Fakhru’l-Razi began his academic career with Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in 1981. During his long tenure at UPM he served in a number of key positions, to include as the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department Head
Soil contamination by crude oil is a major environmental and health hazard. Extraction of the tot... more Soil contamination by crude oil is a major environmental and health hazard. Extraction of the total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) sorbed to the clay soil (kaolin) was carried out using synthetic sorbent (Desmopan®) and 2-propanol as a mobilizing agent. The crude oil-loaded polymer beads were bioregenerated in a solid-liquid two-phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB). A central composite design under response surface methodology was employed for the experimental design and analysis of the results. The independent variables were extraction phase to soil ratio, mobilizing agent to soil ratio, and initial concentration of crude oil in polluted soil. The influences of three independent variables on the TPH reduction efficiency were determined using a statistically significant quadratic model (R 2 = 0.9673). Remediation was more efficient when the mobilizing agent to the soil ratio was equal to 3.00 mlg −1 , compared to the higher (4.00 mlg −1) and lower (2.00 mlg −1) levels. The results exhibited that the interaction between the extraction phase ratio and the initial concentration of crude oil in kaolin had significantly influenced the TPH removal. The bioregeneration studies showed a significant reduction (72.07±0.63 %) of low-molecular-weight (two-to three-ring) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and n-alkanes (97.75 ± 0.26 %) present in the crude oil-loaded solid polymers within a 10-day experiment. These findings show that solid polymer extraction followed by bioregeneration of sorbents in a TPPB is applicable to treat crude oil-contaminated kaolin.
Soil contamination by crude oil is a major environmental and health hazard. Extraction of the tot... more Soil contamination by crude oil is a major environmental and health hazard. Extraction of the total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) sorbed to the clay soil (kaolin) was carried out using synthetic sorbent (Desmopan®) and 2-propanol as a mobilizing agent. The crude oil-loaded polymer beads were bioregenerated in a solid-liquid two-phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB). A central composite design under response surface methodology was employed for the experimental design and analysis of the results. The independent variables were extraction phase to soil ratio, mobilizing agent to soil ratio, and initial concentration of crude oil in polluted soil. The influences of three independent variables on the TPH reduction efficiency were determined using a statistically significant quadratic model (R 2 = 0.9673). Remediation was more efficient when the mobilizing agent to the soil ratio was equal to 3.00 mlg −1 , compared to the higher (4.00 mlg −1) and lower (2.00 mlg −1) levels. The results exhibited that the interaction between the extraction phase ratio and the initial concentration of crude oil in kaolin had significantly influenced the TPH removal. The bioregeneration studies showed a significant reduction (72.07±0.63 %) of low-molecular-weight (two-to three-ring) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and n-alkanes (97.75 ± 0.26 %) present in the crude oil-loaded solid polymers within a 10-day experiment. These findings show that solid polymer extraction followed by bioregeneration of sorbents in a TPPB is applicable to treat crude oil-contaminated kaolin.
Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, 2001
This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of an eminent decay fungus, Phanerocheate chrysos... more This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of an eminent decay fungus, Phanerocheate chrysosporium of organic residues on wastewater sludge for its improvement through decomposition and separation of waste particles by Liquid State Bioconversion (LSB). The effect of fungal treatment was compared to uninoculated (Control) at three different harvests 7, 14 and 21 days after inoculation (DAI). The observed results showed that the weight loss and solid content of wastewater sludge were significantly influenced by Phanerocheate chrysosporium. Both parameters were highly influenced at 7 DAI. The COD and pH of wastewater sludge were also highly influenced by fungal treatment.
Biological hydrogen production was investigated using biomass in palm oil mill effluent (POME) an... more Biological hydrogen production was investigated using biomass in palm oil mill effluent (POME) and artificial wastewater containing 10g glucose under anaerobic fermentation in a batch process. Activated POME sludge and different types of composts were collected as sources of inocula for the study. The anaerobic microflora was found to yield significant amounts of hydrogen. The experimental results show that the gas composition contained hydrogen (66–68%) and carbon dioxide (32–34%). Through out the study, methane gas ...
Artificial Cells, Blood Substitutes and Biotechnology, 1999
Rubber latex effluent is a polluting source that has a high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). It i... more Rubber latex effluent is a polluting source that has a high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). It is estimated that about 100 million liters of effluent are discharged daily from rubber processing factories. Utilization of this effluent such as the use of a coupled system not only can reduce the cost of treatment but also yield a fermentation feedstock for the production of bioplastic. This study initially was carried out to increase the production of organic acids by anaerobic treatment of rubber latex effluent. It was found that through anaerobic treatment the concentration of organic acids did not increase. Consequently, separation of organic acids from rubber latex effluent by anion exchange resin was examined as a preliminary study of recovering acetic and propionic acids. However, the suspended solids (SS) content in the raw effluent was rather high which partially blocked the ion-exchange columns. Lime was used to remove the SS in the rubber latex effluent. After the lime precipitation process, organic acids were found to adsorb strongly onto the anion exchange resin. Less adsorption of organic acids onto the resin was observed before the lime precipitation. This was probably due to more sites being occupied by colloidal particles on the resin thus inhibiting the adsorption of organic acids. The initial concentration of organic acids in the raw effluent was 3.9 g/L. After ion exchange, the concentration of the organic acids increased to 27 g/L, which could be utilized for production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). For PHA accumulation stage, concentrated rubber latex effluent obtained from ion exchange resins and synthetic acetic acid were used as the carbon source. Quantitative analyses from fed batch culture via HPLC showed that the accumulation of PHA in Alcaligenes eutrophus was maximum with a concentration of 1.182 g/L when cultivated on synthetic acetic acid, corresponding to a yield of 87% based on its cell dry weight. The dry cell weight increased from 0.71 to 1.67 g/L. On the other hand, using concentrated rubber latex effluent containing acetic and propionic acids resulted in reduced PHA content by dry weight (14%) but the dry cell weight increased from 0.49 to 1.30 g/L. The results clearly indicated that the cells grow well in rubber latex effluent but no PHA was accumulated. This could be due to the high concentration of propionic acid in culture broth or other factors such as heavy metals. Thus further work is required before rubber latex effluent can be utilized as a substrate for PHA production industrially.
Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, 2002
Effects of agitation and aeration rate on microbial treatment of domestic wastewater sludge were ... more Effects of agitation and aeration rate on microbial treatment of domestic wastewater sludge were investigated in a batch fermenter using mixed culture of Penicillium corylophilum and Aspergillus niger. It was found that liquid state bioconversion (LSB) of wastewater sludge was highly influenced by the effects of agitation and aeration. The maximum production of sludge cake and reduction of organic substances in treated sludge were recorded at 150-200 rpm of agitation speed and 0.5 vvm of aeration rate after 72 h of treatment. No effective results were observed at higher rate of agitation (300 rpm) and aeration (1.5 vvm) as compared to optimum values. The results showed that the minimum level of air saturation (pO2) was adequate to maintain the bioconversion process.
Developments in Sustainable Chemical and Bioprocess Technology, 2013
ABSTRACT Nowadays, the concern for biological treatment of wastewater has been increased by momen... more ABSTRACT Nowadays, the concern for biological treatment of wastewater has been increased by momentum. The utilization of wirecloth to construct artificially structured microbial consortia (ASMC) for the treatment of synthetic wastewater had been studied in this research. Microorganisms, which grow in pharmaceutical wastewater, were isolated by culture method. The experiment parameters include temperature and pH had been studied. Microorganisms were attracted to the wirecloth by using dielectrophoresis and immobilized with polyethylenimine (PEI). The treatment analysis showed the selected microorganisms consumed the organic materials which significantly reduced the COD in the synthetic wastewater. Other analyses such as BOD, TS, VSS, TSS were also investigated. One of the advantages of using wirecloth electrode is able to significantly shorten the formation time of biofilm which normally take up to few months. SEM observation revealed the patterns of biomass immobilization on wirecloth. Besides, immobilized wirecloth showed a higher efficiency compared to suspended growth with the same synthetic wastewater applied. The attached grow on the wirecloth, suggested as the main role in COD removal.
This research was carried out to monitor and investigate the gas sensing effects on carbon nanotu... more This research was carried out to monitor and investigate the gas sensing effects on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by a systematic study of the variations in the electrical resistance as sensor signal induced by adsorption of CO2 and CH4 gaseous molecules. The CNTs were synthesized by Floating Catalyst Chemical Vapor Deposition (FC-CVD) method on quartz substrate under benzene bubble at temperature of 700°C. Then, they were tested for gas sensing applications operating at room temperature. Upon exposure to gaseous molecules, the electrical resistance of CNTs dramatically increased for both CO2 and CH4 gases with short response time and high sensitivity. It was also observed that the CNTs device behaves as a p-type semiconductor when exposed to gaseous molecules. In addition, the recovery of the sensors and mechanism of gas sensing procedure are discussed.
The research conducted a study on decomposition and biodegradability enhancement of textile waste... more The research conducted a study on decomposition and biodegradability enhancement of textile wastewater using a combination of electron beam irradiation and activated sludge process. The purposes of this research are to remove pollutant through decomposition and to enhance the biodegradability of textile wastewater. The wastewater is treated using electron beam irradiation as a pre-treatment before undergo an activated sludge process. As a result, for non-irradiated wastewater, the COD removal was achieved to be between 70% and 79% after activated sludge process. The improvement of COD removal efficiency increased to 94% after irradiation of treated effluent at the dose of 50 kGy. Meanwhile, the BOD5 removal efficiencies of non-irradiated and irradiated textile wastewater were reported to be between 80 and 87%, and 82 and 99.2%, respectively. The maximum BOD5 removal efficiency was achieved at day 1 (HRT 5 days) of the process of an irradiated textile wastewater which is 99.2%. The b...
Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 2003
Major Hazard Installations (MHIs) deal with the hazardous substances which exceed the threshold q... more Major Hazard Installations (MHIs) deal with the hazardous substances which exceed the threshold quantity. Although MHIs are safe organizations, they cannot fail due to a single error. However, due to their high complexity, the designer and the operator make errors during ...
Soil contamination by crude oil is a major environmental and health hazard. Extraction of the tot... more Soil contamination by crude oil is a major environmental and health hazard. Extraction of the total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) sorbed to the clay soil (kaolin) was carried out using synthetic sorbent (Desmopan®) and 2-propanol as a mobilizing agent. The crude oil-loaded polymer beads were bioregenerated in a solid-liquid two-phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB). A central composite design under response surface methodology was employed for the experimental design and analysis of the results. The independent variables were extraction phase to soil ratio, mobilizing agent to soil ratio, and initial concentration of crude oil in polluted soil. The influences of three independent variables on the TPH reduction efficiency were determined using a statistically significant quadratic model (R 2 = 0.9673). Remediation was more efficient when the mobilizing agent to the soil ratio was equal to 3.00 mlg −1 , compared to the higher (4.00 mlg −1) and lower (2.00 mlg −1) levels. The results exhibited that the interaction between the extraction phase ratio and the initial concentration of crude oil in kaolin had significantly influenced the TPH removal. The bioregeneration studies showed a significant reduction (72.07±0.63 %) of low-molecular-weight (two-to three-ring) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and n-alkanes (97.75 ± 0.26 %) present in the crude oil-loaded solid polymers within a 10-day experiment. These findings show that solid polymer extraction followed by bioregeneration of sorbents in a TPPB is applicable to treat crude oil-contaminated kaolin.
Soil contamination by crude oil is a major environmental and health hazard. Extraction of the tot... more Soil contamination by crude oil is a major environmental and health hazard. Extraction of the total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) sorbed to the clay soil (kaolin) was carried out using synthetic sorbent (Desmopan®) and 2-propanol as a mobilizing agent. The crude oil-loaded polymer beads were bioregenerated in a solid-liquid two-phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB). A central composite design under response surface methodology was employed for the experimental design and analysis of the results. The independent variables were extraction phase to soil ratio, mobilizing agent to soil ratio, and initial concentration of crude oil in polluted soil. The influences of three independent variables on the TPH reduction efficiency were determined using a statistically significant quadratic model (R 2 = 0.9673). Remediation was more efficient when the mobilizing agent to the soil ratio was equal to 3.00 mlg −1 , compared to the higher (4.00 mlg −1) and lower (2.00 mlg −1) levels. The results exhibited that the interaction between the extraction phase ratio and the initial concentration of crude oil in kaolin had significantly influenced the TPH removal. The bioregeneration studies showed a significant reduction (72.07±0.63 %) of low-molecular-weight (two-to three-ring) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and n-alkanes (97.75 ± 0.26 %) present in the crude oil-loaded solid polymers within a 10-day experiment. These findings show that solid polymer extraction followed by bioregeneration of sorbents in a TPPB is applicable to treat crude oil-contaminated kaolin.
Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, 2001
This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of an eminent decay fungus, Phanerocheate chrysos... more This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of an eminent decay fungus, Phanerocheate chrysosporium of organic residues on wastewater sludge for its improvement through decomposition and separation of waste particles by Liquid State Bioconversion (LSB). The effect of fungal treatment was compared to uninoculated (Control) at three different harvests 7, 14 and 21 days after inoculation (DAI). The observed results showed that the weight loss and solid content of wastewater sludge were significantly influenced by Phanerocheate chrysosporium. Both parameters were highly influenced at 7 DAI. The COD and pH of wastewater sludge were also highly influenced by fungal treatment.
Biological hydrogen production was investigated using biomass in palm oil mill effluent (POME) an... more Biological hydrogen production was investigated using biomass in palm oil mill effluent (POME) and artificial wastewater containing 10g glucose under anaerobic fermentation in a batch process. Activated POME sludge and different types of composts were collected as sources of inocula for the study. The anaerobic microflora was found to yield significant amounts of hydrogen. The experimental results show that the gas composition contained hydrogen (66–68%) and carbon dioxide (32–34%). Through out the study, methane gas ...
Artificial Cells, Blood Substitutes and Biotechnology, 1999
Rubber latex effluent is a polluting source that has a high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). It i... more Rubber latex effluent is a polluting source that has a high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). It is estimated that about 100 million liters of effluent are discharged daily from rubber processing factories. Utilization of this effluent such as the use of a coupled system not only can reduce the cost of treatment but also yield a fermentation feedstock for the production of bioplastic. This study initially was carried out to increase the production of organic acids by anaerobic treatment of rubber latex effluent. It was found that through anaerobic treatment the concentration of organic acids did not increase. Consequently, separation of organic acids from rubber latex effluent by anion exchange resin was examined as a preliminary study of recovering acetic and propionic acids. However, the suspended solids (SS) content in the raw effluent was rather high which partially blocked the ion-exchange columns. Lime was used to remove the SS in the rubber latex effluent. After the lime precipitation process, organic acids were found to adsorb strongly onto the anion exchange resin. Less adsorption of organic acids onto the resin was observed before the lime precipitation. This was probably due to more sites being occupied by colloidal particles on the resin thus inhibiting the adsorption of organic acids. The initial concentration of organic acids in the raw effluent was 3.9 g/L. After ion exchange, the concentration of the organic acids increased to 27 g/L, which could be utilized for production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). For PHA accumulation stage, concentrated rubber latex effluent obtained from ion exchange resins and synthetic acetic acid were used as the carbon source. Quantitative analyses from fed batch culture via HPLC showed that the accumulation of PHA in Alcaligenes eutrophus was maximum with a concentration of 1.182 g/L when cultivated on synthetic acetic acid, corresponding to a yield of 87% based on its cell dry weight. The dry cell weight increased from 0.71 to 1.67 g/L. On the other hand, using concentrated rubber latex effluent containing acetic and propionic acids resulted in reduced PHA content by dry weight (14%) but the dry cell weight increased from 0.49 to 1.30 g/L. The results clearly indicated that the cells grow well in rubber latex effluent but no PHA was accumulated. This could be due to the high concentration of propionic acid in culture broth or other factors such as heavy metals. Thus further work is required before rubber latex effluent can be utilized as a substrate for PHA production industrially.
Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, 2002
Effects of agitation and aeration rate on microbial treatment of domestic wastewater sludge were ... more Effects of agitation and aeration rate on microbial treatment of domestic wastewater sludge were investigated in a batch fermenter using mixed culture of Penicillium corylophilum and Aspergillus niger. It was found that liquid state bioconversion (LSB) of wastewater sludge was highly influenced by the effects of agitation and aeration. The maximum production of sludge cake and reduction of organic substances in treated sludge were recorded at 150-200 rpm of agitation speed and 0.5 vvm of aeration rate after 72 h of treatment. No effective results were observed at higher rate of agitation (300 rpm) and aeration (1.5 vvm) as compared to optimum values. The results showed that the minimum level of air saturation (pO2) was adequate to maintain the bioconversion process.
Developments in Sustainable Chemical and Bioprocess Technology, 2013
ABSTRACT Nowadays, the concern for biological treatment of wastewater has been increased by momen... more ABSTRACT Nowadays, the concern for biological treatment of wastewater has been increased by momentum. The utilization of wirecloth to construct artificially structured microbial consortia (ASMC) for the treatment of synthetic wastewater had been studied in this research. Microorganisms, which grow in pharmaceutical wastewater, were isolated by culture method. The experiment parameters include temperature and pH had been studied. Microorganisms were attracted to the wirecloth by using dielectrophoresis and immobilized with polyethylenimine (PEI). The treatment analysis showed the selected microorganisms consumed the organic materials which significantly reduced the COD in the synthetic wastewater. Other analyses such as BOD, TS, VSS, TSS were also investigated. One of the advantages of using wirecloth electrode is able to significantly shorten the formation time of biofilm which normally take up to few months. SEM observation revealed the patterns of biomass immobilization on wirecloth. Besides, immobilized wirecloth showed a higher efficiency compared to suspended growth with the same synthetic wastewater applied. The attached grow on the wirecloth, suggested as the main role in COD removal.
This research was carried out to monitor and investigate the gas sensing effects on carbon nanotu... more This research was carried out to monitor and investigate the gas sensing effects on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by a systematic study of the variations in the electrical resistance as sensor signal induced by adsorption of CO2 and CH4 gaseous molecules. The CNTs were synthesized by Floating Catalyst Chemical Vapor Deposition (FC-CVD) method on quartz substrate under benzene bubble at temperature of 700°C. Then, they were tested for gas sensing applications operating at room temperature. Upon exposure to gaseous molecules, the electrical resistance of CNTs dramatically increased for both CO2 and CH4 gases with short response time and high sensitivity. It was also observed that the CNTs device behaves as a p-type semiconductor when exposed to gaseous molecules. In addition, the recovery of the sensors and mechanism of gas sensing procedure are discussed.
The research conducted a study on decomposition and biodegradability enhancement of textile waste... more The research conducted a study on decomposition and biodegradability enhancement of textile wastewater using a combination of electron beam irradiation and activated sludge process. The purposes of this research are to remove pollutant through decomposition and to enhance the biodegradability of textile wastewater. The wastewater is treated using electron beam irradiation as a pre-treatment before undergo an activated sludge process. As a result, for non-irradiated wastewater, the COD removal was achieved to be between 70% and 79% after activated sludge process. The improvement of COD removal efficiency increased to 94% after irradiation of treated effluent at the dose of 50 kGy. Meanwhile, the BOD5 removal efficiencies of non-irradiated and irradiated textile wastewater were reported to be between 80 and 87%, and 82 and 99.2%, respectively. The maximum BOD5 removal efficiency was achieved at day 1 (HRT 5 days) of the process of an irradiated textile wastewater which is 99.2%. The b...
Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 2003
Major Hazard Installations (MHIs) deal with the hazardous substances which exceed the threshold q... more Major Hazard Installations (MHIs) deal with the hazardous substances which exceed the threshold quantity. Although MHIs are safe organizations, they cannot fail due to a single error. However, due to their high complexity, the designer and the operator make errors during ...
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