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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Estimation of particulate emission generation in palm oil mill boiler

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.

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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.

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Effect of additives on the ash element from combustion of palm fiber and shell

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.

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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.

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Evaluation of deposited atmospheric microplastic characteristic within Malaysia cities airshed

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.

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Temporal and spatial variability of PM10 in daycare centres in Perlis

2020-06-10 , Sara Yasina Yusuf , Marianne M.A. , Abdullah L.C. , Naimah Ibrahim , Norazian Mohamed Noor

A good indoor air quality (IAQ) is preferred for a healthy and safe indoor environment especially for children since they are more susceptible to the effects from indoor pollutants. Most of indoor air pollution researches focus on the health effect on the children but they eliminate the possibility of how the environmental factors and daycare characteristics could contribute to this problem. This study investigates the concentration level of PM10 and its relationship with environmental factors and daycare centers characteristics and two different sampling sites, representing residential and near roadside. Gravimetrical method was used in order to present spatiotemporal analysis utilizing descriptive analysis, Pearson Correlation and Coefficient of Divergence (COD) treatments of data. The average indoor concentration in Taska Penyayang 1 Malaysia (TP1M, representing residential setting) were 105.97 ° 40.06 μg/m3 indoor and 50.77 ° 30.85 μg/m3 outdoor. Taska Penyayang Permata (TPP), represented near roadside setting were 59.88 ° 18.53 μg/m3 and 69.09 ° 23.54 μg/m3 indoor and outdoor, respectively. PM10 variations at TP1M was observed to be originated from indoor/local strong sources and was minimally influenced by weather parameters and outdoor infiltration. Infiltration of pollutants occurred at TP1M, showed by large IOR (above unity) while exfiltration of pollutants governed at TPP, indicated by low IOR and insignificant COD values between all of its micro-location. Natural ventilation as practiced by TPP may also be the reason of very much lower levels of PM10 concentration, evidenced by strong positive correlation between number of occupants and inverse correlation between number of activities. Lower frequency of activities accumulates PM10, contributing to its higher level. In contrast, persistent closed-windows and doors may contribute to inadequate ventilation and accumulated air pollutants, as observed at TP1M. This has been evident by higher COD correlation, indicating similar sources of PM10 at micro-environments with outdoor air.

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Removal of molluscicide compound: A comparison of metaldehyde removal performance between rubber-based aerobic granules and molasses-based aerobic granules

2023-12-01 , Saad A.M. , Farrah Aini Dahalan , Naimah Ibrahim , Sara Yasina Yusuf

Rubber-based aerobic granules (RAGS) were developed in a bioreactor. Outside of the bioreactor, RAGS were supplemented with molasses wastewater to produce molasses-based aerobic granules (MAGS). Rates of RAGS and MAGS elimination and growth were calculated across a range of 180–330 mg/L of metaldehyde. Metaldehyde removal rates for RAGS and MAGS were 84 % and 85 %, correspondingly. Rates of biodegradation (K1) ranged from 0.402 to 0.063 h−1 for RAGS and from 0.404 to 0.065 h−1 for MAGS. There was a negative correlation between metaldehyde concentration and the first-order rate constant. MAGS had somewhat higher metaldehyde removal capacities than RAGS, with a lower Ks value (234 mg/L) than RAGS (282 mg/L). The MAGS had a higher μmax (0.188 day−1) value than the RAGS (0.129 day−1). RAGS and MAGS show promise for use in aerobic granular sludge remedy of wastewater due to their ability to degrade metaldehyde.

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Assessing the concentration, distribution and characteristics of suspended microplastics in the Malaysian indoor environment

2025-01 , M. Dewika , Kalaimani Markandan , Shalini Nagaratnam , N. Ahmad Irfan , Muhammad Amirul Aizat Mohd Abdah , J. Nor Ruwaida , Sara Yasina Yusuf , Mohammad Khalid

This study examines the concentration, distribution, and characteristics of suspended microplastics (MPs) across various indoor environments in Malaysia, including offices, classrooms, landed homes, and apartments. Over a six-week period, MPs were collected using a vacuum pump and analyzed through gravimetric analysis, stereomicroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The results revealed significant variability in MPs concentrations among different locations, with fibers identified as the predominant morphological type. The average counts of MPs in the respective environments were found to be 599 ± 182 in offices, 399 ± 52 in classrooms, 505.17 ± 203.78 in apartments, and 515 ± 134 in landed homes. Statistical analysis indicated no significant differences in MPs counts across the sampled locations. Fibers were consistently the most prevalent shape, followed by films and foams. The MPs were predominantly transparent, with sizes ranging from 101 to 500 μm. Notably, the estimated daily intake (EDI) of MPs was significantly higher in residential settings compared to offices and classrooms, raising potential health concerns regarding prolonged exposure. These findings underscore the pervasive presence of MPs in the Malaysian indoor environment and emphasize the urgent need for further research to identify their sources, assess health impacts, and develop effective mitigation strategies.

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Surface alkali promotion of carbon dioxide hydrogenation for conservation of carbon sources: Cyclic voltammetry study

2020-01-01 , Tan S.Y. , Naimah Ibrahim , Umi Fazara Md Ali , Sara Yasina Yusuf , Aroua M.K.

Conversion of CO2 captured from biogas upgrading process into useful chemicals or fuels e.g. methane is an attractive route towards conservation of carbon sources. Sustainable hydrogenation route could be achieved by combining the process with hydrogen generated from water electrolysis. In this work, cyclic voltammetry was used as preliminary technique to probe the electrochemical behaviour of Na-modified Pt/YSZ as model catalyst under CO2 hydrogenation. The reaction is irreversible and the voltammogram features are not easily distinguishable under reaction conditions. The increase in cathodic peak height and the decrease in peak potential with addition of sodium at low coverage (0.32%) indicated that the charge transfer reaction was enhanced and thus the methanation reaction could be electrochemically promoted given sufficient amount of H2 flow. However, increasing Na coverage was found to decrease the current hysteresis possibly due to formation of sodium compounds such as carbonates or oxides that populate the three-phase-boundary (tpb) active sites, thus deactivating the catalyst.

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Indoor and outdoor particulate matter concentrations in the vicinity of plastic waste processing industries

2020-12-29 , Sara Yasina Yusuf , Nur Liza Rahim , Wazam W.Z. , Naidu D. , Jamian R.

While plastic recycling has gained conclusive acceptance by various stakeholders as a preferable products’ end-of-life management, plastic waste processing industries may contribute to serious air pollutants emission and impair human health, especially if it is in uncontrolled conditions. Apart from toxic gas pollutants, this industry may also emit significant concentration of particulates matter or dust, notably via physical (shredding, sorting, and washing) and melt (re-granulation and reprocessing) processes. Meanwhile, in Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia, public anguish is increasing in recent years due to mushrooming plastic waste recycling industries in its residential area. Thus, a study was conducted to analyse the day- and night-time ambient air PM10 levels and their relationship with selected meteorological parameters (ambient temperature, relative humidity and wind speed) at two different locations (Cinta Sayang Resort Villa, CSRV and Metro Specialist Hospital, HM) in Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia. The mean ambient PM10 levels of Cinta Sayang Resort Villa (CSRV) and Metro Specialist Hospital (HM) were found exceeding the New Malaysia Ambient Air Quality Standard at 150 µg/m3 (24-hours), which were 568.082 ± 266.441 µg/m3 615.046 ± 355.672 µg/m3, respectively. Distribution of PM10 concentrations betwen day and night-time were found to be statistically insignificant at both sites. Meteorological parameters have also contributed to the trend of PM10 concentrations at both sites especially at HM. Inverse correlation with PM10 at CSRV was explained by the absence of moisture (or rain) at the site while the positive correlation observed at HM was due to the hot temperature-strong wind association at the site. Temperature was found to be the manipulating factor for PM10 at HM, via linear regression model developed at PMouth = - 4352.426 + 170.557 × Th with F(1, 8) = 15.224 at p < .005, accounting for 65.6% of the variation Thus, proper attention should be given to the particulates matter emitted in Sungai Petani, believed to be influenced by the uncontrolled emission from the plastic recycling industries.

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