@article { author = {Abbaspour, S and Sadrnezhaad, S.K}, title = {Loading Drug on Nanostructured Ti6Al4V-HA for Implant Applications}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1159-1165}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Arrayed Ti6Al4V nanotubes (TNT) coated with hydroxyapatite (HA) were synthesized via electrochemical anodization method. Paracetamol was loaded onto TNT-HA electrode. Effects of anodization, nanotube formation and hydroxyapatite deposition on sorption and release of the drug were investigated. Saturation time of paracetamol on the anodized samples was 30% shorter than the hydroxyapatite-coated samples. Release behavior of the loaded drug was studied by (a) plunging the probe into phosphate buffered saline (PBS), (b) sampling the drug-loaded PBS at different times and (c) analyzing the solution via ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. Results showed that HA electrodes hold higher amounts of paracetamol than the anodized samples at longer times. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), MTT assay, and nanoindentation tests were used to characterize the produced electrodes.}, keywords = {Titanium nanotubes,Drug capacity,Drug release,Hydroxyapatite,Paracetamol}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73230.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73230_7267a2a91b59aa23d1c375f40cbb8024.pdf} } @article { author = {Afarin, M and Alemzadeh, I and Kouchak Yazdi, Z}, title = {Conjugated Linoleic Acid Production and Optimization Via Catalytic Reaction Method Using Safflower Oil}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1166-1171}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is one of the most physiological active fatty acids due to its positive effect on  prevention of diseases such as obesity, hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis and cancer. The aim of this study was to optimize the production of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)% in  alkali isomerization of safflower oil including  71% linoleic acid (LA)  using response surface methodology (RSM). The effect of three reaction variables such as temperature, reaction time and amount of KOH on CLA production was investigated using design-expert software. The optimal condition determined at this point, 72% total CLA with the yield of 84% temperature reaction time and the amount of KOH were 187.6 ºC, 2.12 h 48.7 g; respectively. Further results indicate that just two reaction parameters including temperature and the amount of catalyst have significant effects on CLA production %; however,the reaction time showed negligible impact on CLA production.}, keywords = {Conjugated linoleic Acid,safflower oil,RSM,optimization}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73231.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73231_1ebfe0600529986c20b152005edbf40c.pdf} } @article { author = {Alhassani, M. H and Al-Jubouri, S. M and Noori, W. O. and Al-Jendeel, H. A}, title = {Esterification Reaction Kinetics Using Ion Exchange Resin Catalyst by Pseudo-Homogenous and Eley-Ridel Models}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1172-1179}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {This work deals with kinetics and chemical equilibrium studies of esterification reaction of ethanol with acetic acid.  The esterification reaction was catalyzed by an acidic ion exchange resin (Amberlyst-15) using a batch stirred tank reactor. The pseudo-homogenous and Eley-Rideal models were successfully fitted with experimental data. At first, Eley-Rideal model was examined for heterogeneous esterification of acetic acid and ethanol. The pseudo-homogenous model was investigated with a power-law model. The apparent reaction order was determined to be (0.88) for Ethanol and (0.92) for acetic acid with a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.981 and 0.988, respectively. The reaction order was determined to be 4.1087x10-3 L0.8/(mol0.8.min) with R2 of 0.954.  The adsorption constants of acetic acid and ethanol were calculated as 0.023 and 0.044 L/mol, respectively and the lumped reaction constant were determined to be 5*10-4 L2/gcat.mol.min. The results of the reaction kinetic study show that the high acetic acid/ethanol molar ratio was favored. The maximum conversion of 70 % was obtained at 70°C for acetic acid/ethanol molar ratio of 4.}, keywords = {Kinetics,Amberlyst,15,Pseudo,homogeneous model,Eley,Rideal model}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73232.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73232_ed1bec5a55b4c3381fa640167f3f98b6.pdf} } @article { author = {Haryanto, W and Prasetio, A and Mulyo, A and Zakaria, Z}, title = {Seismicity of Batubesi Dam at Sorowako Region Based on Earthquake Data and Microtremor Measurement}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1180-1186}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Batubesi Dam which is located in Sorowako region in the middle part of Sulawesi island had been designed with seismic coefficient about 0.20g. The region constitutes an active earthquake zone with the recurrence frequency and magnitude of the earthquake are relatively high. The region is located on and active fault zone due to lateral fault movement (strike-slip) of Matano fault, Palukoro fault, and Walanea fault that categorized as shallow crustal earthquakes. To recognize characteristic of the earthquake at the site of interest, the historical earthquakes (background) data surrounding the study area and local microtremor measurements data are analyzed by means of a probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) and deterministic seismic hazard analysis (DSHA) using some ground-motion models in attenuation relationship equations in resulting of seismic hazard parameter as represented by peak ground acceleration (PGA) values in earthquake scenario at operating basis earthquake (OBE), maximum design earthquake (MDE), and maximum credible earthquake (MCE) conditions. The PGA value in OBE condition is about 0.35g, in MDE about 0.45g, and in MCE about 0.49g. These values are used as reference to evaluate compliance of the current technical aspects with the new required design facing the updated seismicity parameters.}, keywords = {Seismicity,seismic hazard analysis (SHA),peak ground acceleration (PGA),operating basis earthquake (OBE),maximum design earthquake (MDE),maximum credible earthquake (MCE)}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73233.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73233_024aa9c176e92086bc190815d5731633.pdf} } @article { author = {Rahmannejad, M and Toufigh, V}, title = {Influence of Curing Time and Water Content on Unconfined Compressive Strength of Sand Stabilized Using Epoxy Resin}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1187-1195}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Improvement and stabilization of soils are widely used to improve the physical and mechanical properties of sandy soils. Despite the abundance of researchers that have been conducted on this topic to date, most of them have focused on dry soil. The effects of the existing water in the soil and different curing durations (curing environment) have not been investigated. In this study, different percentages of epoxy resin and sand with different level of water content were studied. In this paper, a series of unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests were conducted on mixtures of sand-resins using different percentages of resins at different water content levels. In addition, these specimens were cured under different moisture conditions, and the effect of moisture on specimens was evaluated over time. The results of this study showed that the addition of epoxy resin to sandy soil significantly increased its UCS which highly depended on epoxy resin percentage, water content and curing time. As the concentration of epoxy resin and the curing time increased, the strength increased; however, epoxy resin was more effective. On the other hand, increasing the water content had a negative effect on their strength of the specimens. According to this study, the epoxy resin could be selected to be appropriate and beneficial as a stabilizer for sandy soil due to its relatively high compressive strength and high resistance to aggressive environment.}, keywords = {Epoxy resin,Sandy Soil,Unconfined compressive strength,Water content,curing time}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73234.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73234_60c8fb35ba9c96d38fdbafdd2e9556e1.pdf} } @article { author = {Sarkheil, H and Azimi, Y and Rahbari, S}, title = {Fuzzy Wastewater Quality Index Determination for Environmental Quality Assessment under Uncertain and Vagueness Conditions}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1196-1204}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Utilization of water in different parts of industrial life cycles brings a huge concern on environmental water and wastewater pollutions. In this research, environmental quality assessment of wastewater is studied using fuzzy logic. Fuzzy appliance is due to existance of statistical considerations (including standard deviations), various uncertainties, non-linearity and complexity of functions. A Mamdani fuzzy inference system (FIS) is developed for prediction of a fuzzy wastewater quality index (FWWQI) where four variables of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and pH are considered. To assess the performance of the proposed index under actual conditions, water quality data of refineries at South Pars Special Economic and Energy Zone, Iran, are employed in the time interval from 2011 to 2014. Findings of this research indicated that only BOD and COD were the dominant pollutants for about 66% and 34% of analyzed time, respectively, which exceeds the standards. Moreover, the time pattern for the output indices represents that FWWQI varied from "Moderate" in 2011 to "Good" in 2014. In addition, comparison of the FWWQI results with two conventional classic methodologies indicated that the proposed fuzzy method well covers the two classic methodologies. Finally, it is noticed that all three proposed WQIs exhibit correspondingly "Good" level in the year 2014. Thus, the time pattern for the parameters and indices express continual improvement as outcome of ISO 14001 and HSE-MS.}, keywords = {Water Quality Index WQI,Wastewater,Fuzzy inference,Water Pollutants}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73235.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73235_9748f17ecda06c6459ca6186dee6a3ec.pdf} } @article { author = {Ghasemzadeh, H and Ghasemzadeh, M and Zareh Bidoki, A. M}, title = {Discovering Popular Clicks\\\' Pattern of Teen Users for Query Recommendation}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1205-1214}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Search engines are still the most important gates for information search in internet. In this regard, providing the best response in the shortest time possible to the user's request is still desired. Normally, search engines are designed for adults and few policies have been employed considering teen users. Teen users are more biased in clicking the results list than are adult users. This leads to fewer clicks on the lowly-ranked search results. Such behavior reduces teen users’ navigation and result extraction skills. With an increase in information load and in teen’s demands, lack of efficient methods leads to inefficiency of search engines regarding teen users. For the purpose, this study discovers teen users’ search behavior and its application in yielding an improved search is strongly recommended. In this way, the pattern of teen users’ popular clicks is identified from a large search log through mining of users’ search transactions based on the frequency and similarity of the clicks in the search log. Then, using binary classification, the closest query into the teen user’s desired one is identified. To discover teen users’ behavior, we took advantage of the AOL query log. System efficiency was examined on the AOL query search log. Results reveal that click pattern improves approaching the query to the one desired by teen users. Generally, this study can demonstrate that in data recovery, application of click behavior and its binary classification can result in improved access of teen users to their desired results.}, keywords = {Search engine,Query log,Search behavior,Teen user,Query recommendation}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73236.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73236_eb90254b91c73ababb8f42c93ca071df.pdf} } @article { author = {Rivera, O and Mauledoux, M and Valencia, A and Jimenez, R and Avilés, O}, title = {Hardware in Loop of a Generalized Predictive Controller for a Micro Grid DC System of Renewable Energy Sources}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1215-1221}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {In this paper, a hardware in the loop simulation (HIL) is presented. This application is purposed as the first step before a real implementation of a Generalized Predictive Control (GPC) on a micro-grid system located at the Military University Campus in Cajica, Colombia. The designed GPC, looks for keep the battery bank State of Charge (SOC) over the 70% and under the 90%, what ensures the best performance in the battery bank according its technical specifications. The GPC algorithm was embedded on a STM32 microcontroller and the micro-grid model was embedded on an ARDUINO MEGA microcontroller.}, keywords = {Generalized Predictive Control,Hardware in the loop,Micro,Grid,STM32}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73237.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73237_968c6853f00fe8c7e350f63d31d8df47.pdf} } @article { author = {Boussaada, M and Abdelaati, R and Yahia, H}, title = {Emulation, Model Identification and New-approach Characterization of a PV Panel (TECHNICAL NOTE)}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1222-1227}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {This paper provides experimental and simulation tools to characterize a Photo-Voltaic (PV) panel. To achieve this objective, we start from a PV electrical model and we propose a circuit using Diode-based-equivalent PV (DBEPV) panel. This circuit is presented as a prototype of an equivalent PV panel. It is designed to emulate a real PV module in different climatic conditions (irradiance and temperature). In addition, a new characterization tool for the PV panel, based on the automatic progression of the duty cycle of a Pulse-Width-Modulation (PWM) signal driving DC/DC buck converter, is  developed. This characterization tool can emulate a variable resistance from a zero value to the highest one. An ISIS software package and a MATLAB®/Simulink® environment are used to simulate the characterization of a real PV panel, and the proposed prototype is experimentally validated. The experimental results were obtained and compared with those extracted from simulation. An identification of the parameters of the nonlinear mathematical model of the PV panel is necessary to validate our new approach characterization of a real PV panel and a prototype DBEPV one. A parametric characterization method based on iterative algorithm is applied. A good agreement was achieved. Indeed, our comparison showed the efficiency and feasibility of DBEPV prototype and our characterization method.}, keywords = {DC/DC buck converter,New characterization tool,PCM Identification,PV panel}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73238.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73238_2aa903a6a96c9932778fc830ebeb1a73.pdf} } @article { author = {Arehpanahi, M and Paknia, D}, title = {A New Single-phase Symmetrical Cascade Multilevel Inverter with Low Number of Power Switches}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1228-1233}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {In this paper a new 5-level single phase symmetrical cascade multi-level inverter is proposed. The proposed topology contains combination of unidirectional and bidirectional power switches based on output voltage level number. The number of power switches and withstanding voltage of powers witches were reduced related to the other topologies. This configuration can be extended to the n-level inverter. In symmetrical case of proposed inverter the 5th harmonic output voltage will be eliminated. The performance analysis of the proposed inverter using suitable switching algorithm for producing the 5-level output voltage was confirmed by simulation and experimental results.}, keywords = {cascade inverter,multi,Level,harmonic distortion,bidirectional switches,unidirectional switches and harmonic elimination}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73239.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73239_e349be3da34cc22d9a7bddfab862a5e6.pdf} } @article { author = {Mohammadi, A and Hamidi, H}, title = {Analysis and Evaluation of Privacy Protection Behavior and Information Disclosure Concerns in Online Social Networks}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1234-1239}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Online Social Networks (OSN) becomes the largest infrastructure for social interactions like: making relationship, sharing personal experiences and service delivery. Nowadays social networks have been widely welcomed by people. Most of the researches about managing privacy protection within social networks sites (SNS), observes users as owner of their information. However, individuals cannot control their privacy and it’s been controlled by groups. Using OSNs is making concerns about privacy related to online personal data. According to number of studies, till now so many efforts has been done to protect confidentiality and security of data on social networks, but it seems that understanding the concept of privacy protection is too essential for people. The purpose of this article is to analyze tools and algorithms that proceed concerns about privacy protection and data security situation in social networks among adults, adolescents and children. These statistical tools and algorithms, analyze collected data. The results of this literature review showed that most distribution of these articles in this case are related to 2014. Furthermore, survey method was most current of collecting information in these researches.}, keywords = {Online Social Networks (OSN),Security Concerns,Protection Behavior. Information Disclosure}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73240.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73240_120c951519794fc9e7fdac3ccd4cce47.pdf} } @article { author = {Davoudi, R and Dehghanian, F and Pirayesh, M}, title = {Emergency Service Vehicle Location Problem with Batch Arrival of Demands}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1240-1249}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {In this paper an emergency service vehicle (ESV) location problem has been considered in which it is assumed that each emergency call may require more than one ESV. In ESV location problem two factors should be known; the location of stations and the number of ESVs at each station. Hence, a nonlinear mixed integer programming model is presented in order to maximize the total response rate to the emergency calls. Moreover, a solution method based on genetic algorithm is provided and efficiency of the algorithm is evaluated with regard to the results from an exhaustive enumeration method. The model is applied to the real case study based on the data from Mashhad city to find the emergency gas stations and the required ESVs. Finally, a sensitivity analysis on the main parameters of the model is conducted and the managerial insights were reported. The results indicate that considering the fact that each call may require more than one ESV is very influential on the response rate and the assumption of each call requires just one ESV makes the results unrealistic.}, keywords = {Emergency service vehicle,Facility location,Genetic Algorithm,Emergency gas station}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73241.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73241_335cdbc66d640a154a24e36ed061d117.pdf} } @article { author = {Fadaei, M and Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, R and Taleizadeh, A. A and Mohammaditabar, D}, title = {Cooperative Benefit and Cost Games under Fairness Concerns}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1250-1257}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Solution concepts in cooperative games are based on either cost games or benefit games. Although cost games and benefit games are strategically equivalent, that is not the case in general for solution concepts. Motivated by this important observation, a new property called invariance property with respect to benefit/cost allocation is introduced in this paper. Since such a property can be regarded as a fairness criterion in cooperative games when deciding on choosing the solution concepts in coordination contracts, it is crucially important for players to check if the solution concepts available in contract menu possesses this property. To this end, we showed that some solution concepts such as the Shapley value, and the  -value satisfy invariance property with respect to benefit/cost allocation but some others such as Equal Cost Saving Method (ECSM) and Master Problem variant I ( ), do not. Furthermore, a measure for fairness with respect to equitable payoffs and utility is defined and related to invariance property. To validate the proposed approach, a numerical example extracted from the existing literature in benefit/cost cooperative games is solved and analyzed. The results of this research can be generalized for all solution concepts in cooperative games and is applicable for n-person games.}, keywords = {game theory,Cooperative games,Coordination contract,Solution concepts,Shapley value,Fairness}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73242.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73242_c63876bfe95a2205fae1b0cef26db0f6.pdf} } @article { author = {Mohammadzadeh, H. and Sahebjamnia, N. and Fathollahi-Fard, A. M. and Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, M.}, title = {New Approaches in Metaheuristics to Solve the Truck Scheduling Problem in a Cross-docking Center}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1258-1266}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Nowadays, cross-docking is one of the main concepts in supply chain management in which products received to a distribution center by inbound trucks which are directly to lead into outbound trucks with a minimum handling and storage costs as the main cost of a cross-docking system. According to the literature, several metaheuristics and heuristics are attempted to solve this optimization model. In this regard, this study utilizes three recent nature-inspired metaheuristics among the first studies in this area. Red Deer Algorithm (RDA), Virus Colony Search (VCS) and Water Wave Optimization (WWO) are three novel nature-inspired algorithms proposed recently to employ their applications in engineering problems. The used algorithm’s parameters were selected by Taguchi method to enhance the efficiency of algorithms. The outputs of the proposed algorithms are assessed with each other in different criteria along with statistical analyses and the results yielded by prior works. The results demonstrate that RDA showed a competitive performance compared with mixed other existing algorithms.}, keywords = {Cross,Docking,Truck scheduling,Red Deer algorithm,virus colony search,water wave optimization}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73243.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73243_41e5c2887d17f756dd9826f93dd9cf4f.pdf} } @article { author = {Mohammadi, A and Hamidi, H}, title = {Analyzing Tools and Algorithms for Privacy Protection and Data Security in Social Networks}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1267-1273}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {The purpose of this research, is to study factors influencing privacy concerns about data security and protection on social network sites and its’ influence on self-disclosure. 100 articles about privacy protection, data security, information disclosure and Information leakage on social networks were studied. Models and algorithms types and their repetition in articles have been distinguished and this study builds a research model to examine privacy concerns and the effect of it on self-disclosure. The need of having knowledge and skill about privacy protection seems to be necessary with social networks technology developments. Most of the researches have been studied about privacy protection scope related to users’ privacy on social networks including women, men, children and adults in smartphone and E-health. Most of researches on this scope have been done in USA. Most studies were focused on privacy protection and security on social networks.}, keywords = {Privacy Protection,Social Networks,Information Leakage. Information Disclosure,Tools and Algorithms}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73244.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73244_c12359ed3514e8fdf1b212decd1ebc67.pdf} } @article { author = {Zare Ghadi, A and Valipour, M. S and Biglari, M}, title = {Transient Entropy Generation Analysis During Wustite Pellet Reduction to Sponge Iron}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1274-1282}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {The present study carefully examined entropy generation during wustite pellet reduction to sponge iron. The finite volume method was used to solve the governing equations. The grain model was used to simulate the reaction rate. The reactant gases including carbon monoxide and hydrogen were converted to water and carbon dioxide after wustite reduction. Entropy is generated by heat transfer, mass transfer and chemical reactions. The rate of entropy generation is studied over a period of 150 minutes. Based on the governing equations, the share of each process in the generation of entropy was calculated. The effects of gas ratio, porosity, and tortuosity and grain diameter of wustite pellet on entropy generation were investigated. The porosity was changed from 0.2 to 0.5, tortuosity from 1 to 4, grain diameter from 7 to 20 mm and the ratio of reducing gas from 0.5 to 2. According to the results maximum value of entropy generation nearly occurs during first 20 minutes of the reduction process. It is shown that the heat transfer had the highest contribution to entropy generation. The results also indicates porosity and gas ratio are inversely proportional to the rate of entropy generation while tortuosity and grain diameter are directly proportional to entropy generation rate.}, keywords = {Wustite Pellet,Entropy generation,mathematical model,Grain Model}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73245.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73245_bbd1be70a99f04a4cca3b83cb40dda88.pdf} } @article { author = {Rahmani, A}, title = {Application of Wavelet Neural Network in Forward Kinematics Solution of 6-RSU Co-axial Parallel Mechanism Based on Final Prediction Error}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1283-1291}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Application of artificial neural network (ANN) in forward kinematic solution (FKS) of a novel co-axial parallel mechanism with six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) is addressed in Current work. The mechanism is known as six revolute-spherical-universal (RSU) and constructed by 6-RSU co-axial kinematic chains in parallel form. First, applying geometrical analysis and vectorial principles the kinematic model is extracted and inverse kinematics solution is done. Due to highly nonlinear characteristic of the model, forward kinematic solution for 6-RSU is so complicated. Therefore, ANN based on wavelet analysis, as a powerful solution, is designed and applied to solve FK problem. The minimum prediction risk principle with using final prediction error (FPE) is applied to find the best and optimum topology of our proposed neural network (WNN) in this paper. Furthermore, proposed wavelet WNN is developed to approximate the specific reference trajectories for manipulated platform of mechanism and the results are obtained. Comparing the extracted results by WNN with closed form solution (CFS) demonstrates the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed WNN.}, keywords = {Wavelet Neural Network,kinematic analysis,6,RSU Parallel Mechanism,Final Prediction Error}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73246.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73246_533301ba56539b5696536182fb14c479.pdf} } @article { author = {Sadripour, S and Estajloo, M and Hashemi, S. A and Adibi, M}, title = {Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Two Different Traditional Hand-Baking Flatbread Bakery Units in Kashan, Iran}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1292-1301}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {In present study, experimental measurements and mathematical modeling were employed to investigate the different parameters, such as temperature of different parts of oven, natural gas consumption, flue gases temperature and portion of different heat transfer mechanisms during baking, in two different traditional flatbread bakeries called Sangak (/sӑngӑk/) and Barbari (/bӑrbӑri/). In all studied ovens, the bread receives the energy from natural and forced convections, conduction, and radiation (volumetric and surface radiation). The main aim of this study is introduction of a numerical simulation in order to investigate and validate the flatbread bakery ovens. This validation has resulted in to analyze different bakery ovens using numerical methods and consequently reduce the experiments costs. Due to fulfill this demand two numerical models are used and solved using control volume method based on SIMPLE algorithm and RNG k-ε method. The obtained results showed that numerical solution can make a reliable result in case of modeling bakery ovens, because of a good agreement between numerical and experimental results with the maximum error of 12.57%.}, keywords = {Bakery oven,Flatbread,Energy,Natural gas,experimental,CFD}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73247.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73247_e4785c4f7365036da5e77b3396dba76b.pdf} } @article { author = {Sultana, N and Hassan, M. I and Ridzuan, N and Ibrahim, Z and Soon, C. F}, title = {Fabrication of Gelatin Scaffolds Using Thermally Induced Phase Separation Technique}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1302-1307}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Gelatin is considered as a partially degraded product of collagen and it is a biodegradable polymer which can be used to produce scaffolds for tissue engineering. Three-dimensional, porous gelatin scaffolds were fabricated by thermally induced phase separation and freeze-drying method. Their porous structure and pore size were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Scaffolds with different pore sizes were obtained by adjusting the concentration of the gelatin. Scaffolds with 3.75% (w/v) gelatin and 5% (w/v) gelatin produced pore range of 100 to 450µm.  The average pore size increased with the increase in gelatin concentration. Meanwhile, the properties of the scaffolds in terms of water uptake were studied. The results showed that when the concentration of the gelatin solution was changed from 3.75% to 5%, the water adsorption of the formed scaffolds decreased by 104%. The concentration of gelatin increase caused a reduction in water uptake.}, keywords = {Gelatin,Scaffolds,thermally induced phase separation}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73248.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73248_1c1675eaaeb431600b4990d98b3a863c.pdf} } @article { author = {Md Norodin, N. S. and Md Salleh, L. and Yusof, N and Mustapha, N. M and Kamarulzaman, F and Mohamed Zahari, M. A and Bakeri, N. A}, title = {Inhibitory Effects of Swietenia Mahagoni Seeds Extract on Α-Glucosidase and Α-amylase}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1308-1317}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {This study analyzed the inhibition activity of Swietenia mahagoni seeds extract on α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes inhibition assays.  Swietenia mahagoni seeds were extracted by using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction at pressures of 20- 30 MPa and temperatures of 40- 60°C.  The oil yields obtained were analyzed with α- glucosidase and α- amylase enzymes inhibition assays.  All data obtained were expressed as mean ± standard deviation for triplicate experiments.  One way analysis was used for statistical significance by using Statistica software version 7.0 (StartSoft, EUA) and IC50 (extract concentration causing 50% enzyme inhibitory) was determined by using GraphPad Prism 6.0 software.  Swietenia mahagoni seeds extract have a strong inhibition of α-glucosidase enzyme activity (98.4% ± 0.2) but a moderate inhibition of α- amylase enzyme activity (34.9% ± 1.2). These findings implied that Swietenia mahagoni seeds extract could be an effective natural antidiabetic agent.}, keywords = {Swietenia mahagoni seed,α,glucosidase enzyme,amylase enzyme,Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (SC,CO2) extraction}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73249.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73249_5b75c9ebc188c87fa8900513ae08929b.pdf} } @article { author = {Kamal, N. M and Bakar, W. A. W. A and Toemen, S and Ali, R}, title = {Biodiesel Production via Transesterification of Low Grade Cooking Oil over Heterostructure Nano Particles of Ni/Mg/Al2O3 Catalyst}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1318-1325}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Biodiesel which were synthesis from transesterification reaction in the present of heterogeneous base catalyst has been intensively studied over the last decades. This catalyst has an excellent result in producing high percentage conversions of biodiesel without further purification and cleaning process which contribute to the water pollution and high water content in biodiesel product. So, this study was conducted to synthesize and characterize series of heterostructure Ni/Mg/Al2O3 catalysts with different parameters to test their effectiveness towards the catalytic transesterification reaction. Series of Ni/Mg/Al2O3 catalysts were synthesized by wetness impregnation method supported on γ-alumina beads. Three parameters were studied include calcination temperatures, dopant ratios to based and numbers of alumina coating. The activity of the catalyst in transesterification reaction was evaluated at 65ºC of reaction temperature, 3 hours of reaction time, 6% w/w of catalyst loading and 1:24 molar ratio of oil to methanol. The potential catalyst was characterized by N2 Adsorption Analysis, TEM (BIO-TEM) and CO2-TPD. Meanwhile, the performance of the catalyst was evaluated using GC-FID. From the data obtained, Ni/Mg(20:80)/Al2O3 catalyst calcined at 800°C and three times alumina coating have the highest weak and moderate basic sites that contribute to the highest percentage conversion of low grade palm oil to biodiesel compared to others. Besides that, BIO-TEM result shows that the particle was unhomogeneous shape with a mixture of square sheet and one dimensional heterostructure nano-rod particles was observed. The data obtained from CO2-TPD and N2 Adsorption Analysis (NAA) prove that high basicity of the Ni/Mg(20:80)/Al2O3 catalyst (2.80389 mmol/g) and high surface area (125 m2/g) had lead to the 78.53% of biodiesel conversion.}, keywords = {Key words heterogeneous,Heterostructure,Transesterification,Biodiesel,Nano,rod}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73250.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73250_e337f39a32496f2a6caa63ed4c5863d6.pdf} } @article { author = {Mohamad, M and Ngadi, N and Wong, S and Yahya, N. Y and Inuwa, I. M and Lani, N. S}, title = {Synthesis and Characterization of CaO-TiO2 for Transesterification of Vegetable Palm Oil}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1326-1333}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {This study explores the potential of titanium oxide impregnated on calcium oxide (CaO-TiO2) as catalyst in transesterification of vegetable palm oil (VPO) to produce biodiesel. The biodiesel yield increased with catalyst calcination temperature and reaction time, and the usage of CaO-TiO2 led to higher biodiesel production when compared to reaction catalyzed by CaO. Biodiesel yield of 93.33% was recorded when CaO-TiO2 was used at optimized reaction conditions. Catalyst characterizations showed that addition of TiO2 to CaO improved the catalytic property by increasing the surface area and strength of basic sites, hence increased the catalytic performance of TiO2-CaO. This study demonstrates the potential of CaO-TiO2 to convert VPO into biodiesel, and the potential of the catalyst in conversion of waste cooking oil into renewable fuel will be studied.}, keywords = {Biodiesel,vegetable palm oil,Transesterification,CaO,TiO2,catalyst characterization}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73251.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73251_8b15b6daa5567942b8335c0bd63c5f2f.pdf} } @article { author = {Low, S. K and Tan, M. C and Chin, N. L and Tan, K. W}, title = {Comparative Studies on Ultrasound Pre-treated Peanut Husk Powder and Ultrasound Simultaneous Process on Heavy Metal Adsorption}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1334-1340}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {The removal of copper (II) ion by using ultrasound pre-treatment to increase the pores structure and surface area on peanut husk powder via direct sonication (ultrasound probe) and indirect ultrasound (ultrasound bath) at powder level 3.5 W. In previous studies, researchers had applied ultrasound simultaneous with adsorption process. This method is not suitable to treat huge amount of heavy metal in wastewater effluent. In this study, the percentage removal of copper (II) ion and adsorption capacity of direct and indirect ultrasound pre-treated peanut husk powder were compared with untreated peanut husk powder and simultaneous ultrasound adsorption process. The peanut husk powder was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The effect of variables such as different initial concentration (10-50 mg/L), contact time (0.5–3 h), pH (2–8), and dosage (0.1–0.3 g) were evaluated. 3 h adsorption equilibrium time was required for adsorption of copper (II) ion onto peanut husk surface. The indirect ultrasound pre-treated peanut husk powder has achieved the highest copper (II) ion percentage removal of 99.79% at pH 6 and 0.3 g dosage. It was 57.07% and 19.63% higher than untreated peanut husk powder and simultaneous ultrasound respectively. Both ultrasound pre-treated peanut husk powder shown significant improvement on copper (II) ion removal compared to untreated peanut husk powder and simultaneous ultrasound.}, keywords = {Ultrasound,Adsorption,Copper (II) ion,Peanut Husk Powder}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73252.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73252_8b8bb9d3e7e4497a523aab1d8753a710.pdf} } @article { author = {Shahrin, S and Lau, W. J and Goh, P. S and Jaafar, J and Ismail, A. F}, title = {Adsorptive Removal of Cr(VI) and Cu(II) Ions from Water Solution using Graphene Oxide-Manganese Ferrite (GMF) Nanomaterials}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1341-1346}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu) are heavy metals known for their dangerous effect towards human health and could enter into human body mainly through ingestion. Over the years, different treatment methods have been used to eliminate heavy metal from raw water source and these include (co)precipitation, coagulation/flocculation, adsorption and ion- exchange. Nonetheless, adsorption is the most prominent method due to its high adsorption capacity and low cost. In this work, graphene oxide-manganese ferrite (GMF) nanomaterials were synthesized and used to remove Cr(VI) and Cu(II) ions from water solution based on   adsorption mechanism. The synthesized nanomaterials were characterized using FTIR, BET and TEM prior to use in adsorption process. Batch adsorption studies were carried out to study the adsorption capacity and kinetic properties of the nanomaterials in eliminating two selective heavy metal ions. At optimum pH value, the maximum adsorption capacity for Cr(VI) and Cu(II) are 34.02 mg/g and 66.94 mg/g, respectively. The experimental data revealed that the adsorption isotherm best fitted Langmuir model and followed Pseudo second order.}, keywords = {nanomaterial,heavy metals,Adsorption,Removal}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73253.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73253_0bbab93d99bdb7bce5e39f9f562d0ba6.pdf} } @article { author = {Jonathan, Y. C. E. and Kader, S. B. A.}, title = {Prospect of Emission Reduction Standard for Sustainable Port Equipment Electrification}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1347-1355}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Despite efficient carbon monitoring system and the commercialization of battery technology for intra-port transportation, port management are found not adopting these environmental yet costly equipments. Port authority who regulates environmental policies lacks leverage to impose tangible reduction on emission through concession. This model integrates sustainability into port equipment expansion theory by quantifying viable equipment electrification profile while observing the constraints of operation, cost and environment. A benchmark emission reduction standard (ERS) is surveyed by Delphi method as environmental demand to determine the electrification of port equipments. The results from Port of Tanjung Pelepas case study suggest an ERS implemented lower than 4% reduction a year is viable to retrofit and replace all electric rubber-tired gantries and prime movers. The simulation model allows informed decision for all port agents to establish viable environmental policies for sustainable port operations.}, keywords = {Container Handling Equipments,Port Expansion,Electrification,Electric Prime Mover,Electric Rubber,tired Gantry,Carbon Emission,Emission Reduction Standard}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73254.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73254_ae7147a28c2ba723c8a4490ce7600165.pdf} } @article { author = {Sazali, N. and Salleh, W. N. W. and Ismail, A. F. and Ismail, N. H. and Sokri, M. N. M. and Nordin, N. A. H. M.}, title = {CO2 Selective Carbon Tubular Membrane: The Effect of Stabilization Temperature on BTDA-TDI/MDI P84 Co-polyimide}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1356-1363}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Membranes offer remarkable attributes such as possessing small equipment footprints, having high efficiency and are environmentally friendly, with carbon membranes progressively investigated for gas separation applications. In this study, carbon tubular membranes for CO2 separationare prepared via the dip-coating method with P84 co-polyimide as the carbon precursor. The prepared membranes were characterized using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), pore structure analysis Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and pure gas permeation system. The permeation properties of the carbon membranes are measured and analyzed by using CO2, CH4 and N2 gases. The P84-based carbon tubular membrane stabilized at 300°C and featured excellent permeation properties with permeance range of 2.97±2.18, 3.12±4.32 and 206.09±3.24 GPU for CH4, N2 and CO2 gases, respectively. This membrane exhibited the highest CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 selectivity of 69.48±1.83 and 65.97±2.87, respectively.}, keywords = {Gas permeation,Selectivity,Polyimide,tubular support,carbon membrane}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73255.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73255_99309497fbe1fedd59ec4d5cedf3a745.pdf} } @article { author = {Wai, K. P and Koo, C. H and Chong, W. C and Lai, S. O and Pang, Y. L}, title = {Improving Hydrophilicity of Polyethersulfone Membrane Using Silver Nanoparticles for Humic Substances Removal}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1364-1372}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Silver-impregnated membrane was facilely prepared by ex situ silver nanoparticles (NPs) blending method using polyethersulfone (PES) as the base polymer. A total of three membranes [F1(S0), F2(S0.5) and F3(S2.0)] were fabricated at different weight percentages of polymer and silver (Ag) loadings to compare their effects on membrane morphological and performance properties. All membrane types were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential analyzer and contact angle analysis. Characterization data and background theories from the literature were used to study and relate the effect of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the physicochemical properties of the PES/Ag composite membranes with respect to pure water permeability, structural property, surface charge and surface hydrophilicity. Solute rejection performance and antibacterial property of the PES/Ag composite membranes were performed using humic acid (HA) and Escherichia coli (E. Coli) bacteria. The results showed that the membrane with the highest Ag loading (F3) exhibited the highest pure water permeability among all the composite membranes. This phenomenon could be attributed to the morphological changes of the membrane due to the addition of Ag. In this study, contact angle of the membranes showed decreasing trend with the addition of Ag as well as the increase in Ag loading. On the contrary, pore radius of the membranes was found increased with increasing in Ag loading. Owing to this, the F3 membrane demonstrated relatively lower HA rejection (i.e. 89.55%) compared to the pure PES membrane. In terms of the antibacterial performance evaluation, one can confidently state that the membranes with the addition of Ag showed excellent property in biofouling mitigation based on numerous dead E. coli observed on the membrane surface under SEM analysis.}, keywords = {antibacterial,E. coli,Hydrophilicity,polyethersulfone,Silver nanoparticle}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73256.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73256_8721a2cebe6dcbe0c61663965ad4b9af.pdf} } @article { author = {Othman, N and Sulaiman, R. N. R and Daud, M. H. A}, title = {D2EHPA-Sulfuric Acid System for Simultaneous Extraction and Recovery of Nickel Ions via Supported Liquid Membrane Process}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1373-1380}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {This research addresses the extraction and recovery of nickel ions from real electroplating wastewater using SLM process. The process involves three main phase system which are feed, organic and stripping phase. The feed phase containing the nickel electroplating wastewater whereas the organic phase containing the liquid membrane which was immobilized in the membrane support. The liquid membrane was prepared by dissolving certain concentration of D2EHPA in kerosene which acts as a carrier and diluent, respectively. Meanwhile, the membrane support employed was commercial polypropylene membrane with features of 0.1 mm thickness, 70% porosity and 0.10 µm effective pore size. On the other hand, the stripping phase consisting of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) solution which acted as a stripping agent. Parameters such as carrier and stripping agent concentration and feed phase flowrate were examined to obtain the best condition for the extraction and recovery efficiency of nickel. The results revealed that about 44 and 55% of nickel ions have been successfully extracted and recovered, respectively at the best conditions of 1.0 M of D2EHPA, 3.0 M of H2SO4 and 70 ml/min flowrate of feed phase.}, keywords = {Extraction,Recovery,nickel,Wastewater,supported liquid membrane}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73257.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73257_8db5a3bca52a97076f29d481d8f4995b.pdf} } @article { author = {Akhair, S. H. M and Harun, Z and Basri, H and Ahmad, R. A. R and Rashid, A. Q. A and Azhar, F. H}, title = {Hydrophobicity Properties of Graphite and Reduced Graphene Oxide of The Polysulfone (PSf) Mixed Matrix Membrane}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1381-1388}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Hydrophobicity properties of graphite and green synthesized graphene (gsG) from exfoliated graphite/GO towards polymer membrane characteristic and properties at different weight percentage concentrations (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 wt. %) were investigated. PSf/graphite and PSf/gsG membranes were characterized in term of hydrophobicity, surface bonding, surface roughness and porosity. FTIR peaks revealed that membrane with graphite and green synthesized graphene nearly diminished their O-H bonding which was opposite to the graphene oxide peak that show a strong O-H bonding as increased exfoliated time was reported in our previous work. These results were also in line with the contact angle results that showed strong hydrophobicity for the graphite and green synthesized graphene membranes which were then opposed to the exfoliated graphene oxide membrane that has strong affinity towards hydrophilicity properties (as mentioned in previous conducted works). The effect of strong hydrophobicity in modified membrane has result in smoother surface roughness compared to PSf membrane with exfoliated graphene oxide. Results of the surface roughness were in line with the FTIR transition peaks hydrophilicity of exfoliated graphene oxide. It showed that the transition peaks slowly reduced as increasing the formation of green synthesized graphene powder indicating the increment of hydrophobicity properties. The decreased of pure water flux was attributed to the decreased hydrophilicity. From the overall results, it is concluded that the hydrophobicity of PSf/graphite and PSf/green synthesized graphene membrane is not suitable to be applied in water separation whilst be potential for oil and dye separation.}, keywords = {Graphite,Green synthesized graphene (gsG),PSF membrane,Hydrophobicity}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73258.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73258_8cdd1c9a368445af2fa8fa89992abb79.pdf} } @article { author = {Kamarudin, N. H and Harun, Z and Othman, M. H. D and Hubadillah, S. K and Jamaluddin, M. R and Yusof, K. N}, title = {Preliminary Characterization of Corn Cob Ash as an Alternative Material for Ceramic Hollow Fiber Membrane (CHFM/CCA)}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1389-1397}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Currently, exchanging trends in the expensive usage of ceramic materials such as alumina, zirconia etc. into economical ceramic raw sources have been studied extensively over the last decade for various technological applications. Despite the fact that this ceramic compound or elements offer a great performance and stability, especially at high temperature and corrosive or acidic conditions, the basic commercial price of this compound which is a little bit higher have hindered the used of these materials. Thus interest in fabricating of bio-ceramic membrane using corn cob ash, an agricultural by product not only offered the development of new low cost materials but also able to enhance better properties and performance. The suitability of corn cob ash as an alternative material for ceramic hollow fiber membrane fabrication (CHFM/CCA) as a main substrate was investigated via combined phase inversion and sintering technique based on several controlled operating parameters. The effects of selected bore fluid (5, 10, 15 and 20 mL/min) and different sintering temperature (800˚C, 900˚C, 1000˚C, 1100˚C) towards membrane structure and properties were observed and studied. Interestingly, analysis of the SEM morphology showed that the potential of the main constituents of corn cob ash which highly consisted of silica, alumina and calcium oxide are able to improve the properties of CHFM/CCA by lowering sintering temperature (1000˚C) as compared to the standard CHFM bodies which normally has sintering temperature higher than 1200 ºC. Thus, the used of corn cob ash not only able to enhance better ceramic properties but also able to reduce sintering temperature. Reduction in energy consumption with slightly reduced sintering temperature also will offer a better sustainable process through recycling abundant waste materials as well as the emphasis on the green resources. In respect, the bio-material of corn cob ash is capable to replace the commercial ceramic membrane materials for membrane applications by considering the availability of this agro waste product as the main crops in most countries in the world.}, keywords = {green corn cob ash,ceramic hollow fiber membrane,reduced sintering temperature}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73259.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73259_c9be0ff8edadeb9950b04924804409b8.pdf} } @article { author = {Othman, M .H. D and Adam, M. R and Hubadillah, S. K and Puteh, M. H and Harun, Z and Ismail, A. F}, title = {Evaluating the Sintering Temperature Control Towards the Adsorptivity of Ammonia onto the Natural Zeolite Based Hollow Fibre Ceramic Membrane}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1398-1405}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {The disproportionate quantity of ammonia presence in water has led to serious drinkable water scarcity worldwide. The abundant source of mineral and superior cations selectivity has made natural zeolite as a good adsorbent for the ammonia removal. This work aims to fabricate natural zeolite based hollow fibre ceramic membrane (HFCM) via extrusion based phase inversion and sintering techniques for the ammonia removal in wastewater. The physical properties of the fabricated HFCM were investigated through surface morphologies and pure water permeation. The performance of the HFCM for ammonia removal was studied using synthetic wastewater with HFCM prepared at different sintering temperatures. Of all studied sintering temperatures, it was found that 1050 °C was the best fabrication conditions. The membrane also revealed acceptable morphologies (roughness) and water permeation flux of 249.57 L/m2.h to which both contributed to the performance of the HFCM. The ammonia removal using the fabricated HFCM gave an outstanding performance with nearly 90% rejection, which probably is due to the synergistic effect of the two processes in the HFCM system, i.e. adsorption and separation. It was found that natural zeolite based HFCM has a great potential to be developed as a single – step ammonia removal in wastewater treatment.}, keywords = {Natural zeolite,hollow fibre ceramic membrane,phase inversion,Sintering,ammonia removal}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73260.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73260_cd1d003e5e092c23bd0e5d9236268a11.pdf} } @article { author = {Rashid, A. Q. A and Harun, Z and Yunos, M. Z and Ahma, A and Ahamd, R. A. R and Azhar, F. H}, title = {The Coating Effect of PANI/Silver on Performance of Polysulfone Membrane Toward Protein Separation}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1406-1412}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {The effects of different coating time of PANI/Silver onto polysulfone (PSf) membrane surface were investigated based on the morphology, contact angle, surface roughness and rejection towards BSA, pepsin and trypsin. The membrane was prepared by employing the pressure deposition method toward phase inversed membrane. Thus, PANI particles were forced to adhere on membrane surface by pressure driven force. The duration of coated time was taken from 30 mins up to120 mins. However, due to smooth surface of PSf, PANI particle was able to bounce back from the PSf surface. Furthermore, the presence of PANI/Ag were also hard to distinguished on the membrane surface. Clear observation was noticed with the changed of the membrane surface from smooth in to rougher surface. EDS result using SEM data proved the presence of PANI and PANI/Ag on the surface membrane. The hydrophilicity of membrane was proved with decreasing of contact angle test from 75⁰ to 40⁰ for duration0 min until 120 min for membrane coated with PANI. Meanwhile membrane coated with PANI/Ag also show a reduction from 75⁰ to 50⁰. This result was in line with membrane surface roughness which is increased up to 79% after coating with PANI while 90% after coating with PANI/Ag after under effect of 120 min. Higher surface roughness had influenced membrane rejection performance toward BSA. For water rejection test, for PSf membrane show the rejection of 100%, 60.42% and 50% for BSA, pepsin and trypsin. After coating membrane for 30 min, 100%, 90.21% and 77.23% was obtain for coated with PANI and 100%, 92.30% and 80.30% after coating with PANI/Ag. For duration of 120 min, the result shows that coated membrane able to reject 100% BSA, for pepsin and trypsin it shows 96.15% and 87.98% while membrane coated with PANI/Ag, it shows 100% BSA and up to 98.41% and 90.60% pepsin and trypsin protein. In the end, study of membrane performance was improved with presence of PANI and silver on the protein separation process by using deposition method.}, keywords = {Deposite,PANI,Silver nitrate,BSA,Protein}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73261.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73261_714c2e1818962b32d5f5540ed887cd97.pdf} } @article { author = {Zaulkiflee, N. D and Shah Buddin, M. M. H and Ahmad, A. L}, title = {Extraction of Acetaminophen from Aqueous Solution by Emulsion Liquid Membrane Using Taylor-Couette Column}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1413-1420}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {A study on the extraction of Acetaminophen (ACTP) which is also known as paracetamol, from aqueous solution by emulsion liquid membrane process using Taylor-Couette Column (TCC) was investigated. An ELM consists of three phase system which are the external, membrane and internal phases. The external phase containing the ACTP aqueous solution to be treated. Basically, the internal and membrane phase form the primary water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion using ultrasonic probe which is to be dispersed in the external phase. In this work, Trioctylamine (TOA), Span 80 and kerosene were used as carrier, surfactant and diluent, respectively in membrane phase. Meanwhile ammonia solution was used as a stripping agent in the internal phase. The influence of several operating conditions such as surfactant and carrier concentration, ultrasonic power, emulsification time, treat ratio, stirring time and stirring speed were investigated. The results showed that the present work proved that the ELM using TCC system was capable to effectively remove about 85 % ACTP from aqueous solutions under optimum conditions of 15 minutes of emulsification time, 6 wt.% of Trioctylamine and Span 80, 20 W power of ultrasonic probe, 5 minutes of extraction time, frequency angular ratio of 1.0 and treat ratio of 3:1.}, keywords = {Keywords Emulsion Liquid Membrane,Acetaminophen,Trioctylamine,Taylor,Couette column}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73262.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73262_858971042a168971bb1cc611b1b506a3.pdf} } @article { author = {Mokhtar, N and Nordin, M. F. M and Morad, N. A}, title = {Total Phenolic Content, Total Flavonoid Content and Radical Scavenging Activity from Zingiber zerumbet Rhizome using Subcritical Water Extraction}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1421-1429}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Subcritical water extraction (SWE) is an alternative technique that implement water as a solvent. The objective of this work was to compare the efficiency of SWE in temperature range from 100ºC to 180ºC at extraction times ranging from 5 to 25 minutes with an ethanolic soxhlet extraction in terms of total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and radical scavenging activity (RSA) from Zingiber zerumbet.  Results showed the highest TPC were obtained at 180ºC and 25 min (19.88 mg GAE/g dry sample). The TFC is observed to be slightly fluctuated with time at the respective temperature. The RSA reached the maximum of 83.9 % inhibition at 180ºC and 10 minutes of SWE. A direct linear correlation shows the strong correlation were observed between TPC and RSA(R2=0.910) compared to moderate correlation (R2=0.785) perceived in TFC. It shows that using SWE, phenolic content in Zingiber zerumbet more contributed to its radical scavenging activity compared to its flavonoid content. In comparison to soxhlet extraction, SWE process for Zingiber zerumbet extract is favorable for TPC and antioxidant properties. However the values for TFC in general is lower compared to soxhlet extraction. SWE is a potential alternative extraction process that should be further explored.}, keywords = {subcritical water extraction,Zingiber zerumbet,Radical Scavenging Activity,total phenolic content,total flavonoid content}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73263.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73263_a2c983d8d7e9dd24f79c6eb632e9a19e.pdf} } @article { author = {Abdullah, W. N. A. S and Nooruan, T and Lau, W. J and Aziz, F and Ismail, A. F}, title = {Performance Evaluation of Hybrid Coagulation/Nanofiltration Process for AT-POME Treatment}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1430-1436}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {The presence of lignin and its degraded products such as tannin and humic acids is the main reason causing the aerobically-treated palm oil mill effluent (AT-POME) to display colour at the point of discharge. In this work, a hybrid method is developed to treat the AT-POME sample that was conventionally treated by biological method. This hybrid method combines coagulation and nanofiltration (NF) membrane process is used to treat the industrial effluent in which the coagulation is conducted prior to NF process. The effects of several variables during coagulation process, i.e., alum concentration, decolouring polymer dosage, cationic polymer dosage and pH on the colour removal and sludge volume production are investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). Optimum variable conditions are chosen to prepare samples with maximum colour rejection and minimum sludge volume for further treatment using the NF membrane process. Under the optimum coagulation conditions (50 mg/L alum, 441 mg/L decolouring polymer, 534 mg/L cationic polymer and pH 9.2), the results showed 92% colour removal with sludge volume as low as 4.1 mL. Further treatment using commercial NF membranes indicated that a permeate sample with complete elimination of colour (almost 100% colour removal) could be produced with reasonably high water flux.}, keywords = {Coagulation,Nanofiltration,Hybrid method,AT,Pome}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73264.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73264_5ee7373618753ed5ede1efa64fdcb042.pdf} } @article { author = {Zafisah, N. S and Ang, W. L and Mohammad, A. W and Hilal, N}, title = {Influence of Particle Size and Pressure Drop in Cake Filtration Process on Removal of Suspended Solids in Anaerobically Digested Palm Oil Mill Effluent}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1437-1445}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {Palm oil mill effluent (POME) poses a great threat to the environment. However, it contains valuable resources such as energy, water and nutrients that could be recovered for sustainable development. Currently, anaerobic digester has been employed to recover the energy potential in POME. However, the presence of suspended solids in the digestate hinders the downstream nutrients recovery process. In that light, cake filtration process appears to be an attractive option for the removal of suspended solids in the digestate. Hence, this paper studied the performance of cake filtration in removing suspended solids at different pressure condition and particle size of perlite. The effectiveness of cake filtration process was evaluated based on the quality of filtrate (turbidity and total suspended solids (TSS)) and filtration flux. In this study, perlites of different particle size distribution (FP3, FW6, FW20, and FW50) were used as both precoat and body feed. The amount of precoat and body feed were chosen as 1 g each.  The filtration process was carried out at different pressure condition (2 – 5 bar).  It was found that perlite with the finest particle size (FP3) achieved up to 90% of turbidity and TSS removal due to the formation of more compact cake filtration layer. On the other hand, larger perlite FW50 recorded lowest removal efficiency due to its porous cake layer, though this resulted in higher filtration flux. Generally, the increase in pressure drop resulted in higher flux but at the same time led to drastic initial flux decline due to the quick cover up of filtration voids. The outcomes from this study show that it is wise to consider the effect of particle size distribution and pressure drop in order to achieve high clarity of filtrate as well as high filtration flux.}, keywords = {palm oil mill effluent,cake filtration,Suspended Solids,Perlite,anaerobic digestate}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73265.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73265_a9fe2c22d4a3ffa6e6e8a4b38aefb2bb.pdf} } @article { author = {Hazmo, N. H. W and Naim, R and Ismail, A. F and Lau, W. J and Wan Azelee, I and Ramli, M. K. N}, title = {Nanocomposite Ultrafiltration Membranes Incorporated with Zeolite and Carbon Nanotubes for Enhanced Water Separation}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1446-1454}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {The objective of this work is to develop a new class of nanocomposite ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with excellent solute rejection rate and superior water flux using zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The effect of ZIF-8 and MWCNTs loadings on the properties of polyvinyldifluoride (PVDF)-based membrane were investigated by introducing respective nanomaterial into the polymer dope solution. Prior to filtration tests, all the membranes were characterized using several important analytical instruments, i.e., SEM-EDX and contact angle analyzer. The addition of the nanoparticles into the membrane matrix has found to increase the membrane pore size and improve its hydrophilicity compared to the pristine membrane. The separation performance of membranes was determined with respect to pure water flux and rejections against bovine serum albumin (BSA) and humic acid (HA).The experimental findings indicated that the nanocomposite membranes in general demonstrated higher permeation flux and solute rejection compared to the pristine membrane and the use of ZIF-8 was reported to be better than that of MWCNTs in preparing nanocomposite UF membranes owing to its better flux and high percentage of solute rejection.}, keywords = {multi,walled carbon nanotubes,Nanoparticles,Ultrafiltration,Zeolitic imidazolate framework,8}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73266.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73266_a4afbc0efc70fd2254ab28ed5ddfbef7.pdf} } @article { author = {Nurani Zulkifli, S and Abdul Rahim, H and Adilla Subha, N}, title = {Analysis of Bacterial Contaminant in Pasir Gudang, Johor Tap Water Supply–Varies pH Value Observation}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1455-1463}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {The number of breakthrough pathogenic activity in water distribution network system is constantly increasing day by day especially at level of consumption. Bacterial growth or survival rate often relates to acidity and alkalinity of water. Sudden changes in pH value and temperature indicates a possibility of present bacterial contaminant in aqueous environment. The observation of pH- and temperature-based for tap water supply samples in Pasir Gudang regions therefore was determined. On the basis of the findings, the observed pH value was compared to the recommended range for pH tap and drinking water, which is between 6.5-8.5. A significant spread can be seen among the measured parameters within the range of pH and temperature at 6.00 to 8.65 and 19.20 to 32.00 °C, respectively. There is a statistically significant difference between each sampling regions based on the measured pH value (  44.79,  determined by one-way ANOVA. The pH value and temperature evidence a significant effects by the location of tap water samples near industrial regions. There also appears to be a negative Pearson correlation between the two water parameters in four out of five regions.}, keywords = {Bacterial contaminant,Water Quality,pH level,Water monitoring}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73267.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73267_634170eb9a64641333509c28dd627a12.pdf} } @article { author = {Lee, W. J and Goh, P. S and Lau, W. J and Ong, C. S and Ismail, A. F}, title = {Zwitterion Embedded Thin Film Composite Membrane for Oily Wastewater Treatment}, journal = {International Journal of Engineering}, volume = {31}, number = {8}, pages = {1464-1472}, year = {2018}, publisher = {Materials and Energy Research Center}, issn = {1025-2495}, eissn = {1735-9244}, doi = {}, abstract = {The recent development in oil and gas industry increases the production and consumption of oil. The enormous amount of oily wastewater produced is urged to be treated to prevent humanity and environment from being threatened. Membrane technology is an appealing alternative for oily wastewater treatment due to its design simplicity, energy efficiency and environmentally benign approach. In this study, a poly[3-(N-2-methacryloylxyethyl-N,N-dimethyl)-ammonatopropanesulfonate] (PMAPS) incorporated thin film composite (TFC) membrane with excellent anti-fouling properties was fabricated for oil removal from oily wastewater through forward osmosis process. PMAPS was blended with the polyethersulfone (PES) dope solution and casted into PES support layer. The TFC was fabricated via interfacial polymerization (IP) technique to form a thin film polyamide (PA) layer atop of a PES support layer. The PMAPS incorporated TFC membranes has been characterized for their morphology, surface hydrophilicity and charges. The incorporation of PMAPS was compatible with the PES polymer matrix hence lead to defect-free thin film formation. Prior to the hydrophilicity of PMAPS, the resultant TFC membrane exhibited a high water flux of 10.3±0.3 L/m2.h and oil flux of 9.6±0.8 L/m2.h, reverse salt flux of 1.3±0.4 L/m2.h under FO mode using emulsified oily solution as feed solution and 2M NaCl as draw solution using active layer-feed solution (AL-FS) orientation. 99% of oil rejection was obtained. Also, PMAPS incorporated TFC membrane was able to outperform neat TFC membrane with lower fouling propensity for oily waste treatment.}, keywords = {Forward Osmosis,thin film composite membrane,Oily wastewater,zwitterion}, url = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73268.html}, eprint = {https://www.ije.ir/article_73268_9eea17cdd414ae0c244fc2916bad286a.pdf} }