widths. Experiments closely agree with the simulations.

Keywords: fiber optics, fiber lasers, mode locking, saturable absorbers

Procedia PDF Downloads 98

Authors: Haruna Saidu, Sulaiman Mohammed, Abdulkarim Ali Deba, Shaza Eva Mohamad

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Determining the diversity of the indigenous microorganisms in Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) could allow their wider application for the treatment of recalcitrant agro-based wastewater discharge into the environment. Many research studies mainly determined the efficiency of microorganism or their co-cultivation with microalgae for enhanced treatment of wastewater, suggesting a limited emphasis on the application of microbial diversity. In this study, the microorganism was cultured in POME for a period of 15 days using microalgae as a source of carbon. Pyrosequencing analysis reveals a diversity of microbial community in 20% (v/v) culture than the control experiment. Most of the bacterial species identified in POME belong to the families of Bacillaceae, Paenibacillaceae, Enterococcaceae, Clostridiaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, Caulobacteraceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Moraxellaceae, and Pseudomonadaceae. Alpha (α) diversity analysis reveals the high composition of the microbial community of 52 in both samples. Beta (β) diversity index indicated the occurrence of similar species of microorganisms in unweighted uni fra than the weighted uni fra of both samples. It is therefore suggested that bacteria found in these families could have a potential for synergistic treatment of high-strength wastewater generated from the palm oil industry.

Keywords: diversity, microorganism, wastewater, pyrosequencing, palm oil mill effluent

Procedia PDF Downloads 37

Authors: I. Yalcin Enis, J. Vojtech, T. Gok Sadikoglu

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In this study, polycaprolactone (PCL) was dissolved in chloroform: ethanol solvent system at a concentration of 18 w/v %. 1, 2, 4, and 6 droplets of formic acid were added to the prepared 10ml PCL-chloroform:ethanol solutions separately. Fibrous webs were produced by electrospinning technique. Morphology of the webs was investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) whereas fiber diameters were measured by Image J Software System. The effect of formic acid addition to the mostly used chloroform solvent on fiber morphology was examined.

Keywords: chloroform, electrospinning, formic acid polycaprolactone, fiber

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Authors: Zian Cheak Tiu, Harith Ahmad, Sulaiman Wadi Harun

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A simple multi-wavelength passively Q-switched Erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) is demonstrated using low cost multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) based saturable absorber (SA), which is prepared using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a host polymer. The multi-wavelength operation is achieved based on nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) effect by incorporating 50 m long photonic crystal fiber (PCF) in the ring cavity. The EDFL produces a stable multi-wavelength comb spectrum for more than 14 lines with a fixed spacing of 0.48 nm. The laser also demonstrates a stable pulse train with the repetition rate increases from 14.9 kHz to 25.4 kHz as the pump power increases from the threshold power of 69.0 mW to the maximum pump power of 133.8 mW. The minimum pulse width of 4.4 µs was obtained at the maximum pump power of 133.8 mW while the highest energy of 0.74 nJ was obtained at pump power of 69.0 mW.

Keywords: multi-wavelength Q-switched, multi-walled carbon nanotube, photonic crystal fiber

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Authors: Min Wu, Shuming Shen, Xuhong Yang, Rencheng Tang

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Every year, numerous organic wastes from fiber byproducts of the wool textile industry, poor quality raw wools not fit for spinning, horns, nails and feathers from butchery are disposed. These wastes are abundant in keratin which is a renewable material. Wool fiber/keratin/PVA composites with different proportions were prepared in this study, and the influence of the proportions on their structure and properties were studied, aiming to understand the potential application of keratin in the field of biomedicine, degradable wrapper, and cosmetics film, and provide a new way to reuse keratin wastes. The urea / sodium sulfide / sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) method was used to dissolve the wool. After filtration and dialysis, the wool keratin solution was achieved. Then the keratin solution and polyvinal (PVA) solution were blended in different proportions, and the wool fibers cut into a certain length were cast into the blended solution. Thereby, various wool fiber/keratin/PVA composite films with different proportions were formed through pouring the solution into a flat box and drying at room temperature. The surface morphology, molecular structure, and mechanical property of the composite films were studied. The results showed that, there are α-helix structure, β-sheet and random coil conformations in the pure keratin film, as well as in the wool fiber. Compared with wool fiber, the crystallinity of keratin decreased. PVA can obviously improve the mechanical property of the blended film. When the blended ratio of keratin and PVA is 20:80, the mechanical property of the blended film is greatly improved. The composite films with 8%-16% of wool fibers have better flexibility than those without wool fibers.

Keywords: composite film, keratin, mechanical property, morphological structure, PVA, wool fiber

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Authors: Masoud Sheidaei, Fahimeh Koohdar

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Date palms are economically important tree plants with high nutrition and medicinal values. More than 400 date palm cultivars are cultivated in many regions of Iran, but no report is available on landscape genetics and species distribution modeling of these trees from the country. Therefore, the present study provides a detailed insight into the genetic diversity and structure of date palm populations in Iran and investigates the effects of geographical and climatic variables on the structuring of genetic diversity in them. We used different computational methods in the study like, spatial principal components analysis (sPCA), redundancy analysis (RDA), latent factor mixed model (LFMM), and Maxent and Dismo models of species distribution modeling. We used a combination of different molecular markers for this study. The results showed that both global and local spatial features play an important role in the genetic structuring of date palms, and the genetic regions associated with local adaptation and climatic variables were identified. The effects of climatic change on the distribution of these taxa and the genetic regions adaptive to these changes will be discussed.

Keywords: adaptive genetic regions, genetic diversity, isolation by distance, populations divergence

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Authors: Sh. Najari Moghadam, M. Qomi, F. Raofie, J. Khadiv

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In this study, a liquid phase microextraction by hollow fiber (HF-LPME) combined with high performance liquid chromatography-UV detector was applied to preconcentrate and determine trace levels of Cyproheptadine in human urine and plasma samples. Cyproheptadine was extracted from 10 mL alkaline aqueous solution (pH: 9.81) into an organic solvent (n-octnol) which was immobilized in the wall pores of a hollow fiber. Then, it was back-extracted into an acidified aqueous solution (pH: 2.59) located inside the lumen of the hollow fiber. This method is simple, efficient and cost-effective. It is based on pH gradient and differences between two aqueous phases. In order to optimize the HF-LPME, some affecting parameters including the pH of donor and acceptor phases, the type of organic solvent, ionic strength, stirring rate, extraction time and temperature were studied and optimized. Under optimal conditions enrichment factor, limit of detection (LOD) and relative standard deviation (RSD(%), n=3) were up to 112, 15 μg.L−1 and 2.7, respectively.

Keywords: biological samples, cyproheptadine, hollow fiber, liquid phase microextraction

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Authors: A. J. Babajanyan, T. A. Abrahamyan, H. A. Minasyan, K. V. Nerkararyan

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Optical radiation emitted from a metal-coated fiber tip apex at liquid-air interface was measured. The intensity of the output radiation was strongly depending on the relative position of the tip to a liquid-air interface and varied with surface fluctuations. This phenomenon permits in-situ real-time investigation of nano-metric vibrations of the liquid surface and provides a basis for development of various origin ultrasensitive vibration detecting sensors. The described method can be used for detection of week seismic vibrations.

Keywords: fiber-tip, liquid-air interface, nano vibration, opto-mechanical sensor

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Authors: Hasan Taherkhani

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The performance of asphalt pavements is highly dependent on the mechanical properties of asphaltic layers. Improving the mechanical properties of asphaltic mixtures by fiber reinforcement is a common method. Randomly distribution of fibers in the bituminous mixtures and placing between the particles develop reinforcing property in all directions in the mixture and improve their engineering properties. In this research, the effects of the nylon fiber length and content on some engineering properties of a typical binder course asphalt concrete have been investigated. The fibers at different contents of 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5% (by the weight of total mixture), each at three different lengths of 10, 25 and 40 mm have been used, and the properties of the mixtures, such as, volumetric properties, Marshall stability, flow, Marshall quotient, indirect tensile strength and moisture damage have been studied. It is found that the highest Marshall quotient is obtained by using 0.4% of 25mm long nylon fibers. The results also show that the indirect tensile strength and tensile strength ratio, which is an indication of moisture damage of asphalt concrete, decreases with increasing the length of fibers and fiber content.

Keywords: asphalt concrete, moisture damage, nylon fiber, tensile strength,

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Authors: A. H. Jagaba, Musa Babayo, Ab Aziz Abdul Latiff, Sule Abubakar, I. M. Lawal, Isa Zubairu, M. A. Nasara

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Wastewater containing heavy metals is of extreme importance globally because of its potential threat to both the aquatic ecosystem and the soil environment. Heavy metal is hazardous even at low concentration and thereby causing various forms of diseases. One method which has been tested and found to be effective for heavy metals removal is coagulation-flocculation. For the coagulation process of POME obtained from Pertubuhan Peladang Negeri Johor (PPNJ), Oil Palm Mill Company located in Kahang area of Kluang, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia, diffèrent coagulants would be used to absorb and then separate the metals from wastewater. The determination of heavy metals concentration in POME was carried out using an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and an Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS). Results of the study showed that alum coagulant was successful in effectively reducing Cu, Cd, and Mn from 0.840 mg/l, 0.00509 mg/l and 8.191 mg/l to as low as 0.107 mg/l, 0.000270 mg/l and 0.612 mg/l respectively. All were obtained at a dose of 1000 mg/l. 1000 mg/l dose of ferric chloride reduced Pb concentration from 0.0248 mg/l to 0.00151 mg/l. Chitosan was best at reducing Fe and Zn from 62.91 mg/l and 3.616 mg/l to 6.003 mg/l and 0.595 mg/l all at a dose of 400 mg/l.

Keywords: palm oil mill effluent, coagulation, heavy metals, Pertubuhan Peladang Negeri Johor, Malaysia

Procedia PDF Downloads 226

Authors: Ferhat Kadioglu, Hasan Puskul

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A composite material with carbon fiber and polymer matrix has been used as adherent for manufacturing adhesive joints. In order to evaluate different fiber orientations on joint performance, the adherents with the 0°, ±15°, ±30°, ±45° fiber orientations were used in the single lap joint configuration. The joints with an overlap length of 25 mm were prepared according to the ASTM 1002 specifications and subjected to tensile loadings. The structural adhesive used was a two-part epoxy to be cured at 70°C for an hour. First, mechanical behaviors of the adherents were measured using three point bending test. In the test, considerations were given to stress to failure and elastic modulus. The results were compared with theoretical ones using rule of mixture. Then, the joints were manufactured in a specially prepared jig, after a proper surface preparation. Experimental results showed that the fiber orientations of the adherents affected the joint performance considerably; the joints with ±45° adherents experienced the worst shear strength, half of those with 0° adherents, and in general, there was a great relationship between the fiber orientations and failure mechanisms. Delamination problems were observed for many joints, which were thought to be due to peel effects at the ends of the overlap. It was proved that the surface preparation applied to the adherent surface was adequate. For further explanation of the results, a numerical work should be carried out using a possible non-linear analysis.

Keywords: composite materials, adhesive bonding, bonding strength, lap joint, tensile strength

Procedia PDF Downloads 370

Authors: Naman Singla, Ajay Pal Singh Chauhan

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As the demand for providing high bit rate and high bandwidth is increasing at a rapid rate so there is a need to see in this problem and finds a technology that provides high bit rate and also high bandwidth. One possible solution is by use of optical fiber. Optical fiber technology provides high bandwidth in THz. But the disadvantage of optical fiber is of high cost and not used everywhere because it is not possible to reach all the locations on the earth. Also high maintenance required for usage of optical fiber. It puts a lot of cost. Another technology which is almost similar to optical fiber is Free Space Optics (FSO) technology. FSO is the line of sight technology where modulated optical beam whether infrared or visible is used to transfer information from one point to another through the atmosphere which works as a channel. This paper concentrates on analyzing the performance of FSO in terms of bit error rate (BER) and quality factor (Q) using different modulation techniques like non return to zero on off keying (NRZ-OOK), differential phase shift keying (DPSK) and differential quadrature phase shift keying (DQPSK) using OptiSystem software. The findings of this paper show that FSO system based on DQPSK modulation technique performs better.

Keywords: attenuation, bit rate, free space optics, link length

Procedia PDF Downloads 347

Authors: Elmo Thiago Lins Cöuras Ford, Valentina Alessandra Carvalho do Vale

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Given the unquestionable need of environmental preservation, the natural fibers have been seen as a salutary alternative for production of composites in substitution to the synthetic fibers, vitreous and metallic. In this work, the behavior of a composite was analyzed done with fiber of the peel of the coconut as reinforcement and latex as head office, when submitted the source of heat. The temperature profiles were verified in the internal surfaces and it expresses of the composite as well as the temperature gradient in the same. It was also analyzed the behavior of this composite when submitted to a cold source. As consequence, in function of the answers of the system, conclusions were reached.

Keywords: natural fiber, composite, temperature, latex, gradient

Procedia PDF Downloads 817

Authors: Sphiwe Simelane, Daniel Madyira

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The use of natural fibers requires that they should be treated in preparation for their use in Natural Fiber-reinforced polymer composites. This paper reports on the effects of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treatment on the surface of coconut fibers. The fibers were subjected to 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% NaOH concentrations and soaked for 4 hours and thoroughly rinsed and allowed to dry in the open air for seven days, after which time they were dried in an oven for 30 minutes. Untreated and treated coconut fibers were observed under the Scanning Electron Microscope and it was noted that the surface structure of the fibers was modified differently by the different NaOH concentrations, and the resultant colour of the treated fibers got darker as the solution concentration increased, and the texture felt rougher to the touch as a result of the erosion of the fiber surface. Further, the increase in alkali concentration striped the surface of more constituents, thus exposing “pits” and other surface components rendering the surface rough.

Keywords: coconut fiber, scanning electron microscope, sodium hydroxide, surface treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 202

Authors: Rios A. S., Hild F., Deus E. P., Aimedieu P., Benallal A.

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The damage micromechanisms of chopped strand mats manufactured by compression of Brazilian coconut fiber and coconut fibers in different external conditions (chemical treatment) were used in this study. Mechanical analysis testing uniaxial traction were used with Digital Image Correlation (DIC). The images captured during the tensile test in the coconut fibers and coconut fiber mats showed an uncertainty of measurement in order centipixels. The initial modulus (modulus of elasticity) and tensile strength decreased with increasing diameter for the four conditions of coconut fibers. The DIC showed heterogeneous deformation fields for coconut fibers and mats and the displacement fields showed the rupture process of coconut fiber. The determination of poisson’s ratio of the mat was performed through of transverse and longitudinal deformations found in the elastic region.

Keywords: coconut fiber, mechanical behavior, digital image correlation, micromechanism

Procedia PDF Downloads 459

Authors: Tasnim Kallel, Rim Taktak

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In this experimental work, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite laminates were manufactured using hand lay-up technique. The unsaturated polyester (UP) and vinylester (VE) were considered as resins reinforced with different woven fabrics (bidirectional and quadriaxial rovings). The mechanical behaviour of the resulting composites was studied and then compared. A focus was essentially done on the evaluation of the effect of E-Glass fiber and ply orientation on the mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength, and hardness of the studied composite laminates. Also, crack paths and fracture surfaces were examined, and failure mechanisms were analyzed. From the main results, it was found that the quadriaxial composite laminates (QA/VE and QA/UP) with stacking sequences of [0°, +45°, 90°, -45°] present a very ductile tensile behaviour. The other laminate samples (R500/VE, RM/VE, R500/UP and RM/UP) show a very brittle behaviour whatever the used resin. The intrinsic toughness KIC of QA/VE laminate, obtained in fracture tests, are found more important than that of RM/VE composite. Thus, the QA/VE samples, as multidirectional laminate, presents the highest interlaminar fracture resistance.

Keywords: crack growth, fiber orientation, fracture behavior, e-glass fiber fabric, laminate composite, mechanical behavior

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Authors: I. Ioannou, I. M. Gitman

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This study focused on the contribution of micro-mechanical parameters on the macro-mechanical response of short fiber composites, namely polypropylene matrix reinforced by glass fibers. In the framework of this paper, an attention has been given to the glass fibers length, as micromechanical parameter influences the overall macroscopic material’s behavior. Three dimensional numerical models were developed and analyzed through the concept of a Representative Volume Element (RVE). Results of the RVE-based approach were compared with analytical Halpin-Tsai’s model.

Keywords: effective properties, homogenization, representative volume element, short fiber reinforced composites

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Authors: A. Siva, K. Bala Subramanian, Kinson Prabu

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Concrete is widely used construction materials all over the world. Now a day’s fibers are used in this construction due to its advantages like increase in stiffness, energy absorption, ductility and load carrying capacity. The fiber used in the concrete to increases the structural integrity of the member. It is one of the emerging techniques used in the construction industry. In this paper, the effective utilization of high-performance fiber reinforced concrete (HPFRC) beams has been experimental investigated. The experimental investigation has been conducted on different steel fibers (Hooked, Crimpled, and Hybrid) under cyclic loading. The behaviour of HPFRC beams is compared with the conventional beams. Totally four numbers of specimens were cast with different content of fiber concrete and compared conventional concrete. The fibers are added to the concrete by base volume replacement of concrete. The silica fume and superplasticizers were used to modify the properties of concrete. Single point loading was carried out for all the specimens, and the beam specimens were subjected to cyclic loading. The load-deflection behaviour of fibers is compared with the conventional concrete. The ultimate load carrying capacity, energy absorption and ductility of hybrid fiber reinforced concrete is higher than the conventional concrete by 5% to 10%.

Keywords: cyclic loading, ductility, high performance fiber reinforced concrete, structural integrity

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Authors: M. S. Tajul Islam, Md. Zahangir Alam

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To enhance biogas production through anaerobic digestion, the application of various type of pre-treatment method has some limitations in terms of sustainable environmental management. Many studies on pretreatments especially chemical and physical processes are carried out to evaluate the anaerobic digestion for enhanced biogas production. Among the pretreatment methods acid and alkali pre-treatments gained the highest importance. Previous studies have showed that although acid and alkali pretreatment has significant effect on degradation of biomass, these methods have some negative impact on environment due to their hazard in nature while enzymatic pre-treatment is environmentally friendly. One of the constrains to use of enzyme in pretreatment process for biogas production is high cost which is currently focused to reduce cost through fermentation of waste-based media. As such palm oil mill effluent (POME) as an abundant resource generated during palm oil processing at mill is being used a potential fermentation media for enzyme production. This low cost of enzyme could be an alternative to biogas pretreatment process. This review is to focus direct application of enzyme as enzymatic pre-treatment on POME to enhanced production of biogas.

Keywords: POME, enzymatic pre-treatment, biogas, lignocellulosic biomass, anaerobic digestion

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Authors: Terence Tumolva, Johannes Kristoff Vito, Joanna Crystelle Ragasa, Renz Marion Dela Cruz

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Natural fiber reinforced polymer (NFRP) composites have been the focus of various research projects due to their advantages over synthetic fiber-reinforced composites. For this study, ana haw is used as the fiber source due to its abundance throughout the Philippines. A problem addressed in this study is the need for an environment-friendly method of fiber treatment. The use of sodium alginate to treat fibers was thus investigated. The fibers were immersed in a sodium alginate solution and then in a calcium chloride solution afterwards. The treated fibers were used to reinforce orthophthalic unsaturated polyester (ortho-UP) resin. The mechanical properties were tested using a universal testing machine (UTM), and the fracture surfaces were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results showed that the sodium alginate treatment had increased the tensile and flexural strength of the composite. The increase in fiber load had also been found to increase the stiffness of the composite. However, sodium alginate treatment did not provide any significant improvement in the wet mechanical properties of the NFRP. The composite is comparable to some commercially available polymeric materials.

Keywords: NFRP, composite, alginate, anahaw, polymer

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Authors: Mirnawati, G. Ciptaan, Ferawati

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This study aims to improve the quality of the cassava peel-leaf mixture (CPLM) through fermentation with Rhizopus oligosporusas poultry ration. This research is an experimental study using a completely randomized design (CRD) with four treatments and five replications. The treatments were cassava peel-leaf mixture (CPLM) fermented with Rhizopus oligosporus. The treatments were a combination of cassava peel and leaves with the ratio of; A (9:1), B (8:2), C (7:3), and D (6:4). The observed variables were protease enzyme activity, crude protein, crude fiber, nitrogen retention, digestibility of crude fiber, and metabolic energy. The results of the diversity analysis showed that there was a very significant (p < 0.01) effect on protease activity, crude protein, crude fiber, nitrogen retention, digestibility of crude fiber, and energy metabolism of fermented CPLM. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that CPLM (6:4) fermented with Rhizopus oligosporus gave the best results seen from protease activity 7,25 U/ml, 21.23% crude protein, 19.80% crude fiber, 59.65% nitrogen retention, 62.99% crude fiber digestibility and metabolic energy 2671 Kcal/kg.

Keywords: quality, Casava peel-leaf mixture, fermentation, Rhizopus oligosporus

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Authors: Solomon Tilahun Desisa, Muktar Seid Hussen

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Hibiscus macranthus is one of family Malvaceae and genus Hibiscus plant which grows mainly in western part of Ethiopia. Hibiscus macranthus is the most adaptable and abundant plant in the nation, which are used as an ornamental plant often a hedge or fence plant, and used as a firewood after harvesting the stem together with the bark, and used also as a fiber for trying different kinds of things by forming the rope. However, Hibiscus macranthus plant fibre has not been commercially exploited and extracted properly. This study of work describes the possibility of mechanical and retting methods of Hibiscus macranthus fibre extraction and characterization. Hibiscus macranthus fibre is a bast fibre which obtained naturally from the stem or stalks of the dicotyledonous plant since it is a natural cellulose plant fiber. And the fibre characterized by studying its physical and chemical properties. The physical characteristics were investigated as follows, including the length of 100-190mm, fineness of 1.0-1.2Tex, diameter under X100 microscopic view 16-21 microns, the moisture content of 12.46% and dry tenacity of 48-57cN/Tex along with breaking extension of 0.9-1.6%. Hibiscus macranthus fiber productivity was observed that 12-18% of the stem out of which more than 65% is primary long fibers. The fiber separation methods prove to decrease of non-cellulose ingredients in the order of mechanical, water and chemical methods. The color measurement also shows the raw Hibiscus macranthus fiber has a natural golden color according to YID1925 and paler look under both retting methods than mechanical separation. Finally, it is suggested that Hibiscus macranthus fibre can be used for manufacturing of natural and organic crop and coffee packages as well as super absorbent, fine and high tenacity textile products.

Keywords: Hibiscus macranthus, bast fiber, extraction, characterization

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Authors: Yasmin Z. Murad, Haneen M. Abdl-Jabbar

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An experimental program is conducted in this research to investigate the influence of basalt fibers and steel fibers on the flexural behavior of RC beams. Reinforced concrete beams are constructed using steel fiber concrete and basalt fiber concrete. Steel and basalt fibers are included in a percentage of 15% and 2.5% of the total cement weight, respectively. Test results have shown that basalt fibers have increased the load carrying capacity of the beams up to 30% and the maximum deflection to almost 2.4 times that measured in the control specimen. It has also shown that steel fibers have increased the load carrying capacity of the beams up to 47% and the ultimate deflection is almost duplicated compared to the control beam. Steel and basalt fibers have increased the ductility of the reinforced concrete beams.

Keywords: basalt fiber, steel fiber, reinforced concrete beams, flexural behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 152

Authors: K. Krushnamurty, D. Rasmitha, I. Srikanth, K. Ramji, Ch. Subrahmanyam

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E-glass-epoxy laminated composites having different fiber volume fractions (40, 50, 60 and 70) were fabricated with and without the addition of nanoclay. Flexural strength and tensile strength of the composite laminates were determined. It was observed that, with increasing the fiber volume fraction (Vf) of fiber from 40 to 60, the ability of nanoclay to enhance the tensile and flexural strength of E-glass-epoxy composites decreases significantly. At 70Vf, the tensile and flexural strength of the nanoclay reinforced E-glass-epoxy were found to be lowest when compared to the E-glass-epoxy composite made without the addition of nanoclay. Based on the obtained data and microstructure of the tested samples, plausible mechanism for the observed trends has been proposed. The enhanced mechanical properties for nanoclay reinforced E-glass-epoxy composites for 40-60 Vf, due to higher interface toughness coupled with strong interfilament bonding may have ensured the homogeneous load distribution across all the glass fibers. Results in the decrease in mechanical properties at 70Vf, may be due to the inability of the matrix to bind the nanoclay and glass-fibers.

Keywords: e-glass-epoxy composite laminates, fiber volume fraction, e-glass fiber, mechanical properties, delamination

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Authors: Haobin Zheng, Xiang Zhang, Yong Shen, Hongxin Zou

Abstract:

The research focuses on mode-locked fiber lasers with a non-linear amplifying loop mirror (NALM). Although these lasers have shown potential, they still have limitations in terms of low repetition rate. The self-starting of mode-locking in NALM is influenced by the cross-phase modulation (XPM) effect, which has not been thoroughly studied. The aim of this study is two-fold. First, to overcome the difficulties associated with increasing the repetition rate in mode-locked fiber lasers with NALM. Second, to analyze the influence of XPM on self-starting of mode-locking. The power distributions of two counterpropagating beams in the NALM and the differential non-linear phase shift (NPS) accumulations are calculated. The analysis is conducted from the perspective of NPS accumulation. The differential NPSs for continuous wave (CW) light and pulses in the fiber loop are compared to understand the inverse saturable absorption (ISA) mechanism during pulse formation in NALM. The study reveals a difference in differential NPSs between CW light and pulses in the fiber loop in NALM. This difference leads to an ISA mechanism, which has not been extensively studied in artificial saturable absorbers. The ISA in NALM provides an explanation for experimentally observed phenomena, such as active mode-locking initiation through tapping the fiber or fine-tuning light polarization. These findings have important implications for optimizing the design of NALM and reducing the self-starting threshold of high-repetition-rate mode-locked fiber lasers. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of NALM mode-locked fiber lasers by exploring the ISA mechanism and its impact on self-starting of mode-locking. The research fills a gap in the existing knowledge regarding the XPM effect in NALM and its role in pulse formation. This study provides insights into the ISA mechanism in NALM mode-locked fiber lasers and its role in selfstarting of mode-locking. The findings contribute to the optimization of NALM design and the reduction of self-starting threshold, which are essential for achieving high-repetition-rate operation in fiber lasers. Further research in this area can lead to advancements in the field of mode-locked fiber lasers with NALM.

Keywords: inverse saturable absorption, NALM, mode-locking, non-linear phase shift

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Authors: Sharifah M. Syed Mohsin, Sayid J. Azimi, Abdoullah Namdar

Abstract:

The present article reports the findings of a study into the behavior of oil palm shell reinforced concrete (OPSRC) beams with the addition of kenaf fibres. The work aim is to examine the potential of using kenaf fibres to improve the strength and ductility of the OPSRC beams and also observe its potential in serving as part of shear reinforcement in the beams. Two different arrangements of the shear links in OPSRC beams with a selection of kenaf fibres (amount of [10kg/m] ^3 and [20kg/m] ^3) content are tested under monotonic loading. In the first arrangement, the kenaf fibres are added to the beam which has full shear reinforcement to study the structural behavior of OPSRC beams with fibres. In the second arrangement, the spacing between the shear links in the OPSRC beams are increased by 50% and experimental work is carried out to study the effect of kenaf fibres without compromising the beams strength and ductility. The results show that the addition of kenaf fibres enhanced the load carrying capacity, ductility and also altered the failure mode of the beams from a brittle shear mode to a flexural ductile one. Furthermore, the study depicts that kenaf fibres are compatible with OPSRC and suggest prospective results.

Keywords: oil palm shell reinforced concrete, kenaf fibres, peak strength, ductility

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