Papers by NUR FATIN AQIDAH MAT NASIR
Food and Bioproducts Processing
Abstract Agricultural, food and other biomass wastes represent an untapped resource of hydrocarbo... more Abstract Agricultural, food and other biomass wastes represent an untapped resource of hydrocarbonaceous material with potential for valorisation into fuels and chemical products. A key challenge in this area is directing the characteristics of the products for different applications. Here, the use of different solvents – water and simple alcohols – is shown to directly impact on the products arising from the carbonisation of brewers’ spent grain (BSG). Unprocessed BSG was carbonised using water, methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol under pressure. The synthesised biochar was analysed using infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetic analysis, elemental analysis and bomb calorimetry. Biochar synthesised in alcohol solvents exhibited significantly different properties to that produced via conventional hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) in water. HTC yielded a biochar with reduced heteroatom content and more favourable properties for application as a solid fuel. The alcohol solvents yielded greater quantities of water soluble oil (WSO), with the yield increasing with alcohol chain length. These trends are correlated with physical properties such as dielectric constant and increased solubility of organics in higher carbon number alcohols. These results show that the choice of solvent can direct the properties of synthesised chars for specific applications or can maximise the yield of bio-oil for fuel.
Kenaf biomass indicates promising choices to produce lactic acid via fermentation by Rhizopus ory... more Kenaf biomass indicates promising choices to produce lactic acid via fermentation by Rhizopus oryzae. The pre- treatment process was done on kenaf biomass with dilute sulphuric acid (H2SO4) to hydrolyze the cellulose content in it. The step was then continued with the fermentation process in shake flask which was at 25 oC at 150 rpm, 25 oC at 200 rpm, 37 oC at 150 rpm and 37 oC at 200 rpm. This fermentation process was conducted for 3 days at pH 6. In this fermentation process, 0.471 g/L, 0.428 g/L, 0.444 g/L and 0.38 g/L of lactic acid was produced respectively. Sample at 25oC at 200 rpm produced maximum amount of lactic acid compared to others.
The development of polylactic acid (PLA) from natural source remains a great challenge. PLA can b... more The development of polylactic acid (PLA) from natural source remains a great challenge. PLA can be produced from its monomer (i.e. lactic acid) via fermentation process. In this study, the production of PLA from kenaf biomass was investigated. It was started with the introduction of kenaf biomass as the renewable source. Since kenaf is a lignocellulosic material, pretreatment process is preferable prior to the fermentation process. Different types of pretreatment methods have been investigated. However, the dilute acid hydrolysis method has been chosen in this project due to its outstanding advantages compared to other processes. After the pretreatment process, kenaf biomass was degraded twice with own isolatedRhizopusoryzae strain in the fermentation process. Next, polymerization process was performed to produce PLA. Polylactic acid obtained was analyzed via Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). From the FTIR analysis, it can be seen that PLA was successfully produced from kenaf biomass especially at 1,741.42 cm-1 and the band around the region of 1,650-1,450 cm-1when compared to the commercial PLA. In terms of thermal properties, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of PLA from kenaf biomass was around 74.83oC, with its melting temperature (Tm) was in the range of 122 to 125oC, whereas its crystallization temperature (Tc) was not clearly observed. Low molecular weight (444 to 543 g/mol) and low polydispersity index (PD) (1.2) of PLA produced from kenaf biomass by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis indicated that the polymer hasa poor stability state.
Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus. L) ia a lignocellulosic material which is naturally resistant to brea... more Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus. L) ia a lignocellulosic material which is naturally resistant to breakdown to its structural sugars that inhibit microorganism to be accessed through. Since lignocellulosic material have a complex structure, it needs to undergo several pretreatment process in order to liberate glucose. In this present research, the preferable pretreatment method is chemical pretreatment since it more cost effective and environmental friendly compare to other existing method such as biological, physical, and physiochemical pretreatment method. The main aim of this research is to select the best pretreatment solvents for the maximum glucose production from kenaf biomass (core and bast), to optimize the pretreatment condition for maximum production of glucose from kenaf core and its bast as well as to make a comparison between them. This study was planned to evaluate the potential of kenaf core and bast to be used as an alternative raw material for lactic acid production as ...
IIUM Engineering …, 2011
Kenaf biomass is the potential as raw materials used to produce polylactic acid's monomer wh... more Kenaf biomass is the potential as raw materials used to produce polylactic acid's monomer which is lactic acid via fermentation by Rhizopus oryzae. Kenaf biomass' structure is complex due to its lignin and cellulose content. This matter had encouraged it to ...
This paper discusses the design and development of an animated folk tales edutainment software to... more This paper discusses the design and development of an animated folk tales edutainment software to motivate socio-cultural awareness among children and adolescents. One application of multimedia technology is in edutainment, which includes animated cartoon, animation movies and digital games. Edutainment software can be used to tutor specific subjects, or to change behavior by engendering specific socio-cultural attitudes, such as to address health and social issues of substance abuse or HIV/AIDS and cancer. Animation can also be used as one approach to digital storytelling to encourage literacy. However, some popular animations promote negative behaviors such as alcohol and tobacco use besides causing some neuropsychological problems to children. Therefore there is a need for research to develop well designed animation software with good story plots and local socio-cultural values for educating as well entertaining our children. The objective of this research is to develop and evaluate an edutainment animation software based on a Malay folk story to motivate socio-cultural awareness among schoolchildren and adolescents. This research also hopes to help popularize folk stories among the younger generation besides inculcate good reading habit among adolescents.
Business, Engineering …, 2011
Computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided engineering (CAE) technologies are extensively uti... more Computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided engineering (CAE) technologies are extensively utilized nowadays to assist engineers and mold designers in the engineering world. These technologies and applications serves as vital tools to ...
Anthropometric data has become crucial when it comes to designing consumer products that involves... more Anthropometric data has become crucial when it comes to designing consumer products that involves ergonomic factors such as in health care and automotive areas. Most products are designed according to United States and European countries anthropometry data. The nearest anthropometry data we can refer to is Japan for Asian measurements. The continuous growth of youth population in Malaysia has created major demands in consumer products; hence it is important to have anthropometric data to represent this target user consumer. However, no specific data of young adults in Malaysia that could be obtained. The objectives of this research are to establish an anthropometric database for male youths (aged 19-24) and to analyze the data using descriptive statistic method in producing mean, percentiles and standard deviation (S.D) value for anthropometric variables. However for this study, youth samples are limited to Universiti Teknologi MARA(UiTM) students.The measuring process will be carri...
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Papers by NUR FATIN AQIDAH MAT NASIR