Proponents:

Valdez, Danica Elaine Audrey D.

Ebora, John Patrick A.

Plata, Elaiza Joy E.

Tingson, Leonel C.

Adviser:

Engr. Rhonalyn V. Maulion

Huge amounts of pineapple leaves are generated annually and issues arise in the disposal and reuse of this waste product. In this study, pineapple leaves served as the raw material for mixed matrix nanocomposite membrane (MMNM) production. The relationship between the activated carbon (AC) concentration, water contact angle, and properties of treated water were investigated. The analysis of fiber diameter using SEM showed that the mean value for MMNM without AC and MMNM with 0.3% AC is 28.1486 μm and 31 μm, respectively. The EDS analysis further showed the presence of C and O in MMNM samples with mean values of 59.524% C and 40.476% O for MMNM with no AC content, and 61.632% C and 38.368% O for MMNM with 0.3 wt.% AC. FTIR analysis showed a 3342.8 cm-1 absorption band implying the presence of the stretching vibrations of the hydroxyl (-OH) group associated to the with the high cellulose content of the pineapple leaves as well as due to the alkaline and bleaching treatment. Moreover, the presence of AC in the MMNM was revealed by the absorption band of 1639.7 cm-1 corresponding to the carbonyl (C=O) group. Moreover, TGA analysis showed that the fabricated composite is thermally stable until 337°C and the calculated activation energy implies that ultrasonication has improved the rate of polymerization and thermal stability of MMNM. For thermal kinetic analysis, the calculated activated energy for 2 stages are 22006.9086 J/K and 41648.4010 J/K, elucidating an endothermic, non-spontaneous reaction. The mean inner water contact angle of MMNM with no AC content is 30.90°, for MMNM with 0.1 wt.% AC is 40.73°, for MMNM with 0.2 wt.% is 59.90°, and for MMNM with 0.3 wt.% AC is 64.43°. The permeation flux was also examined showing that MMNM with no AC content obtained a higher flux than the MMNM with AC content given same range of filtration time. The properties of greywater samples before and after treatment were also investigated. The MMNM with 0.3 wt.% AC was revealed to be the best formulation.  Concurrently, the results of the treated greywater showed a 99.51% decrease in the amount of TSS, 97.35% and 75.24% decrease in terms of total coliform (TC) and biological oxygen demand (BOD), 6.48 % decrease in pH and 47.37% difference in nitrates. Moreover, significant reduction was also observed in phosphates, total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, salts and electrical conductivity (EC) with 75.0%, 41.86%, 87.68%, 41.86% and 41.73%, respectively. With significant reductions in the treated water using MMNM with 0.3 wt.% AC, total suspended solids (TSS) along with pH, nitrates and phosphates conformed with the Class C Effluent Standards by DENR DAO 2016-08. Meanwhile, the total coliform together with BOD was not able to conform with the standard although the BOD result showed a relatively close value to the standard. 

Proponents:

Valdez, Danica Elaine Audrey D.

Ebora, John Patrick A.

Plata, Elaiza Joy E.

Robiso, Seth F.

Adviser:

Engr. Kim Dowell P. Panganiban

SYN-TECH Philippines Inc. is an integrated manufacturing plant that will provide renewable fuels like methanol and synthetic diesel fuel and essential chemicals like ammonia and liquefied carbon dioxide from synthesis gas produced from the air-steam gasification of rice straw. The plant will utilize 18.5 tons of rice straw per run to generate a sufficient amount of syngas to be used for product upgrading to methanol, ammonia, and synthetic diesel fuel. Annually, 59,234.83 tons of rice straw will be needed to meet the total annual production. The plant will run for 315 days annually with 24 operating hours daily, which leads to an expected total annual production of 3,599.9485 MT of syngas, 779.8754 MT of methanol, 3,888.9392 MT of ammonia, 2,012.4134 MT of synthetic diesel fuel, and 12,778.5959 MT of liquefied carbon dioxide. SYN-TECH Philippines Inc. will serve as the benchmark of syngas, ammonia, methanol, synthetic diesel fuel, and liquefied carbon dioxide in the country which will significantly lessen the reliance on importation of these products from other countries. The proposed plant will be situated at Brgy. Makabaklay, Gapan, Nueva Ecija, a vacant place effectively situated near rice mills and where provision of energy and water are transported easily towards the plant. The area is sufficient enough to have a safe distance from the residential houses and to provide a space for future expansion and development. The plant will need 6,507.73 MT/day of water which will be supplied by Gapan City Water District and will be obtained from the treated water from Area 800. Electricity requirements of the plant amounting to 22,134.13 kW whole production run will be provided by Nueva Ecija 1 Electric Cooperative Inc. (NEECO 1). SYN-TECH Philippines Inc. will focus on the local market for ammonia, methanol, synthetic diesel fuel, and liquefied carbon dioxide. The local market shares are: 1.2643 % for methanol, 1.1200 % for ammonia, 1.0327 % for synthetic diesel fuel, and 1.0311 % for liquefied carbon dioxide while the global market shares are: 0.0238 % for methanol, 0.0222 % for ammonia, 0.0188 % for synthetic diesel fuel, and 0.0169 % for liquefied carbon dioxide. SYN-TECH Philippines Inc. aimed to address and fill in the gap between the demand and supply data of the intended products in the Philippines while also helping the government to boost trade sectors and improve the economy. The plant will have a total capital investment of PhP 526,682,987.58 and will start its operation on the year 2028. The financial analysis of the design estimated a payback period of 6.7770 years with a return on investment (ROI) percentage of 24.02 %. Based on the consideration of the engineering, socio-economic, technical and financial aspects of design, the plant design project is viable, beneficial and profitable.