Kuala Perlis Research Articles

The Importance of Acoustic Design in the Mosques towards the Worshipers’ Comfort

Abstract A good acoustic design will provide a better and comfortable environment in the mosque in term of sound audibility and speech intelligibility. Unfortunately, architects nowadays often focus more on designing a building based on its looks or form, and the main function of space most often neglected. The research has taken place at Masjid Al-Hussain Kuala Perlis. The research approach includes interviews and observations guided by the theory of affordance employed. Although the acoustic design was not that perfect, the acoustic design is still acceptable. There is a correlation between the acoustic designs of the mosque and the worshipers’ comfort.

STRENGTH OF CONCRETE MADE FROM DREDGED SEDIMENTS

Sea and river dredging has produced a large volume of dredged waste over the years which could trigger geo-hazards including dispersion of contamination from sediments. One of the ways to overcome this issue is by incorporating it into geotechnical engineering purposes including the production of concrete for foundation, retaining wall and highway construction. This research aims to investigate the strength of concrete made from dredged sediments and to compare it with the strength of conventional concrete. This research emphasises on the usage of two types of dredge waste; silt and sand, obtained from Kuala Perlis, Perlis and Sungai Bebar, Pahang, respectively. The dredged sediments from Sungai Bebar will be used as fine aggregates while sediments from Kuala Perlis will be used as admixtures and fine aggregates for production of concrete. The concrete will then be tested for its strength. As a result, the concrete made from these two rivers are able to produce the minimum strength requirement for C20 concrete mix. This enables the concrete mixtures used in this research to be applied in the construction of foundation, retaining wall and highway. This research helps in reducing the amount of wastage from dredge work as well as providing a new material source for concrete.

Feasibility Study on Composition and Mechanical Properties of Marine Clay Based Geopolymer Brick

Geopolymer is an inorganic polymer performed in synthesis process of an aluminosilicate material which activated by alkaline activator solution. Marine clay, considered to be a waste substance which have an important aluminosilicate sources in developing geopolymer synthesis since it contains sufficient amounts of alumina and silica. In this experimental study, local marine clay composition was been identified to determine the amount of alumina and silica. The raw sample compositions were identified by using X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Incorporated with it composition, compressive strength of brick were been tested in aged of 1, 2 and 3 day and compared with local production of cement brick (CB). This research is aimed at determining the properties of Kuala Perlis marine clay in order to verify its suitability as a pozzolana materials as well as the sufficient amount of Al and Si to enhance the properties of geopolymer brick.

A Study on Hydrogen Sulphide as Potential Tracer in Landfill Gas Monitoring

Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills are one of the major source of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) which is the offensive odours potentially creating annoyance in adjacent communities. This project focuses on H2S emission from landfills in Perlis, Malaysia. Landfill gas (LFG) samples were collected and analyzed accordance with NIOSH method 6013. The mean concentrations of H2S in Kuala Perlis Landfill and Padang Siding Landfill are 210.68 ppm and 242.85 ppm respectively. High concentrations of H2S may be a concern for employees working on the landfill site. These results indicate that workers should use proper personal protection at landfill when involved in excavation, landfill gas collection, and refuse compaction. The formation of H2S most likely to be contributed by the biological conversion of sulfate from gypsum-rich soils and landfill wastewater treatment sludges by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) which can utilize dissolved sulfate as an electron acceptor. H2S is conveniently detected by hand held analyzer, such Jerome meter, landfill gas analyzer. In the organic range, in the ease of detection range in the dispersion rate within the landfill site, the monitored H2S gas form a very noticeable concentration with the travelling wind direction. It proved that the dispersion rate of H2S are suitable as tracer to detect route of travelling in a certain distance.

A Preliminary Study on Heavy Metal Concentration in the Marine Bivalves Marcia Marmorata Species and Sediments Collected From the Coastal Area of Kuala Perlis, North Of Malaysia

A Preliminary Study on Heavy Metal Concentration in the Marine Bivalves Marcia Marmorata Species and Sediments Collected From the Coastal Area of Kuala Perlis, North Of Malaysia

Fundamental Characterisation of Dredged Marine Sediments from Kuala Perlis Jetty by XRF, XRD and FTIR

Dredging along Kuala Perlis Jetty results in huge amount of marine sediments which has thrown considerable challenge for disposal. This research was conducted to characterize dredged marine sediment which was collected at Kuala Perlis Jetty as potential raw material for brick production. Three different characterizations were performed namely XRF, XRD and FTIR. XRF analysis showed the presence of SiO2 and Al2O3 as major quantities. Low concentration of heavy metals namely As, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn presence in the sediment comply the US EPA guideline for brick production. XRD analysis indicated the presence of quartz as primary mineral while kaolinite and illite also present as secondary and ternary phases. FTIR analysis identified various form of minerals presence in the samples which strongly supported XRD results.

Risk assessment for the daily intake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the ingestion of cockle ( Anadara granosa) and exposure to contaminated water and sediments along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia

The concentration of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (c-PAHs) present in the sediment and water of Peninsular Malaysia as well as in the cockle Anadara granosa was investigated. Samples were extracted and analysed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The concentrations of total carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (t-PAHs) were measured between 0.80 ± 0.04 to 162.96 ± 14.74 ng/g wet weight (ww) in sediment, between 21.85 ± 2.18 to 76.2 ± 10.82 ng/L in water samples and between 3.34 ± 0.77 to 46.85 ± 5.50 ng/g ww in the cockle tissue. The risk assessment of probable human carcinogens in the Group B2 PAHs was calculated and assessed in accordance with the standards of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Case I in the toxicity assessment analysed the cancer risk to consumers of Malaysian blood cockle. Case II assessed the risk of cancer from exposure to PAHs from multiple pathways. The average cancer risk of case I and case II were found to be classifiable as unsafe according to the US EPA standard. The cancer risk due to c-PAHs acquired by the ingestion of blood cockle was (8.82 ± 0.54) × 10 −6 to (2.67 ± 0.06) × 10 −2, higher than the US EPA risk management criterion. The non-cancer risks associated with multiple pathways in Kuala Gula, Kuala Juru and Kuala Perlis were higher than the US EPA safe level, but the non-cancer risk for eating blood cockle was below the level of US EPA concern.

Biomagnifications of mercury and methylmercury in tuna and mackerel

Seawater may be contaminated by harmful substances, including toxic elements released by human activities. The present study evaluates the total mercury and methylmercury concentrations and their correlations to fish body size in longtail tuna and short-bodied mackerel from Chendring, Kuantan, at east coast and Kuala Perlis at west costs of Peninsular Malaysia during May to November 2007. Total mercury and methylmercury in muscle tissue of 69 samples of longtail tuna and short-bodied mackerel, ranged from 0.180 to 1.460 μg/g and 0.0.169-0.973 μg/g and 0.251-1.470 μg/g and 0.202-1.352, whereas the methylmercury to total mercury ratio ranged from 70% to 83%, respectively. Samples of both species from the east coast showed higher levels of mercury compared to those from west coast. In all of the locations, significant positive correlations were found between fish body weight and mercury content (R(2) > 0.470). The estimated weekly intake of total mercury and methylmercury from the consumption 66.33 g/week of short-bodied mackerel and 18.34 g/week of longtail tuna (based on local dietry survey) was found to be lower than the maximum limit of 5 and 1.5 μg/kg bodyweight established by FAO/WHO and codex, respectively.