Zamri Yusoff | Politeknik Kota Bharu (original) (raw)

Papers by Zamri Yusoff

Most typical biofuel feedstock (palm oil, soybean, peanut, olive oil and beef tallow) cost is sub... more Most typical biofuel feedstock (palm oil, soybean, peanut, olive oil and beef tallow) cost is substantially greater than the cost of the petroleum diesel (Reuters website). Therefore, alternative feedstock is being evaluated to identify less expensive material that could serve as feedstock for biofuel production. One of the most promising biofuel feedstock is UCO. Transesterification reaction is a reaction between triglycerides of oil with alcohol in the presence of strong base catalyst to produce alkyl ester (biofuel) and glycerol. Transesterification reaction is conducted at an optimum condition of, 70 o C reaction temperature, 20 minutes reaction time. This reaction is catalyzed by a biocatalyst, paddy husk ashes. Besides, only 5wt% of methanol is added to the reaction in addition to the methanol released from the bio reactants. Our project objectives include, to produce biofuel from renewable energy source (UCO), to find the alternative source as replacement for the daily life or the conventional fuels. To overcome the problem of discharging of used cooking oil in daily life. This plant will provide new proper way to discharge all the used cooking oil without harming the environment, to offer new marketable product that can be used by all walks of life as their support to keep the earth safe, expand and expose the benefits of using biofuel as the replacement of the fuel, and finally to help in supporting the country's education level in the biofuel technology. In brief, used cooking oil is collected from café operators and filtered to remove suspended particles. Next, determine the amount of catalyst and methanol for the preparation for transesterification process. Once the reaction is complete, product washing is carried out to remove unreacted methanol and suspended paddy husk ashes. Water wash is carried out as our final step to produce clean biodiesel B100. Samples were then observed and analyzed. A total of 27 samples 100%-20% bioreactant were prepared. Firstly, the uniqueness of the project compared to the ones in the previous semester is the use of a bio catalyst and bio reactant. This is proven that with the elimination of a chemical catalyst, we can produce the best biodiesel with a fine density. Besides, the amount of methanol used in our project is half of what has been used by the previous one. The introductory test that was carried out was the biodiesel density analysis. The density of our products varies from 0.85 to 0.92. Based on the observation on the colour and density of the fuel, we have picked 60% of each bioreactant (galangal,ginger,fingerroot) based on their densities which are 0.85, 0.88 and 0.87 respectively that fall in the range of ASTM 6751 agreement. On top of that, engine testing was carried out in Megatech AFE in Politeknik Kuching Sarawak. The product burns very well inside the AFE and the flashes and flames could be seen clearly. No gas emission test was carried out. Next, the 3 samples were sent to UNIMAS for Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The results were received and analyzed. As a conclusion, fresh slices of galangal, ginger and finger root are believed to be able to react with methanol and paddy husk ashes quite well. Besides, the density of the product is 0.85, 0.88 and 0.87 respectively which is considered to comply with ASTM 6751 standard. This process provides a simple and economic method to exaggerate the reaction so that it can be produced locally.For future research, a new and cost effective feedstock should be introduced and be able to react perfectly with the elimination of chemical catalyst and methanol. This method should also consume the

Biomaterial based plastic is a promising material for solving various environmental issues. There... more Biomaterial based plastic is a promising material for solving various environmental issues. Therefore, this work covers on the experimentation of producing biodegradable plastics from sago starch(BDPSS). New finding were obtained on the bio-degradability, mechanical properties and resistance factor of sago. Sago starch is a raw material that obtained from the Sago palm (metroxylonspp) that mostly planted in Mukah district, Sarawak. The main objective of this research is to replace the chemical used in plastic with a raw material like sago starch that is less dangerous to the environment and human, also that is easily to be decompose. To prove this plastics is really biodegradable plastic, degradability test were conducted. The results are obtained using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR).The sago starch based biodegradable plastics were analyse based on the present of alkane and alkyne. First the result after 3 days, after 3 days the present of alkane and alkyne are decreasing. Second the result after 14 days, the alkane completely vanished in the biodegradable plastic after 14 days due to the decomposition. While alkane and alkyne composition has reduce dramatically. The result of 14 days was pretty similar just that decomposition happen more in the plastic. Next is compression test, the test show BDPSS has compression strength until 2.6 MPa. This biodegradable plastics is easy to decompose and it is safe for the environment and human health.

Biodiesel is currently in regular use as an alternative fuel over conventional fossil diesel. How... more Biodiesel is currently in regular use as an alternative fuel over conventional fossil diesel. However, corrosion of industrial metals is one of the concerns related to biodiesel compatibility issues. In addition, auto-oxidation of biodiesel can also enhance the corrosiveness of biodiesel. Recently, Polytechnic Kuching Sarawak have developed the biodiesel based on use cooking oil (UCO-B100) using two stages catalysed process. The result shows that the density of the product is in a reasonable agreement with ASTM 6751 and the product UCO-B100 combusted vigorously in a 3:1 low compression spark ignition engine (alternative fuel engine (AFE)). However, corrosive characteristic of UCO-B100 still not investigated. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the corrosive characteristics of UCO-B100 with comparison to commercial biodiesel (CB) and fossil diesel (CF) for industrial metals such as aluminium, copper and mild steel. Static immersion tests were carried out at room temperature (27 ˚c) for 600 hours in order to determine the corrosion rate. Whereas, the morphology of corrosion surfaces were characterized by optical microscope. Moreover, the total acidic number (TAN) was used to investigate the change acidity of fuel after immersion tests.

Corrosion is also known as the atmospheric oxidation of metals where oxygen combines with the met... more Corrosion is also known as the atmospheric oxidation of metals where oxygen combines with the metal and forms a new layer that can either be bad or good. Corrosion can cause deterioration in mechanical properties of metals. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the potentiality of Piper Nigrum becoming as green corrosion inhibitor by the extraction of piperine (piperoylpiperidine) from black pepper and use it as a green inhibitor to prevent the process of corrosion. Piperine from the black pepper has an anti-corrosive behaviour due to the presence of nitrogen and oxygen that can strengthen their adsorptive property over the metal surface. The experimental work was conducted by extraction of piperine from Piper Nigrum and experimental analysis for corrosion inhibition by using salt water as medium on test specimen with and without inhibitor. The rate of corrosion was calculated using Fontana's formula. Results show that the test specimens applied with more amount of piperine have less rate of corrosion. Test specimen with no piperine has the average corrosion rate of 6.4069 x 10-6 mil per year, test specimen with 5 times application of piperine has the average corrosion rate of 5.5331 x 10-6 mil per year, test specimen with 10 times application of piperine has the average corrosion rate of 5.2362 x 10-6 mil per year and test specimen with 15 times application of piperine has the average corrosion rate of 4.6094 x 10-6 mil per year. To conclude, the extraction of piperine from Piper nigrum can lessen the rate of corrosion on the steel surface.

Plastic offers a variety of benefits, in a variety of shapes, such as sheets, panels, film, which... more Plastic offers a variety of benefits, in a variety of shapes, such as sheets, panels, film, which can all be flexible as the application requires. Plastic is a price competitive with other materials that offer similar advantages in industrial applications, which is why it is used in a number of applications. It is light weight, strong, visually aesthetic, flexible size and shape, and cheaper price. However, use of too many plastics results in massive harmful effects. It takes longer time to degrade which is estimated about 500 years to degrade and will become toxic after decomposed. Plastic pollution can unfavourably affect lands, waterways and oceans. Humans are also affected by plastic pollution, such as through the disruption of the thyroid hormone axis or hormone levels. Thus, the biodegradable plastic becomes a promising solution to solve all this problems. The objective of this study is to produce biodegradable plastic from banana peels as a substitute for the conventional plastic and to prove that the starch in the banana peel could be used in the production of the biodegradable plastic. The strength of the film was determined using the elongation test by comparing the biodegradable film with a control film and a synthetic plastic. In the soil burial degradation test, the intensity of degradation was tested for all three types of film and the biodegradable film degraded at a rapid rate compared to control film while the synthetic plastic did not degrade at all. Based on all the testing that was carried out, the biodegradable film from banana peel is the best and ideal overall compared to the control and synthetic plastic. Hence, it can be used in the industry for various application such as molding and packaging, at the same time rescuing the environment from potential harm by synthetic plastics.

— Biofuel has been gaining momentum in terms of research and development. Since there are various... more — Biofuel has been gaining momentum in terms of
research and development. Since there are various factors such
as recent rise in oil prices, support from government subsidies,
and growing concern about global warming make biofuel the
focal point of the public and researchers. The recent studies
has come out with a new method for the production of ethanol
using banana peel. Hence, this research study focuses on
optimizing the ethanol production from banana peel using
different type of banana peels that are widely available in
Malaysia. The findings of this study can be used as a basis for
comparison with other literature readings on the banana peel
ethanol production having different operating conditions and
parameters. For the first part of the experiment, the study will
focus on the different characteristics of banana peel especially
on type of banana that are widely available in Malaysia and
for the second part of the experiment, production of bio
gasoline from banana will be the main focus. It is expected
that different parameters such as temperature and yeast
concentration will affect the production of ethanol from
banana which can further be optimized using the Response
Surface Methodology method and finally Gas
Chromatography test will be conduct to analysis the present of
ethanol and it’s concentration in our samples.

Engine oils are made from crude oil and its derivatives are mixed with other chemicals (additives... more Engine oils are made from crude oil and its derivatives are mixed with other chemicals (additives) for improving their certain properties. Lubricating oil is used to lubricate the moving parts of engine, reduce friction, for wear protection, and removing contaminants from the engine. Besides that, it could act as a cleaning and cooling agent. Moreover, it could also act as an anticorrosion. The uncontrollable disposal of used engine oil may affect the society by causing land and water pollution, which could possibly harm the aquatic ecosystem. However, the invention of a new equipment could probably help to overcome this problem. Used engine oil could be re-invented by decolourising it since this process is more cost effective. In order to achieve the objective, a preliminary test is conducted to check if the project's anticipated outcome, which is to produce the base-oil, could be extracted from the used engine oil. The processes involved to recover the base-oil are extraction-flocculation, adsorption, filtration, distillation, and gingerization.

Qualitative analysis on sliding wear behaviour of aluminium reinforced with 0% to 20% by weight o... more Qualitative analysis on sliding wear behaviour of aluminium reinforced with 0% to 20% by weight of palm shell activated carbon (PSAC) was investigated by means of pin-on-disc wear testing machine. The composite specimens were fabricated using powder metallurgy technique. Wear testing has been done under applied load of 11N and sliding velocity was fixed at 150RPM. The worn surface analysis has been done using optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX). It find that the PSAC particles deformed by sliding action of the mating surfaces as rigid asperity and squeezed out towards the surface, forming a soft interfacial film. The presence of this film is believed to be responsible for reduce wear, especially for the composite containing 10 wt. % PSAC. The wear mechanisms identified in this analysis are abrasion wear, adhesive wear, delamination, and surface plastic deformation causing metallic particle detachment.

This paper is the compilation of prior research finding on fabrication, application and metallic ... more This paper is the compilation of prior research finding on fabrication, application and metallic corrosion of biodiesel. This work discussed on current issues such as the prospect of palm based biodiesel in Malaysia, production of biodiesel, catalyst for biodiesel production, biodiesel properties, feedstocks for biodiesel production, waste edible oil as feedstocks for biodiesel production, the effects of waste edible oil biodiesel on engine performance, corrosive behavior of biodiesel on metallic and polymeric materials. Based on this review, Malaysia is among the largest producer as well as exporter of palm oil. Growing at highest yield rate among other biodiesel feedstock, palm based biodiesel is a top exported product for this region. From the policy and steps to emphasis the use of biofuel by governments all around the world, this can be comprehended that biofuel have placed itself as a number one substitute for fossil fuels. These phenomena made Malaysia become a prominent exporter of biodiesel. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel to diesel that is produced from renewable resources such as vegetable oils and animal fats. It is called first generation biofuel when it is obtained from competing food resources (e.g. sunflower, corn, safflower, canola, soybean), second generation from waste (e.g. waste vegetable oil, yellow and brown grease, tallow) and third generation from microalgae. Production of biodiesel is necessary to provide proper management of the biofuel along the supply chain, considering various factors in each of its stages. The high cost of biodiesel in the national and international market is mainly due to the soaring cost of industrialized vegetable oils and virgin oils. The biodiesel made from these raw materials is most often cheaper than from sources such as soybean, rapeseed and sunflower, but the quality of the oil used must be monitored to obtain a high quality biodiesel. Researchers concluded that biodiesel can be used in compression ignition engine as a replacement of diesel fuel to fulfil the global energy demand. However, further research on about optimisation, cost-effectiveness and availability of biodiesel needs to be carried out to help ensure that biofuel will be able to fully replace fossil fuel. Some researchers found that biodiesel is more corrosive than diesel oil (based on the corrosion rates in different metallic materials). This may be due to several factor such as water content in biodiesel. Water acts on the corrosion of metallic materials, or it causes the hydrolysis of biodiesel, resulting in fatty acids and glycerol, which increases metallic corrosion or it promotes microbial growth and thereby microbial corrosion. The presence of impurities due to incomplete conversion or inadequate purification and also may due to its good lubricity, biodiesel dissolves more metallic parts than diesel, and these trace metals in solution enhance biodiesel degradation and promote metallic corrosion. Some studies reported that the corrosiveness of biodiesel can be reduced by using corrosion inhibitors or antioxidants. Some works investigated the effect biodiesel and diesel blends on the tensile strength, elongation, hardness and swelling of polymeric materials such as plastics and rubber. Their finding can help to develop a guideline on the selection of polymeric material for automotive parts designed to withstand biofuels.

This project is to find the best solution of seawater as an electrolyte in battery cell for power... more This project is to find the best solution of seawater as an electrolyte in battery cell for power generation. In order to generate power source, method of electrolysis was applied by using Aluminium and Copper as the negative and positive terminals respectively, the solution of sea water as an electrolyte and Copper (II) sulphate (CuSO4) as an additive. There were three conditions of experiment that were carried out, the i) changing size of Aluminium strips and Copper strips, ii) changing volume of seawater iii) different amount of Copper (II) sulphate (CuSO4). In the first condition, the result showed that the bigger the size of Copper strips, the higher the current value produced. While in the second condition, there was not much effect produced in current and voltage values. In the third condition, the addition of CuSO4 gave a large positive impact on the power cell. Judging by this experiment, it is decided to inject some amount of CuSO4 in the electrolysis. The main reason of injecting CuSO4 into the electrolysis in order to boost up the current value. Thus, the results showed that the combination of abundant amount of seawater with limited amount of Copper (II) sulphate solution (CuSO4) as an alternative source for future power cell generation.

The demand, high costs and health implications of using energy derived from hydrocarbon compound ... more The demand, high costs and health implications of using energy derived from hydrocarbon compound have necessitated the continuous search for alternative source of energy. Cow dung as a renewable source of energy supply has been proven to be very efficient. This study investigated the production of biogas using cow dung from cow field near the polytechnic. A 2ml/g of the cow dung was used in this study. The digestion was carried out in a 10 L anaerobic digester at a temperature of 250C to 300C and uncontrolled pH for a period of 1 month. About 23 cm3 of biogas was produced on the 22nd day. Thus biogas production from cow dung is a good and cheap alternative source of energy. The use of biogas will not only serve as a source of fuel but will also help in the management of waste. The biomass generated after digestion can be used both as animal feed and to improve soil fertility. It is therefore recommended that large scale production of biogas from wastes should be undertaken by all as the wastes around you today can become your wealth tomorrow.

Engine oils are made from crude oil and its derivatives are mixed with other chemicals (additives... more Engine oils are made from crude oil and its derivatives are mixed with other chemicals (additives) for improving their certain properties. Lubricating oil is used to lubricate the moving parts of engine, reduce friction, for wear protection, and removing contaminants from the engine. Besides that, it could act as a cleaning and cooling agent. Moreover, it could also act as an anti-corrosion. The uncontrollable disposal of used engine oil may affect the society by causing land and water pollution, which could possibly harm the aquatic ecosystem. However, the invention of a new equipment could probably help to overcome this problem. Used engine oil could be re-invented by decolourising it since this process is more cost effective. In order to achieve the objective, a preliminary test is conducted to check if the project’s anticipated outcome, which is to produce the base-oil, could be extracted from the used engine oil. The processes involved to recover the base-oil are extraction-flocculation, adsorption, filtration, distillation, and gingerization. Result shows that the process of decolourization has changed the used engine colours similar to the base-oil, for example yellowish and reddish-brown. This is due to its reaction to the spent additives and metallic waste in the used engine oil. The final product is accomplished as a result of the recovery process, which is the extraction of base-oil from the used engine oil.

Agarwood oil is regarded as one of the most expensive natural products in the world due to the fr... more Agarwood oil is regarded as one of the most expensive natural products in the world due to the fragrance inducing compounds it contains. However, current studies on the chemical composition of agarwood essential oil are woefully lacking and this poses a threat to the agarwood industry. This research aims to identify the best extraction method for isolating gaharu essential oil and to create a list of compounds contained in a sample of grade C agarwood. In the present work, the composition of agarwood essential oil obtained through hydro-distillation and solvent extraction with acetone. Studying another parameter of this experiment, the sample hydro-distillated in the lab was compared with industrial grade hydro-distillation to determine the difference in quality between industrial and lab scale hydro-distillation. Of the three solvents used, acetone eluted the highest number of compounds. The lab scale hydro-distillated sample eluted 34 compounds at a quality of 50% and above whereas the solvent extraction sample eluted 25 compounds. There was no significant difference found between lab scale and industrial scale hydro-distillation.

In this review, several techniques of treatment and processing of kenaf cellulose are discussed. ... more In this review, several techniques of treatment and processing of kenaf cellulose are discussed. There are 3 type of techniques such as bleaching technique, hydrolyses treatment and electron beam irradiation treatment are used inorder to remove the lignin from kenaf fiber for cellulose preparation. Researchers found that after biobleaching sequence, syringaldehyde was shown to be the best phenolic mediator, allowing a delignification of 43% and 72% ISO brightness. The best final pulp properties were obtained by using hexenuronic acid content and the xylanase sequence developed by incorporating a laccase-mediator stage into an industrial bleaching sequence involving chelation and peroxide stages. The new sequence resulted in increased kenaf pulp delignification (90.4%) and brightness (77.2%ISO) relative to a conventional chemical sequence (74.5% delignification and 74.5% brightness). The oxidative ability of the individual mediators used (acetosyringone, syringaldehyde, p-coumaric acid, vanillin and actovanillone) and the laccase–mediator systems was determined by monitoring the oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) during process. The greatest delignification and bleaching effects after the P stage were obtained with syringaldehyde and acetosyringone, providing an effective means for delignifying kenaf, whereas those based on the other three could be used to functionalize kenaf with a view to obtaining pulp with novel properties. Kenaf fibers were treated with different concentration of sodium chlorite solution before used as trunk polymer. Treated kenaf fibers were irradiated by electron beam followed by grafting reaction in GMA/water emulsion system. Cellulose fibers were isolated from a kenaf bast fiber using a electron beam irradiation (EBI) treatment. The bleached cellulose fibers obtained by Electron Beam Irradiation treatment at 300 kGy was separated more uniformly than the bleached cellulose fiber obtained by alkali cooking with non-irradiated kenaf fiber.

In this review, the research activities on kenaf reinforced matrix composite are discussed. The t... more In this review, the research activities on kenaf reinforced matrix composite are discussed. The the variety of matrix material including polymer such as polypropylene, epoxy, polyester, polyethylene and polyurethane as well as rubber. Matrix material such as wood and concrete also used inorder to improve the mechanical properties. In general, the mechanical properties of kenaf fiber are deteriorated after the moisture penetrates into the composite. The compressive properties were found to decrease with the increase in the percentage of water uptake. The decay in compression properties is attributed to the plasticization of the fiber–matrix interface and swelling of the kenaf fiber. The hybrid composite was stronger than long kenaf composite. Fabrication methods are critical to maintain optimal thermal and structural characteristics of composites without scarifying their environmental performance. The more the kenaf loading, the less porous the composites and hence the higher shear resistance. Impact strength decreased with increase in fiber content due to is poor fiber/matrix adhesion. The biodegradability of the composites showed a clear trend of increase degradation with increasing kenaf content in the formulation. While water-absorption values for the composites were higher than that of pure LDPE polymer, the addition of polyethylene glycol to the formulation reduced the water absorption of the composites. This shows that kenaf fiber has imparted its tensile strength to the elastomer composite system with good interaction provided by the compatibilizer agent. Scanning electron micrographs (SEMs) revealed that the improvement achieved in mechanical properties was due to the interaction between both matrix systems and kenaf fibre. The research findings indicate that KFRC is a promising ‘green’ construction material which could potentially be used in a number of different structural applications.

A study of surface hardness and energy absorption were carried out on pure aluminium reinforced w... more A study of surface hardness and energy absorption were carried out on pure aluminium reinforced with PSAC to make recommendation to use as robot gripper to be an aluminium matrix composite reinforced with PSAC particles potentially be a suitable candidate for production of gripper of soccer robot.To investigate the effects of PSAC and identify which percentage of composite has more energy absorption and damping capacity, by combining 4 types of composites such as Composite 1 (100% of pure Aluminium) , Composite 2 (3% of PSAC 93% of Aluminium) , Composite 3 (6% of PSAC 94% of Aluminium) , Composite 4 (10% of PSAC 90% of Aluminium). After combination of two types of elements into a container, those composites send to mixing process with lathe machine by using 99.4rpm of speed. From of the each composite, they are 7 specimens to compact by using mould at 300MPa .The mixtures sintered with electric furnace for 2 hours with 500°C. To identify the quality of the composite's specimens, its carry out mechanical testing such as compression test to identify the energy absorption capacity and Vickers testing to identify its micro structure analysis. As accordingly the result, aluminium matrix composite (composite 2 -3% of PSAC) potentially be a suitable composite for production of gripper because its energy absorption was 3.2 Mpa and the hardness was (HV= 45.24), which is stronger and much better than the other composites.

Engine oils are made from crude oil and its derivatives are mixed with other chemicals (additives... more Engine oils are made from crude oil and its derivatives are mixed with other chemicals (additives) for improving their certain properties. Lubricating oil is used to lubricate the moving parts of engine, reduce friction, for wear protection, and removing contaminants from the engine. Besides that, it could act as a cleaning and cooling agent. Moreover, it could also act as an anti-corrosion. The uncontrollable disposal of used engine oil may affect the society by causing land and water pollution, which could possibly harm the aquatic ecosystem. However, the invention of a new equipment could probably help to overcome this problem. Used engine oil could be re-invented by decolourising it since this process is more cost effective. In order to achieve the objective, a preliminary test is conducted to check if the project’s anticipated outcome, which is to produce the base-oil, could be extracted from the used engine oil. The processes involved to recover the base-oil are extraction-flocculation, adsorption, filtration, distillation, and gingerization. Result shows that the process of decolourization has changed the used engine colours similar to the base-oil, for example yellowish and reddish-brown. This is due to its reaction to the spent additives and metallic waste in the used engine oil. The final product is accomplished as a result of the recovery process, which is the extraction of base-oil from the used engine oil.