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For the Research category

Mar 24

Good articles, essay and report can attract financers of our reseaerch project

By Admin1 Comment

Without doubt, research is an important area for our world technology continuous improvement. Research is deemed very important and it needs special researchers with certain background. On top of that, another very vital aspect to run the research is money. That’s why research grant is very important to finance the research in ensuring smoothness in paying research staffs, purchasing research materials, maintain research equipment, paying research services and others.

Unfortunately, the opportunity to obtain more money from research grants from the government was effected due to the recent economic crisis. The researchers throughout the county as well as other parts in the world are experiencing some tough time. Hence, it is now important to seek for other means of financing the research activities.

To do this, we need to promote our research extensively globally. One way of doing this is by writing reports, articles and essays on our expertise and general research finding to be published in websites, blogs, magazines, newspapers, book chapters, journals and others. In order to impressed and educate the readers and potential sponsors and financers, we need to present the reports, articles and essays attractively and the best possible way.

For this purpose, we can seek for professional custom essay, report and article writing services. We can search services like this by keying write my essay in google or yahoo or other search engines. On top of that, this professional service provider can also proof read our writings to make it an excellent and top notch article, essay or report. This is importantly one way of attracting sponsors and financers. Who knows, from this small effort, we may be rewarded and attract big companies to finance our research. We just need to try…

Mar 01

Can we still enjoy petroleum as we used to?

By ZakiNo Comments

Ten years ago I began my Chemical Engineering masters degree. The title of my master thesis was “Optmization of oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) to C2+ products”. That time, I was so interested with the topic energy. That’s why I opted that research field because I want to help and contribute to seek for ways to obtain petroleum energy from other sources since the petroleum reserve is diminishing!!! OCM is actually part of the technology to convert natural gas to C2 products (ethane, ethylene, acetylene) and further on oligomerize to gasoline with the help of zeolite ZSM-5 catalyst. That time, in my literature review, it was stated that the petroleum research is going to end in 15 years time. I noted that a decade ago which means 10 years ago. If that information is correct, we shall be enjoying petroleum until 2015!!!

Is that right?

After I completed my masters degree, I work with an oil and gas servicing company. I’m not the only engineer there. Two petroleum engineers were employed after me. It is interesting to have intellectual friends like them to discuss about the  energy dilemma of petroleum.

One of them ask, “Do you think petroleum will last around 2015?”

“I’m not sure…”, I answered briefly and slowly. “Hopefully not”, I added a two seconds after that.

Being a petroleum engineering student, my colleague began his story…

“Petroleum is abundantly available down there inside the earth. The supply can last up to 100 years. The problem now is our current technology is not capable to retrieve the black gold. Hence, we need to keep on researching and developing new techniques and technology to retrieve the crude oil.”

What my petroleum engineer friend said make me realized that petroleum is still safely locked and stored down there. The problem hindering us from getting it is the technology. I’m glad I knew that and until now I still subscribe petroleum, hydrocarbon and offshore related magazines to keep myself updated with current technologies concerning petroleum upstream.

Yesterday, I came across this website – Bedrock Energy Development. It is pretty interesting because it introduces a new way of extracting petroleum…

The tag line say it all… “Laser Oil Well Drilling: a look into the future of the search for petroleum”

Laser will be employed to explore oils. Honestly, I never imagine laser application for the oil and gas industry specifically in exploration. However, this new tech has given the world some gleam  of hope and that’s very pretty impressive. Despite the desperate commercialization of green biomass and biodiesel fuel, the demand required by the world could not be met by these renewable technology yet. More and more research are yet to be done to ensure commercial viability of the green technology. Without doubt, the world still need fossil petroleum for energy at least for the next 50 years.

It was stated that lasers have the ability to melt rock in a way that will create a casing in a wellbore, eliminating the expense of setting steel well casing. A laser system could also posess a variety of sensors and imaging systems that could communicate with the surface via fiber optic cable. A new study will obtain precise measurements of the energy required to transmit light from surface lasers with enough power to bore through rocks as deep as 20,000 feet or more beneath the surface. This has certainly ease the traditional and complicated process of drilling to position the wellbore that will be then connected to platform for further processing.

Besides that, another aspect of the new study will be to determine if lasers can be used in the presence of drilling fluids. In most wells drilling “mud” is injected into the borehole to wash out rock cuttings and keep water and other fluids from seeping into the wellbore. The technical challenge will be to determine whether too much laser energy is expended to clear away the fluid where the drilling is occurring.

Well, despite of all this, the laser approach may be the answer to our mysterious technology to dig out the petroleum from stubborn earth crust. Let’s hope for the laser technology application success so we can still enjoy petrol and its’ derivative products at an affordable price.

Basic rule of thumb: less petroleum, house hold price including petrol will rise, and people will suffer…

Think about it.

Jan 19

CREG Seminar

By Zaki1 Comment

Attention to all CREG members:

This week, we will have our 2nd “CREG seminar”

The CREG seminar ‘s schedule as follows below:

Date      :   21 January 2010 (Thursday)
Time      :   9 – 11 am
Venue    :   BMF

On that day, we have two presenters and they will present their PhD research:-

Dr Norzita Ngadi
“Mechanisms of molecular brush inhibition of protein adsorption onto stainless steel surface”

Dr Tuan Amran
“Hydrogen Production from the catalytic Ethanol Reforming in Supercritical Water”

Jan 13

Attachment of Master Students from UPM

By AdminNo Comments

Nur Shafizah bt Ishak and Nor Sharina bt Anwar are 2 Master students from Centre of Excellent of Catalysis Science and Technology  (COMBICAT) UPM. They has joined CREG for 16 months starting from 13th January 2010 until 13th April 2011. They will carry out their research using the high pressure reactor.

Jan 11

5 Great iPhone Apps to Help Engineers Research

By Zaki1 Comment

Working on a dissertation or any other major paper or article means lots of research, usually from lots of sources. Having remote means of research and remote ways of capturing information you might find inadvertently can be a tremendous help when you’re in the midst of a big paper or business project. Most of us find that we use our remote wireless devices to great advantage when they can help us capture ideas or information that might have been lost or forgotten had we waited until we returned to home or office to capture then. Here are some ways you can use your Iphone to help you research and capture information you find when you’re on the go.



1. Whiteboard Capture – This application allows you to capture the contents of a whiteboard screen easily and in high resolution, so it’s actually readable later. You’ll get a clean digital image every time. It’s a great way to capture classroom notes or assignment requirements.



2. Ishare – Allows you to share documents with other via a Virtual Private Network. Using a Pin, you can access and share documents. It’s useful for business people who travel and for groups working together on documents or research.



3. Dragon Dictation – Talk right to your phone to capture thoughts, ideas and other important information you might use in your work. Once you’ve finished dictating, you can save your dictation, email it or send it as a text message too. Want punctuation? Simply say “period” or other punctuation commands and they will be inserted. Whether you send the information to a colleague or just insert it into a paper you’re working on, having the ability to convert speech to text so easily and with such grammatical accuracy can save lots of time.



4. Aji Annotate PDF – This app allows you to mark up and annotate PDF documents. You can create bookmarks or even draw freeform with your fingers. This is a great way to edit documents or make notes as you read something while waiting in line or on a plane.



5. Googalyer – This web research tool an open-source, tabbed web browser with built-in note-taking, web-clipping, outlining and bibliographic tools. The idea is to consolidate these different aspects of web research into one application. This way you can have multiple research projects with all the relevant information kept in one place, without getting information from different projects mixed up. If you do a lot of research online, and want to be able to do it remotely, this is a good app.



New apps for the Iphone are constantly being developed, both by Apple and by other developers. As time goes on, there will be more and more open source, free applications you can download to your Iphone. Keep on the lookout for more good research and business tools. Using your Iphone to help keep track of your thoughts, ideas and research while you’re out and about is a great way to keep working on that most important project – even when you’re not supposed to be working.



This article was guess blog by my friend Phyllis Zerkle who blogs about how to choose among the best masters degree programs.

Aug 21

Matlab Tutorial Class

By Yani@dd_puyau1 Comment

21 August 2009-CREG was organized the matlab for the first time. The class was open to all student who a interested. But for today, Just a creg member join this class since we not announced for anybody yet. the class was starting at 9 a.m. and finish at 11 a.m. Prof Dr Jahanmiri from School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz Iran who are expert in modeling and simulation have teach us. We were very enjoying the class since matlab was very interesting.

Please download the MatLab Tutorial Slides here.


Jun 24

A drop of glycerol in water

By ZakiNo Comments

This is interesting. Look at the slow motion video when a drop of glycerol drops on the water surface. What can you deduced from this observation?

Jun 24

The Truth About the Hydrating Effects of Glycerol

By ZakiNo Comments

An average person can lose about 3 liters of water from a strenuous exercise especially when it is hot and muggy. This loss may occur via respiration and perspiration. Experts say that when the body loses one and a half liters of water, endurance and performance is reduced due to decreased amount of blood that circulates to the muscles and skin. Athletes may suffer from this trouble during long hours of body activity. When they do not take enough amount of fluid, dehydration may ensue. Thus, it is necessary for athletes as well as active people to take more amount of fluids than an average person does.

Increasing the amount of water intake may replenish lost water. Drinking more water may also be a way to hyperhydrate the body. However, the urinary system is most likely going to flush out most of the excess water in an hour. But there is a way to retain water and keep it from getting flushed out of the system.

Glycerol is a substance which is classified as an organic compound. When added to drinking water, it can maintain high levels of water in the body for up to 4 hours. In organic chemistry, this compound is known to contain three carbon atoms and it has a similar molecular structure to alcohol that it is called sugar alcohol. It occurs naturally in fats in form of glycerides and is actually a fundamental part in the molecular structure of lipids. It is also present in the body in minute amounts as a result of breakdown of fats in the liver.

This nontoxic chemical has some benefits when ingested. It increases the amount of fluid in the blood plasma and tissues. This is because the chemical is known to have hygroscopic properties. This means that it attracts water molecules from the surroundings. For example, if you leave a beaker of this substance in the open air, soon it becomes diluted as it absorbs water from the air. The same explanation tells why glycerin soaps when left in the open will become covered in dewdrops of water. Note that glycerin is the other term for the compound. It lengthens the life of water inside the body, so excess water will not be excreted until the hygroscopic substance is broken down by the body.

The compound has known therapeutic benefits. To mention a few, it is used in the treatment procedure for cerebral edema which is fluid buildup in the brain causing swelling symptoms. It is also used in remedies for glaucoma. The compound does not easily penetrate into body tissues but it remains in the blood and in fluid spaces between tissues. Its presence draws excess water out from the affected tissues through a process called osmosis. This advantage, however, has negative effects among athletes because the same feature may actually cause headaches and blurring of vision. Experts speculate this may be due to the water depletion in the tissues.

Nevertheless, things have never been totally clear because there are relatively few studies made regarding the effects of the compound to the body. For instance, its effect on the athletic performance is a matter of ingenious speculation for some. Published studies were reviewed and researchers whose works were published have evidences that corroborate one another’s work.

In connection to the topic under discussion, according to a research, the presence of glycerol in the blood affects sweating and in return affects the body temperature regulating mechanism of the body. It also affects the body’s cardiovascular physiology when exercise is done in a hot environment.

On the other hand, some versions of the research show no significant effects on cardiovascular function, rate of perspiration, and body temperature.

There are substances which are banned in Olympics. Diuretics are one group of substances which are not permitted to be taken by athletes for Olympics because these substances are responsible for rapid fluid loss during vigorous activity. Formerly, glycerol was considered a diuretic. Now, however in minimal doses, the compound is beneficial and more than a decade ago the ban on this substance has been lifted. Studies will still be conducted to test how the substance affects the body to make points finer as to the extent of its benefits and whether it is safe to be used in all circumstances.

Jo is a content writer for ‘ReAgent Chemical Services Ltd’ (http://www.reagent.co.uk), an established UK based chemical firm that makes, has a supply of and supplies a wide selection of high quality chemicals. If your corporation is looking for high quality chemical product for instance Glycerol or has other industrial chemical needs then have a look at ReAgent Chemical Services Ltd.

May 15

Research Officer Job Vacancies @ UTM

By Fadhzir4 Comments

For those who are interested to work as Research Officer in UTM, please click on this link for details:

Job Vacancies @ UTM

Apr 27

Pyrolysis of Automotive Shredder Residues

By ZakiNo Comments

Automotive shredder residue (ASR) is a problematic mixture of materials that in an ideal world would be recycled. This has not been possible due to the difficulty of finding suitable uses for a variable material which may contain some toxic contaminants. Clearly, ASR needs a new processing solution.

Pyrolysis has been identified by the waste management industry is a process which has many advantages to offer in rendering ASR into materials which can be re-used or disposed of safely. However, despite many proposals and studies over the last five or more years, it is still considered unproven for this purpose in most countries.

Factors that have proven critical to its development have been ASR composition, heavy metal contamination, high chlorine levels, and competition with alternative emerging technologies.

In the waste management industry, pyrolysis and gasification are generally still considered emerging technologies and unproven until a particular technology has been shown to have been running successfully at full scale, or close to full scale, for many years.

Although pyrolysis and gasification are well known in activities such as the conversion of coal into town gas, the technology has only since the turn of the century been considered for its use in waste management. To the casual onlooker the apparently inconsequential shift from taking in homogenous, well-characterised traditional feedstocks to using heterogeneous, variable waste stream feedstocks has proven to quite the opposite.

Demonstrator plant operators have found the move to successful commercial status, very hard to achieve. Shredder residue is proving to be a complex waste stream which makes it difficult to process.

On rare occasions constant supplies are available to provide a secure supply. In these instances the shredder residue has been well characterised and a number of papers report proportions of sulphur, chlorine, heavy metals and contaminant oils arising from elastomers, PVC, metals and car fluids respectively. Unfortunately, these can vary significantly in the feedstock from hour to hour. Not surprisingly this requires demanding design features to actively and continually adjust the pyrolysis process.

This is understandable when one considers the types and ages of vehicles from which the ASR is being produced. Plus, many processors also accept additional scrap feed from white goods and light iron.

The moisture content also varies and so does the all-important energy content. Only when all these factors are put together does the full degree of difficulty become apparent within the design of appropriate thermal processes.

Yet, the pressure to achieve commercial processes to deal with such complex waste feedstock is growing year by year. This is especially true for shredder residues (SR) because they are more and more frequently considered unsuitable for landfill disposal, and even where accepted the price is rising rapidly. When landfill operators will not accept SR or char, it is the potential leaching of the contaminant metals which causes the problem.

This problem can be avoided when designing an ASR pyrolysis process by using the large amounts of waste heat available to vitrify the char. Several processes incorporate this idea.

Another possibility is co-combustion in cement kilns, however, again the level of metals remaining in ASR char is generally excessive for the cement industry. Chlorine levels are also a problem. These come mainly from PVC and other plastics.

This post is contributed by Steve Evans. He is a leading waste professional and writer. Continue to the Pyrolysis and Gasification for Energy web site, or find out about other Waste Treatment Technologies, incineration to composting.

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