Universiti Teknologi Petronas

About: Universiti Teknologi Petronas is a education organization based out in Ipoh, Malaysia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Adsorption & Ionic liquid. The organization has 6127 authors who have published 11284 publications receiving 119400 citations.

Enhancing microalga Chlorella sorokiniana CY-1 biomass and lipid production in palm oil mill effluent (POME) using novel-designed photobioreactor.

Abstract: Chlorella sorokiniana CY-1 was cultivated using palm oil mill effluent (POME) in a novel-designed photobioreactor (NPBR) and glass-made vessel photobioreactor (PBR). The comparison was made on biomass and lipid productions, as well as its pollutants removal efficiencies. NPBR is transparent and is developed in thin flat panels with a high surface area per volume ratio. It is equipped with microbubbling and baffles retention, ensuring effective light and CO2 utilization. The triangular shape of this reactor at the bottom serves to ease microalgae cell harvesting by sedimentation. Both biomass and lipid yields attained in NPBR were 2.3-2.9 folds higher than cultivated in PBR. The pollutants removal efficiencies achieved were 93.7% of chemical oxygen demand, 98.6% of total nitrogen and 96.0% of total phosphorus. Mathematical model revealed that effective light received and initial mass contributes toward successful microalgae cultivation. Overall, the results revealed the potential of NPBR integration in Chlorella sorokiniana CY-1 cultivation, with an aim to achieve greater feasibility in microalgal-based biofuel real application and for environmental sustainability.

A review of walking energy harvesting using piezoelectric materials

Abstract: Harvesting kinetic energies is a sustainable method for generating electricity without depleting natural resources. The main mechanisms for kinetic energy harvesting are piezoelectric, electromagnetic, electrostatic or by using magnetostrictive materials. This study focuses on harvesting of walking energy and aims to compare different technologies used for converting of walking energy to electricity, and identify the most effective technology. Several types of harvester located on body of user to harvest kinetic energy of body during walking, while some pavement slabs are produced for harvesting energy. The paper concludes that the pavement equipped with the harvesters would be more reliable than the body located technologies since it is independent of the physiological parameters. Moreover, the piezoelectric transduction is more desirable due to its advantages such as simplicity and flexibility, while produce less current output than the electromagnetic transduction.