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Biodiesel from insect larvae is an alternative to plant biodiesel, which have issues of using edible plants. On the contrary, insects can grow on waste. Although the conversion of larval lipids to biodiesel is known, characterisation of larval biodiesel is rarely reported. Here, black soldier fly larvae were cultivated for 20 days on kitchen waste. Larval lipids were extracted and converted to biodiesel by two-step transesterification. Analysis by optical polarisation microscopy from − 5 to + 15 °C showed tiny needle-like shaped crystals. Fourier transform infrared spectra of black soldier fly biodiesel revealed absorption bands at 1459 and 1435 cm−1 corresponding to methyl ester, the main functional group of biodiesel. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis confirmed the presence of methyl ester by showing peaks at 3.6 and 2.3 ppm by 1H NMR, and at 176 and 51.56 ppm by 13C NMR. Overall, our results confirm the successful conversion of black soldier fly larval lipid to biodiesel. This biodiesel met the American Society for Test and Materials D6751 and European Standard 14214.

Solar energy is a quick-producing source of energy in Saudi Arabia. Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy accounts for 0.5% of electricity output, with a total installed capacity of 9.425 GW and 9353 solar power plants of various types globally. Many solar power stations will be established on different sites in the coming years. The capacity of these stations reaches hundreds of megawatts. The primary aim of this study is to facilitate the strategic and systematic assessment of the solar energy resource potential that impacts both large and small-scale solar power projects in Saudi Arabia. This study describes in detail the analysis, simulation, and sizing of a 400 MW grid-connected solar project for the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia site using the PVSyst 8 software program. The software-generated trajectories primarily represent the performance of a PV system at a certain location. It provides data for the geographical position used by maps for component sizing, projecting the installation under extremely realistic conditions. The report further examines the system’s behavior with various tilt and orientation settings of the PV panel, which yields superior simulation results at equivalent latitudes for any practical sizing. Three types of PV modules with different sizes are used to design the solar plant. The main project was designed using 580 WP and was compared with 330 WP and 255 WP power modules. This study confirmed that high-power PV modules are more efficient than small modules.

Dyes are stable organic pollutants that have been used in many industries and become one of the toxic contaminants for the environment. This research aimed at preparing a magnetic chitosan nanocomposite (MCN) as an effective adsorbent for cationic and anionic dye removal from aqueous solution. The MCN was synthesized using a coprecipitation method. The physical properties of MCN were characterized using elemental analysis (CHNO), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The results confirm that chitosan has been embedded on the surface of magnetic material and shows superparamagnetic properties behavior. A series of adsorption were conducted to investigate dosage of adsorbent, contact time and initial dye concentration to obtain the optimum condition of adsorption for both methylene blue (MB) and congo red (CR) dyes. The experimental equilibrium adsorption were then analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Based on the correlation coefficient (R 2) values, the equilibrium adsorption data were fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity (q m) obtained from the Langmuir isotherm model for MB and CR onto MCN was 0.1308 and 1.8257 mg/g, respectively. Results highlight the potential of MCN application as an adsorbent for water contaminated by dyes.

Future building renovation concerns more holistic perspectives related to both integrations through the involvement of key stakeholders and fulfillment of sustainability in connection to a broader range of objectives and criteria facilitated by the renovation scenarios. This entails re-thinking, reviewing, and application of novel integrating methods and approaches through an integrated design (ID) schema, towards establishing a richer early design stage to deal with the multifaceted challenges in building renovation context. Through its technological capabilities (modeling techniques), shifting into Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a methodology for integration can be useful bringing more efficiency in (particularly the early design stage of) renovation projects by creating and adding values through the five strands of product, people, process, policy, and technology. On the basis of this underlying hypothesis, the aim of this paper is firstly to review the characteristics of ID, BIM, and their interactions on each other, and secondly to explore and address the potential shift of integrated design through BIM (ID+BIM) for sustainable building renovation. This contribution is relevant to building design researches and practitioners, who can use the resultant to better understanding and navigating the integrated design through BIM, and its potential shift in sustainable building renovation with multiple stakeholders.

In the present study, deoxycholic acid carboxymethyl chitosan (DACMC) was synthesised via a two-step reaction, namely carboxymethylation and alkylation. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectrometer, Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ( 1 H NMR) Spectrometer, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Thermogravimetric Analyser (TGA) were used to characterise DACMC. Spherical self-aggregates of DACMC micelles with the size ranging from 91.3 to 140.0 nm was observed. DACMC was soluble in pH range studied (1–13), except pH 4. DACMC micelles were formed at critical concentration (CMC) value of 0.468 mg/mL. The ability of DACMC to encapsulate and load rotenone was determined at different weight ratios. The highest value of encapsulation efficiency (EE%) (more than 98%) was obtained for weight ratio of 100:1 (DACMC:Rotenone). The in vitro release data of rotenone-loaded DACMC followed Ritger and Peppas Case II transport mechanism. Results from this study highlight the potential of DACMC to reduce organic solvent application in water-insoluble pesticide production.

The effects of FeCl3 concentration on hydrothermal pretreatment of oil palm fronds (OPF) to enhance reducing sugar production have been systematically investigated for the first time. The hydrothermal pretreatment was carried out in autoclave reactor with Teflon at 190 °C for 30 min with various FeCl3 concentrations of 0.075; 0.150; and 0.225 M. The residue from hydrothermal pretreatment (then noted as a substrate) was hydrolyzed by the enzyme (Cellulase Onozuka RS) in water bath shaker at 50 °C for 48 h. The amount of reducing sugar was analyzed by DNS (dinitrosalicylic acid) method using UV-visible spectroscopy. The reduced mass of substrate, change of color, alteration of pH of filtrate, and functional group analysis using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) results indicated the decomposition of OPF structures. The highest reducing sugar (3.800 g/L) of the substrate was obtained when the concentration of 0.225 M was used, which was higher than the pretreatment without FeCl3 added (2.673 g/L). Overall, our study concludes that the hydrothermal pretreatment assisted by FeCl3 can catalyze the decomposition of OPF structures to give the enzymes accessibility and enhance the reducing sugar production.

The potential of gelatin (GL) film incorporated with banana leaf essential oil (BA) as an alternative to non-biodegradable cling films was investigated. The environmental friendly GL-BA film was prepared by casting method, with incorporating 1% (v/v) of BA to GL film. Their physicochemical properties were determined by using FTIR Spectrometer, Scanning SEM, TGA, UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, Water Vapour and Oxygen Permeability Analyser, and Universal Testing Machine. The FTIR analysis revealed a new formation of absorption band in the FTIR spectrum of GL at wavenumber 1732 cm−1 after addition of BA. The roughness of GL film was increased following incorporation of BA. Application of BA increased the opacity of GL film from 0.501 to 1.32 A/mm. Moreover, the incorporation of BA significantly increased the elongation at break (with increment of 26.6%) and slightly decreased the tensile strength (with decrement of 1.8 MPa) of GL film. Results from antimicrobial study showed an improvement of antimicrobial property of GL-BA film when tested against both Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) as compared to GL film. Based on a 14-day preservation study, GL-BA film was successfully able to preserve cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) by lowering the weight loss and browning index values. Overall, results from this study highlight the feasibility of BA as a natural additive to improve the applicability of GL film for food preservation.

The objective of the study was to optimise the biodiesel production of Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) rearing on restaurant kitchen waste (RKW). The BSFL was inoculated into the RKW and left for 20 days. After that, the BSFL were harvested, rinsed, inactivated and oven-dried. The extraction of larval crude oil from BSFL was conducted using Soxhlet method with several solvents, namely petroleum ether, acetone and ethanol. Petroleum ether and reaction time of 6 hours were the best extraction conditions to produce larval crude oil production of up to 56 %. Then it was underwent two-step transesterification process to produce biodiesel. There are four experimental variables which were optimised using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on central composite design. A quadratic model was employed to predict the biodiesel yield, where the R2 value was found to be 0.99 that reveal the satisfactory accuracy of the model to fit the experimental data. Based on optimisation studies, the optimum experimental conditions to obtain up to 96% of biodiesel from BSF larval oil were methanol:oil molar ratio of 9:1, catalyst concentration of 1 weight %, reaction time of 68 minutes and temperature of 60 °C.

Palm oil is one of the main drivers of Malaysian economy that becomes major contributor to the Malaysian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the agriculture sector. The demand for palm oil-based product is expected to increase proportionally to the growing population, thus palm oil plantations have been growing rapidly to meet the global demand. Hence, to ensure sustainable management of palm oil production, avoid a significant effect to environmental pollution, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) have been established to minimize environmental issues related to the palm oil industry in Malaysia. This paper provides the physicochemical characteristics and treatment techniques currently available for treating palm oil mill effluent (POME) nowadays. In addition, the correspondence between biological oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solid (SS) of raw POME samples with the rainfall distribution pattern were also evaluated. The sampling took place at the cooling pond of a palm oil mill throughout 2019 and had been analyzed using water quality standard methods. The results indicated that the total monthly rainfall significantly influenced the concentration of BOD and SS parameters, of which in dry season (February) the highest BOD (36,200 mg/L) and lowest SS (10,522 mg/L) were recorded.

The objective of this study was to assess the potential of an amphiphilic chitosan derivative, namely N-hexanoyl-O-glycol chitosan (HGC) as a carrier agent for herbicide atrazine. The physicochemical properties of HGC were characterised using several analytical instruments. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of HGC was determined using a Fluorescence Spectrometer. A High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of atrazine in the amphiphilic chitosan derivative. Research findings found that the addition of hexanoyl and glycol groups to the chitosan backbone has improved the thermal stability of chitosan. TEM observation confirmed that HGC can form self-aggregation in the solution with spherical shape. The CMC values determined for HGC was 0.008 mg/mL. HGC also exhibited excellent encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity. The release profiles of atrazine loaded in HGC showed that it has different release behaviour than the pure herbicide in solution. In conclusion, the results from the study suggest that the amphiphilic chitosan derivative is applicable to be utilised as carrier agent for herbicide atrazine in pesticide formulation.