Sara Yasina Yusuf
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Preferred name
Sara Yasina Yusuf
Official Name
Sara Yasina, Yusuf
Alternative Name
Yusuf, S. Y.A.
Yusof, Sara Yasina
Yusuf, Sara Yasina
Yusuf, Sara Y.
Yusof, S. Y.
Sara, Y. Y.
Yusuf, S. Y.
Main Affiliation
Scopus Author ID
57221740411
Researcher ID
B-9242-2012

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  • Publication
    A Study on the Environmental Impact During Distribution and Disposal Stages for the 3-Ply Face Masks by Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
    ( 2022-01-01)
    Chow Suet Mun Christine
    ;
    Tengku Nuraiti Tengku Izhar
    ;
    Irnis Azura Zakaria
    ;
    Sara Yasina Yusuf
    ;
    Ayu Wazira Azhari
    ;
    Boboc M.
    The demand of face masks had increased tremendously due to pandemic outbreak of COVID-19, leading to the increment production rate of face masks in Malaysia. Waste is also produced at the same time, resulting impacts towards the environment. Due to the land scarcity issue in Malaysia, the end of life treatment for the waste is taken into consideration. The study tools used in this study is life cycle assessment (LCA) to identify the significant potential environmental impact produced during the life cycle stages for distribution and disposal through GaBi Education Software. The disposal stage between landfill and incineration of the 3-Ply face masks is studied to determine the end of life treatment for it. The impact assessment method selected in this study is CML 2001-Jan 2016 with the environmental indicator of Global Warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP) and Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP). GWP results in producing highest impact to the environment during both distribution and disposal stages. The impact of GWP also relates to the climate change. Modern incineration is recommended to overcome the issue of land scarcity in Malaysia as the amount of waste by 3-Ply face masks are increasing due to the pandemic COVID-19, reducing the impacts towards the environment.
  • Publication
    Effect of additives on the ash element from combustion of palm fiber and shell
    (IOP Publishing, 2020)
    J Nor Ruwaida
    ;
    M Dewika
    ;
    S Shahidana
    ;
    M Rashid
    ;
    Abd Halim Md Ali
    ;
    M P Khairunnisa
    ;
    M R Ammar
    ;
    Zahiruddin S.
    ;
    Sara Yasina Yusuf
    Palm fibre and shell (F&S) are commonly used in the combustion process to produce steam and electricity in palm oil mills in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the combustion process releases various types of elements that tends to react with each other contributing to operational and environmental issues. Thus, this motivated, a study to evaluate the concentration of the elements such as C, O, Si, K, and Al in the ash with the presence of two combustion additive which are Kaolin and PreKotTM. The study was performed by simulating the industrial combustion in a laboratory-scale fluidised-bed reactor with addition of the additives at 8% ratio from the 40 g total weight of each sample at 800°C with the supply of 50% excess air at 1.24 L/min air flow. The ash residue were investigated for elemental composition on the ash surface. Interestingly, the study showed that the concentration of the element on the ash surface increased with the addition of additives especially at a 50% ratio of Kaolin and PreKotTM. The higher concentration of the element on the ash surface indicates the reduction of fine particulate. Hence, the study revealed that addition of Kaolin & PrekotTM in combustion process has a promising future not only within palm oil industry but also other industry.
  • Publication
    Meteorological parameters and air pollution in urban environments in the context of sustainable development
    (IOP Publishing, 2020)
    György Deak
    ;
    Natalia Raischi
    ;
    Monica Matei
    ;
    Madalina Boboc
    ;
    Gabriel Cornateanu
    ;
    Marius Raischi
    ;
    Stelian Matei
    ;
    Sara Yasina Yusuf
    In big cities, certain meteorological phenomena can affect air quality even in cases where the main sources of pollution such as traffic have low intensity. The air pollution varies greatly, depending on the emission source and the type of pollutant. In addition, the dispersion of air pollutants is influenced by weather conditions, as well as other factors such as the type of pollutant and regional and local topography. The air quality is one of the targets of the 11th goal of the UN 2030 AGENDA for sustainable development, also adopted at the national level. This study aims to correlate temperature and humidity with atmospheric pollutants, like PM₁₀. The data were obtained by continuous monitoring for a period of 9 days (5 days when precipitation was recorded and 4 days when precipitation was absent) in which the relative humidity varying between 32-104% while the concentration of PM₁₀ between 13-118 µg/m₃. The measurements on air quality parameters were performed in the central area of Bucharest city, near an important boulevard with intensive vehicle traffic and sometimes traffic jams. During daytime period, it was observed that the temperature inversion could be the cause the accumulation of high PM₁₀ levels near the road surface for some hours of the monitoring period.
  • Publication
    Performance evaluation of a retrofitted multi-cyclone using computational fluid dynamic
    (IOP Publishing, 2020)
    M Dewika
    ;
    M Rashid
    ;
    C M Hasrizam
    ;
    M P Khairunnisa
    ;
    J Norruwaida
    ;
    Sara Yasina Yusuf
    Multi-cyclone is widely used in industries as air pollution control device due to several advantages over other available separation units such as its low capital, operating, and maintenance cost and as well as its usability under a wide range of operational conditions. However, it is merely a pre-cleaner as it is inefficient in collecting fine particulate especially, particulate matter with size less than 10 µm (PM₁₀) and below. Hence a simple, cost-effective retrofit on a Conventional Multi-cyclone (CMC) with the motivation of increasing its overall performance on fine particulate emission control was carried out. The retrofit was performed by creating higher negative pressure inside the dust hopper of the CMC by extracting 10% and 24% from the total volumetric airflow rate of the unit with the means of an external Induced Draft Fan. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with Reynold Stress Model (RSM) turbulence model was performed and validated using experimental data to gain a better understanding in pressure distribution, velocity profile and particulate movement between the CMC and the Retrofitted Multi-cyclone (RMC). The CFD results show deviation between 0% to 8% for pressure at inlet and outlet of cyclone compared to the experimental results. In addition, CFD results depict that the RMC has higher pressure at the inlet and lower pressure inside dust hopper of CMC, which cause the finer particle to be pulled in through suction outlet. Also, the emission of fine particulate is reduced in RMC by 9% to 16%. compared to the CMC. Moreover, the phenomena at the suction duct can be clearly explained with the usage of CFD. The finding suggests that a simple, cost-effective retrofit at the multi-cyclone has increased the overall performance in the fine particulate collection, and the understanding of the phenomena could be enhanced by the CFD.
  • Publication
    Assessment of indoor air quality of daycare centres in northern area of peninsular Malaysia: a case study in Perlis
    (IOP Publishing, 2020)
    P Chinathamby
    ;
    Norazian Mohamed Noor
    ;
    Sara Yasina Yusuf
    ;
    S Annas
    ;
    A Abd Kadir
    Indoor air quality (IAQ) in day care centers (DCCs) is an emerging research topic nowadays. The paper presents both quantitative and qualitative assessment of IAQ in DCCs in Northern Peninsular Malaysia especially at Perlis. Indoor air pollutants such as total volatile organic compound, carbon monoxide, and ozone have been linked to many health effects in babies, toddlers and kids below 4 years old. The aim of this study was to investigate and quantify the exposure level of indoor air contaminants within the chosen DCCs at Perlis and to analyse the survey on the health effects on Indoor Air Quality of DCCs in the District of Perlis, Malaysia. IAQ monitoring was carried out at two DCCs located in different areas of Perlis which are Kangar and Pauh. The selected parameters measured were total volatile organic compound, carbon monoxide and ozone using the Department of Occupational Health and Safety analytical method. Modified validated questionnaires were distributed to parents to obtain their children’s health symptoms. DCC at Kangar was exposed to high air pollutants compared to DCC at Pauh because it may enter their buildings from various adjacent sources as it is situated beside the busy roadside area. Anyway, the selected indoor air pollutants examined at both DCCs are not exceeding the acceptable level of standard guidelines, thereby the kids’ health are not likely to affected by these selected indoor air pollutants.
  • Publication
    Estimation of particulate emission generation in palm oil mill boiler
    (IOP Publishing, 2020)
    N R Jamian
    ;
    M Rashid
    ;
    S M M Muzi
    ;
    N Hussein
    ;
    D Munisamy
    ;
    K M Pa’ad
    ;
    A H M Ali
    ;
    Sara Yasina Yusuf
    The palm oil industries in Malaysia has been positively growth throughout the year, for it sustainable approach in terms of production and environmental protection. However, this industry also producing considerable amount of particulate emission from the process of burning its biomass waste of palm fibre and shell in the boiler. This study present a method to estimate the particulate emission that are being generated from the boiler. The method were done by analyzing the proximate analysis value of the ash content of palm fibre and shell found in this study. The particulate emission were physically collected from five palm oil mill boilers with boiler capacity ranging from 18-45 tonne/hour. The particulate stack fly ash was collected from the stack gas downstream of a multi-cyclones particulate arrestor according to the USEPA Method 17-Determination of particulate matter emissions from stationary sources. Meanwhile the sample of palm fibre and shell were collected to determine the proximate value. The estimation were then being further analyzed according to the particulate emission that were obtained by the real-stack sampling. In summary, the average moisture content, ash content, volatile matter and fixed carbon for palm shell found in this study are 19.3 ± 5.7%, 2.79 ± 2.2%, 74.3 ± 3.0, and 11.3 ± 4.3, respectively.). The average particulate concentration for these five mills is 2.2±0.9g/Nm3 and the air pollution control requirement are between 64 and 96% with reference to Clean Air Regulations 2014 of 0.15g/Nm3 which is very high to be achieve. It also can be estimated that 26% of the ash generated from the combustion of palm fibre and shell in palm oil mill boiler are being released at the stack.
  • Publication
    Evaluation of deposited atmospheric microplastic characteristic within Malaysia cities airshed
    (The Italian Association of Chemical Engineering, 2023)
    Hasnatul Azwani Hashim
    ;
    Nor Ruwaida Jamian
    ;
    Sara Yasina Yusuf
    ;
    Dewika Naidu
    ;
    Khairunnisa Mohd Paad
    ;
    Nur Fatiha Ishak
    The abundance of plastic pollution is a global issue posing a threat to all living things. The breakdown of plastic between 1 to 5,000 µm in size, known as microplastic (MPs), has commonly been found in all regions as an emerging environmental pollutant in recent years. Presence of MPs in the ambient air poses hazard to the environment and health as it can also carry other pollutant. Preliminary research has found that the MPs contamination in the air would give health effect such as lung inflammation and increase the risk of infertility and cancer. To date, the atmospheric MPs deposition in Malaysia is still unknown. In this regard, this research aims to evaluate the presence and characteristics of MPs in Malaysia. The deposition of atmospheric MPs sample was collected in Kuala Lumpur due to the high number of traffic activities and populations and the rural area, which is in Timah Tasoh, Perlis. The physical characteristics of MPs were categorized by shape, colours, and size using a stereo-zoom microscope. The most common MPs shapes and colours were fiber and black, respectively. The atmospheric MPs found a range between 50–5,000 µm in size. With increased worries about its effects on living species, MPs pollution is predicted to worsen during the ensuing decades. This data will provide a holistic picture of the MPs significant primary discoveries, knowledge gaps, and future challenges in comprehending this emerging contaminant.
  • Publication
    Carbon footprint assessment from purchased electricity consumption and campus commute in Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP): Pre- and during COVID-19 pandemic
    ( 2022-01-01)
    Nor Atiqa Baharom
    ;
    Sara Yasina Yusuf
    ;
    Siti Khadijah Za'aba
    ;
    Norazian Mohamed Noor
    ;
    Nor Ashikin Ahmad
    ;
    Wan Amiza Amneera Wan Ahmad
    ;
    Boboc M.
    Most institutions and organizations nowadays have been taking responsibility in reducing their carbon footprint (CF) to curtail the global warming impact to at least 20–25% reduction by 2030. Universities and higher learning institutions are starting to invest in becoming greener and carbon-free. Current COVID19 communicable disease has swayed the routine and concurrently influenced regular trends of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions throughout the world. This study explored the possible GHG emissions (calculated as CO2e) from internal campus commute and purchased electricity consumption from the year 2018–2020 at Universiti Malaysia Perlis main campus to analyze the influence of COVID19 pandemic on its CO2e emission. The average amount of CO2e emitted during pre-COVID19 period (n = 26) was 1,518.8 tCO2e/year while during COVID19 period, it was 1,071.5 tCO2e/year (n = 10), marked as 29.5% reduction. Due to completeness and quality of data for contracted bus (monitoring period of years 2018, 2019 and 2020 as 12 months, 12 months, and 2 months, respectively), year 2019 was determined as the appropriate baseline year for setting the CO2e reduction target due to COVID19 pandemic precedented year. In comparison to pre-COVID19 pandemic, almost 95%/year and 7%/year reductions of CO2e were recorded for both Scope 1 and Scope 2, respectively. Comparing Scope 1 and 2, it was obviously observed that the purchased electricity consumption (Scope 2) was the predominant contributor to GHG emission at UniMAP campus by 78% despite of current pandemic influence and its reduction was indistinct (7%/year reduction). Thus, the reduction target in future should be venturing in energy savings and energy auditing in addition to carbon offsetting.
      1
  • Publication
    Unravelling the deposition of indoor microplastics at various heights across rooms
    (EDP Sciences, 2023)
    Chen Sin Yee
    ;
    Sara Yasina Yusuf
    ;
    Syazwaana Mohd Noor
    ;
    Nor Ruwaida Jamian
    ;
    Norazrin Ramli
    ;
    Dewika Naidu
    ;
    Matei Monica
    Microplastics (MP) are widely present in both outdoor and indoor environments. Extensive research has thoroughly documented the potential negative impacts of MPs on human health. This study utilized a deposited sample method for 3 weeks, with eight-hour daily exposures, using funnels and bottles to investigate the properties of MPs in the office and laboratory settings of the Faculty of Civil Engineering & Technology (FCET), Universiti Malaysia Perlis. The characteristics examined included the deposition rate, size, form, and colour of the microplastics. Samples were collected at three different heights. The samples underwent pre-treatment procedures, such as physical counting and categorization (size, colour and shape). Micro-Raman analysis was performed to determine the primary polymer types. The deposition rate in the office was found to be 4,960 counts/(m2.h), while the rate in the laboratory was 6,940 counts/(m2.h). Human activities and the appearance of synthetic materials, especially from textiles, play a big role in the deposition rate of MPs in the environment. During the day, the rates were higher than at night. The results of the study showed that indoor MPs come in many different colours, with transparent and black being the most common. About 42% of the size range of fibrous MPs was between 200 μm and 2000 μm, and more than 15% of the particles were between 20 μm and 200 μm. Most of the time, fragments were smaller than strands. The most abundance polymers detected in both rooms were polycarbonate (PC), pigments and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).
      1  12
  • Publication
    Comparative Environmental Impact Evaluation of Disposable Surgical and Reusable Cloth Face Masks
    ( 2023-01-01)
    Ragaven R.
    ;
    Sara Yasina Yusuf
    ;
    Dewika M.
    ;
    Zulkifli A.R.
    ;
    Tengku Nuraiti Tengku Izhar
    ;
    Amneera W.A.
    Malaysia, wearing face mask during Covid-19 outbreak were mandatory. This action has caused significant surge in face mask production which deem to affect environment and human health. This paper evaluates and compared the environmental impacts, in a life cycle assessments perspective between disposable surgical face mask and reusable cloth face mask using cradle-to-grave approaches according to ISO 14040. The environmental impacts were assessed based on nine midpoint impact categories which are ozone depletion, greenhouse gases, acidification, eutrophication, smog formation, human health cancer and non-cancer, human health particulates and ecotoxicity. The functional unit for both types of face masks is a person wearing face mask as protection every day for one year (365 masks for disposable surgical face mask and 3 masks for reusable cloth face mask). The LCA tool used was OpenLCA software with Ecoinvent consequential 3.7.1 version database and TRACI 2.1 for impact method assessment. The study showed that reusable cloth face mask had the lowest impact compared to disposable surgical face mask across the assessed midpoint impact categories. This study suggested incineration as the best disposal method for the End-of-Life (EoL) of both face masks. Sensitive analysis also performed by manipulating the amount of face mask used per individual and it was found that the amount of mask used had significant effects to the environmental performance.
      24  1