Materials Science Forum Vol. 981

Abstract: Mature coconut water is always been thrown away as a waste. However, it contain a lots of nutritional elements such as amino acids, pytohormones and minerals. Plant needs some essential nutrients besides pytohormones for their growth and development. In this study, the effect of waste mature coconut water and sucrose was observed on the micropropagation of dragon fruit tree (Hylocereus polyrhizus). The stem was inoculated on MS medium containing Benzyleaminopurine (BAP) 0.03mg/L BAP and 0.01mg/L Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) supplemented with waste mature coconut water in various concentrations (0%, 2%, 4% and 6% v/v) and with various concentrations : 0%, 1%, 2% and 3% of sucrose respectively. As the concentration of the waste mature coconut water and sucrose increased up to 4 % and 3%, increase in the elongation of the stem and the number of root regenerated per explant was observed repectively. In conclusion, waste mature coconut water has enhanced the elongation of the shoots but has not promoted on the root induction with the suitable amount of sucrose.

Abstract: Ongoing progression in nanotechnology has demonstrated that nanoparticles have indicated promising potential as in delivering the drug. The acceptance of nanoparticles and their applications also reported in clinical advancement to upgrade and improve the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics properties of therapeutic compounds. In this review, we talk about the next-generation core-shell nanostructures like lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LHNPs) and their application and formulation aspects. Conceptually, derived from both polymeric nanoparticles and liposome, which gave them a name of hybrid nanoparticles. It is basically polymer core enveloped by a lipid layer. The major issue arises with nanoparticles with polymer is related to entrapment efficiency and LHNPs have proved to solve this issue to a vast extent, due to their hybrid components.

Abstract: It has been known that some industrial liquid wastes usually contain a variety of heavy metals such as Cd (Cadmium), Pb (Lead), Ni (Nickel), Cr (Chromium), As (Arsenic), Cu (Copper), and Fe (Iron). If these liquid wastes are not managed properly, it will damage the water environment, especially the water body like rivers and lakes. Various methods have been applied to remove heavy metals from these liquid wastes, such as precipitation, ion exchange, membrane processes, adsorption, coagulation, and flotation. One common method that can be applied to manage waste that contain heavy metals is an adsorption method. Recently, it has been a trend to use biomass based adsorbent or usually called by bio-adsorbent. In this research bio-adsorbent has been prepared from cassava stem pith powder. This research was conducted to study the capability of bio-adsorbent made of cassava stem pith powder to adsorb Pb^{2 +} metal ions. Several variables have been used during the adsorption test, which are pH condition (3, 4, 5), adsorption time (10, 20, 50, 120 mins), and initial concentrations (5, 10, 20 mg/L). The adsorption process involving functional groups contained in the adsorbent so that there will be interactions between the adsorbents with Pb²⁺ metal ions. The sample characterization was carried out using an Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) apparatus. The adsorption test results showed that the optimum conditions for Pb²⁺ adsorption by the bio-adsorbent occured at pH = 3, adsorption time of 120 minutes, and initial concentration of 5 mg/L, in which the capacity was about 2.525 mg/g with the percent removal (R%) of 88.88%.

Abstract: The tofu industries in Indonesia produce a considerable amount of liquid waste. Most of these tofu industries do not treat waste properly. Liquid waste is channeled directly to the nearest water stream, and thus the values of COD, BOD and TSS are considerably high, which can damage the aquatic ecosystems. According to the Indonesian government rule (Permen LH no.5/2014), the maximum levels of COD, BOD and TSS are 300 mg/L, 150 mg/L, and 200 mg/L. One of alternative methods to reduce these three parameters is the ozonation method. Ozone is able to break down organic components well because of its strong oxidative properties (2.07 mV) and it can decompose into OH radicals which have stronger oxidative properties (2.80 mV). The objectives of this study are to reduce the levels of COD, BOD and TSS of tofu liquid waste into below of the maximum level set by the Indonesian government rule and to study the effect of pH conditions on the effectiveness of ozonation process. Ozonation is carried out under conditions at acidic pH, alkaline pH, and neutral pH, and with a waste concentration of 10%. Ozonation is done by flowing ozone directly into the waste for 120 minutes with an interval of 30 minutes. The levels of BOD, COD, and TSS before ozonation were 1,200 mg/L, 880 mg/L and 600 mg/L. After ozonation, it was found that the levels of COD, BOD and TSS of the waste without any pre-treatment (or acidic condition) was able to be reduced by 46.6%, 44.5% and 41.6%, respectively. Whereas, in neutral conditions the decreases of COD, BOD, and TSS were about 64.3%, 67.0%, and 62.4%, respectively. Optimum ozonation was found in alkaline conditions with the decreases in COD, BOD, and TSS values were about 85.4%, 84%, and 100%, respectively.

Abstract: This work shows the performance of cobalt-silica membranes through water desalination via pervaporation process. The aim of this work is to find out the performance of the cobalt oxide as a templating agent in the silica cobalt membranes for water desalination via pervaporation process. It also aims to investigate the water flux and salt rejection of silica cobalt membranes using artificial saline water. The concentration of cobalt oxide as a template for fabricating cobalt-silica membranes were 5 – 35 wt%. The feed solution applied during pervaporation process were 0.3 – 5 wt% NaCl with operating temperatures of 25, 40 and 60 °C. The silica xerogels were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). From the FTIR result, it is known that the higher the concentration of cobalt in the membrane, the more silanol and siloxane groups. Based on BET analysis, Si-Co 35 wt% membrane has largest pore volume (0.129387 cm³g^-1). In addition, the highest value of water flux (7.2660 kg.m^-2.h^-1) and salt rejection (100%) is achieved by Si-Co 5% membrane in 0.3% NaCl feed at 60 °C. The value of water flux decreases and the value of salt rejection increases with increasing feed concentration.

Abstract: Recently, water scarcity is the big issues around the world. Especially in coastal area where the water distribution could not entranced and able to supply clean water for the citizen. The one and only solution is processing seawater to produce fresh and potable water. The desalination process using membrane was recommended to solve this issue. Due to that, the membrane with good structure and high hydro-stability was necessary to fabricate. The aim of this work is to investigate the performance of silica-pectin membranes for treating seawater by pervaporation employing silica based membranes. In this work, the silica-pectin membranes were successfully fabricated using Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as silica precursor. Then, pectin from apple was also using in various concentrations (0; 0.1 to 0.5%). This organic material was implemented as a templating agent to produce in silica-pectin thin film. This thin films were dipcoated onto membranes support during membranes fabrication. These membranes were calcined in air at 300 and 400°C using rapid thermal processing (RTP) technique. All membranes were tested for water desalination via pervaporation set-up in various feed temperatures (25, 40 and 60°C). Results show that the membranes produced were crack-free and no pore dense. The FTIR-spectra and Fityk analysis refer to membrane of 2.5% at 300°C and 0.5% at 400°C are the optimum condition due to silanol and siloxane concentrations. An excellent performance was obtained at 0.5% at 400°C with water flux of 8.3 kg.m^-2.h^-1 and high salt rejection of 99.4% at 60 °C of feed temperature. It clearly demonstrates that the silica-pectin membrane has a robust structures due to the templating of carbon chains into silica matrices. The presence of carbon chains in silica matrices may form the smaller and robust pores as expected, that makes the excellent salt rejection in high feed temperature.

Abstract: Innovation in water filtration media leads to tremendous focus in academia due to fresh water source declining and contamination. Electrospinning is considered as new and effective protocols in synthesizing filtration membrane for this purpose. Electrospun membrane of PVDF and CA composite at different ratios has been fabricated for water filtration application. The membranes were characterized using TGA, FTIR, viscometer, conductivity testing, contact angle and FESEM. TGA result showed a shifting in thermal stability with respect to the increasing PVDF ratio (90P10C). FTIR analysis showing five membrane samples had the same functional groups included C-F, =C-H, C-O, C=O, C-H and O-H groups. The FESEM showed a nanofiber with an average diameter of 0.43324 nm and posses the average pore size of 0.3068 μm. Contact angle of the membrane is increased by the PVDF increment (130^o @ 10:90 ratio). The filtration analysis of lake water demonstrates the best performing membrane 90P10C give 84.9% rejection at a high flux (26,253 L m^-2 h^-1), low turbidity (0.38 NTU) and comply to Malaysia Water Standard Type 1

Abstract: Manganese (Mn) is one of the most serious pollutants that have negative effects on the ecosystem and water supply. The water industry faces major challenges in its treatment for contaminant and in developing an alternative product with low cost. Among various adsorbents, agriculture waste is preferred due to its biodegradability and availability. The removal of manganese (Mn) from groundwater was investigated using two different adsorbents which are banana blossom peel and floret. SEM analysis shows the formation of microporous structure for both banana blossom peels and floret while FTIR analysis confirms the functional group of strong hydroxyl group that responsible for the adsorption process. The water quality index for the groundwater sample was classified into class III which required extensive treatment. Batch adsorption experiments revealed that both adsorbents had maximum removal efficiency using 0.5 g adsorbent dosage. The banana blossom peel reduces Mn to 0.10 mg/L with 81.1% removal, while the banana blossom floret reduces Mn concentration to 0.12 mg/L with 77.7% removal.

Abstract: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of the method in reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions into the atmosphere. CO₂ capturing using calcium oxide (CaO) solid sorbents has been considered as an advanced concept for CO₂ capture and recovery. However, the adsorption capacity of CaO decreases during repeated adsorption/desorption cycles. The stability of Ca-based sorbents during cyclic runs can be achieved via the incorporation of inert support materials. Among the available inert materials, MgO is most promising for CO₂ due to high stability and a high Tammann temperature. Most of Ca- based MgO hybrid adsorbent synthesis methods sorbent come with its own limitations which are longer synthesis duration and complex or multistep methods. In this research, Ca-based MgO hybrid adsorbent was prepared via two-step method. Calcium acetate and magnesium nitrate as precursor had dissolved in water, follow by addition of ethanol. The mixture then became gelated and proceeded for calcination at 550°C and 650°C. The prepared sorbent was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The XRD analysis of the Ca-based MgO hybrid adsorbent showed the existence of MgO,CaO and CaCO₃. FTIR analysis showed presence of Ca─O bond and Mg═O bond. The morphology of the hybrid adsorbent was found to be spherical to granular shape and agglomerated. The Ca- based MgO hybrid adsorbent structural and morphological shows great potential for CO₂ capturing capacity over multiple carbonation cycles for CO₂ capturing application.