Khalida Muda

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia | UTM · Department of Environmental Engineering

This paper reviewed the impacts of climate change on the management of the water sector in Malaysia discussing the current status of water resources, water service, and water-related disasters. The implementation of engineering practices was discussed to provide the detailed assessment of climate change impacts, risks, and adaptation for sustainabl...

Although pharmaceuticals are detected at low levels, their continued release into the environment might result in significant long-term concentrations and lead to damaging consequences on humans, animals, and the environment. The findings have been analysed that various pharmaceutical components were found in sewage treatment plants, including napr...

Higher production of palm oil in Malaysia has resulted in a significant amount of oil palm biomass including oil palm trunk (OPT). OPT has been studied as an alternative starch source. To date, reports on the extraction of starch from OPT using ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) are limited. The application of UAE is considered to be a simpler an...

The palm oil industry has contributed substantially to environmental pollution due to the large volume of oil extraction byproducts known as palm oil mill efuents (POME). Compared to several industrial efuents, POME is about 100 times more contaminated in terms of biochemical and chemical oxygen demand. Aerobic granular sludge technology is conside...

This study explored the use of freshly obtained insect waste (Frass-1) and composting insect waste (Frass-2) to stimulate highly active ureolytic bacterial cells for microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP). The enriched bacterial cultures were utilized for soil biocementation treatment, and multiple analytical techniques were employed to i...

Various integrated treatment methods have been extensively studied by researchers worldwide to effectively remove ammonium from different types of wastewater. In this study, a bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer software to provide an overview of the research trends in ammonium wastewater treatment technologies, based on data extrac...

This study was to develop biogranules using a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and to evaluate the effect of pineapple wastewater (PW) as a co-substrate for treating real textile wastewater (RTW). The biogranular system cycle was 24 h (2 stages of phase), with an anaerobic phase (17.8 h) followed by an aerobic phase (5.8 h) for every stage of the pha...

Biogranulation technology is an emerging biological process in treating various wastewater. However, the development of biogranules requires an extended period of time when treating wastewaters with high oil and grease (O&G) content. A study was therefore conducted to assess the formation of biogranules through bioaugmentation with the Serratia mar...

The aerobic granular sludge (AGS) system is a promising technology that is suitable for the treatment of various types of wastewaters. This system has received great attention from many researchers due to its wide range of applications and potential as a cost effective system. However, only a few reports are available in analyzing the progress of A...

Understanding the degradation rate of polyethylene (PE) plastic mediated by bacterial-fungal consortium (BFC) is important to ensure an effective design process of bioremediation technology. This study aims to investigate the degradation behavior of PE plastic waste mediated by the BFC colonies using the modified mass transfer factor models to get...

Indonesia and Malaysia are countries with the highest palm oil production globally. Indonesia is leading the list, followed by Malaysia and Thailand. Palm oil production generates countless benefits to the economy, environment, and society of the contributed countries. This industry provides high income and collection of methane gas for biogas gene...

Biogranulation has emerged as a viable alternative biological wastewater treatment approach because of its strong biodegradability potential, toxicity tolerance, and biomass retention features. However, this process requires a long duration for biogranules formation to occur. In this study, magnetic powder activated carbon (MPAC) was used as suppor...

This paper presents an assessment of the start-up performance of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) for the treatment of low-strength (chemical oxygen demand, COD < 200 mg/L) domestic wastewater by the application of a diatomite carrier. The feasibility was evaluated in terms of the start-up period and stability of the aerobic granules as well as COD an...

Microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) has been extensively investigated as a viable biological mechanism for soil fixation and biocementation. However, its dependence on expensive fermentation media for bacterial proliferation is a cause for concern for researchers in this field. This research uses diluted palm oil mill effluent (POME) a...

Recent studies have found that sewage treatment plants are potential source of microplastics pollution to its receiving freshwaters, which potentially affect freshwater ecosystems. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of microplastics in sewage treatment plant, i.e., outlet of a primary clarifier and within an activated sludge system. A d...

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a form of wastewater that is dark brownish and contains a high concentration of contaminants such as chemical oxygen demand (COD). Conventional biological treatments, such as ponding, are widely utilized and require large amounts of land to be occupied for extended periods to cure POME efficiently. The goal of this...

Bio-cementation is a new sustainable approach that has gained popularity due to its low energy and carbon footprint compared to existing technologies for geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering applications. Bio-cementation is a soil improvement technique that involves binding the pore space of soil particles with calcium carbonate minerals b...

The process of ureolysis-driven biocementation is used to improve granular soils. The precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) crystals results from the reactions of urease generated by ureolytic bacteria and chemical reagents, which strengthen or bind soil particles together. Using a lab-based scaled physical model, this paper investigated the i...

Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a remarkable method that creates sustainable cementitious binding material for use in geotechnical/structural engineering and environmental engineering. This is due to the increasing demand for alternative environmentally friendly technologies and materials that result in minimal or zero carbon...

Biochemical accumulation rate of Serratia marcescens SA30 to remove the oil and grease (O&G) contaminant from a wastewater can be described using the kinetic models of packed-bed column reactor (PBCR) treatment system. The aim of this study was to develop the linear and logarithmic equations for predicting the efficiency of O&G removal from food-pr...

Natural and synthetic polymers have been long used in wastewater treatment. In this study, two positive charge polymers (natural and synthetic) were selected. These polymers were than tested for its ability to treat the wastewater with polymer dosages ranging from 1-20 mg/L. Both synthetic and natural have almost similar performance in turbidity re...

This paper presents a study on household waste management and recycling awareness. Residential areas are the major sources of solid waste as that is where people live. The waste that is usually disposed of from residential areas includes food waste, plastic waste, paper, glass, tin, and others. The increasing trend in waste generated from homes has...

A Global research trend on Sporosarcina pasteurii which is a non-pathogenic Gram-positive bacterium continues to increase among scholars and industrial stakeholders. This is due to its high urease production and calcium carbonate precipitation for various applications. Until now, there is currently no bibliometric study in the literature on the glo...

Jatropha curcas is a plant that has been meticulously been investigated by researchers worldwide due to its environmental and biotechnological potentials (i.e. biofuel production, and antimicrobial properties). The increasing scientific interest on this plant inspired the need to investigate the current and emerging research topics in this field. T...

Indonesia and Malaysia are the countries with the highest palm oil production globally. Indonesia is leading the list, followed by Malaysia and Thailand. Palm oil production generates countless benefits to the economy, environment, and society of the contributed countries. This industry provides the high income and collection of methane gas for bio...

Municipal and industrial wastewater can be treated through biological, physical or chemical methods. However, biological treatment method is known to be eco-friendly because it remediates toxic and unwanted substances using natural approaches. By using the Scopus database and VOSviewer program, the global research trend in biological treatment of w...

Ammonium-rich wastewater that is discharged without proper treatment could cause severe environmental challenges and pollute the water bodies. A more sustainable biological approach, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) was introduced to remove the ammonium through oxidation under anaerobic conditions and without external carbon source. Anammox u...

This study aims to determine the concentrations of the trace metals (TM) and water soluble inorganic ions (WSII) of the PM2.5 pollutant collected in the suburban industrial-residential airshed during the southwest (SW), inter-monsoon (IM) and northeast (NE) monsoons in Skudai, Johor Bahru. The PM2.5 samples were collected using the MiniVol™ portabl...

Pre-consumer waste from supermarkets, such as vegetables and fruits dreg, which make up a majority (60%) of all food wasted around the globe are often disposed directly to the landfill. Owing to the disposal issue, waste recovery method is seen as the best waste management strategy. The conversion of pre-consumer solid waste into a value added prod...

The present work investigated the effects of anaerobic-aerobic durations on the simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal for the treatment of domestic wastewater in a sequential batch reactor (SBR). Three different...

The century of urbanisation and industrialisation had a great impact on the environment due to the rapid growth of the flue gas sectors. Thus, green technology is enforced to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) gas into methane (CH4) gas as an alternative fuel in electricity generation, particularly coal and natural gas sources. Cerium (Ce) was recognised...

The smaller particles that dominate the particle number concentration (PNC) in the ambient air only contribute to a small percentage of particulate matter (PM) mass concentration although present in high particle number concentration. These small particles may be neglected upon assessing the health impacts of the PM. Hence, the knowledge on the par...

In this preliminary study, a natural flocculant is developed from an oil palm trunk. The flocculant further tested for its ability in turbidity and COD removal with additional of atrazine in wastewater and demineralised water matrix. At the optimum dosage of 20mg/L, the developed cationic OPT starch able to remove around 95% turbidity and 85% COD....

Low condition of dissolved oxygen (DO) is commonly associated with sludge bulking problem that was able to disrupt the efficiency of wastewater treatment performances. Relatively, very little attention was paid to the possibility of applying magnetic field in controlling the bulking problem. Hence, this study aims to investigate the performance of...

This study evaluated the efficiency of deshelled papaya seeds as the natural coagulant in improving quality of river water. The deshelled papaya seeds biomass was mainly characterized for functional groups using FTIR, surface charge and protein content. Coagulation and flocculation tests were conducted using batch test for various dosages and pH va...

Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is categorized as high strength wastewater. The current treatment technology for POME is mostly depends on biological treatment through anaerobic and aerobic processes. Application of magnetic field was reported able to show effective removal performance of pollutant. The exposure of magnetic field will cause changes o...

The present work investigates the feasibility of aerobic granulation for the treatment of low-medium strength domestic wastewater for long-term operation and effects of a static mixer on the properties and removal performances of the aerobic granules formed. The static mixer was installed in a sequential batch reactor to provide higher hydrodynamic...

Aerobic granulation is a promising technology that has increasingly attracted global attention due to its potential as a cost effective system, and its application in a wide range of wastewaters. Aerobic granules are highly structured suspended microbial aggregates capable of degrading biodegradable compounds with excellent settling properties, goo...

The current work aimed to investigate the removal mechanism of NH 4 + from wastewater treatment plant effluent (WWTPE) onto the zeolite in the plug-flow column reactor (PFCR). The adsorption process was optimised © as a function of length (2-15), time (0.5-20 202 min), and accumulation (0.05-2.4 mg/g) using response surface methodology (RSM). The o...

The textile industry generates large amounts of wastewater with strong BOD/COD and salt load, which are often seen in dark colour. An alternative treatment for this type of wastewater is the biosorption, where it involves a passive uptake of both the organic and inorganic compounds, including dye or its derivatives, using non-growing/living microbi...

The aim of the present study is to investigate the potential of magnetic field application as an alternative approach for controlling sludge bulking due to long sludge retention time (SRT) while enhancing nitrification efficiency upon the occurrence. Two sequencing batch reactors, reactor A (SBRA, magnetic field intensity 88.0 mT) and reactor B (SB...

This study evaluated the performance of aluminum and iron plate electrode systems on the continuous electrocoagulation of boron from produced water under varying conditions of retention time, initial concentration and electrode distance. The experimental data were validated for mass transfer resistance using the modified mass transfer factor (MMTF)...

One of the principle issues for the biomass is the poor settleability that therefore influences the effluent quality. Batch tests were led to appraise the optimal conditions for improving the settleability of the biomass under static magnetic field (SMF). A four-factor central composite design (CCD) was executed to investigate the main and interact...

One of the human activities that affect the state of the environment is the domestic waste disposal. Palembang with economic growth and rapid population does not have adequate solid waste management, which is characterized by wild rubbish heaps in several locations, one of which is in the region Seberang Ulu. The results of this study show that the...

The excessive inhalation of pollutant particles with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) results in risking the human respiratory health. The aim of this study is to investigate the possible pathways of long range and local tranportation for PM2.5 sources. The route patterns are analyzed by using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Int...

The adequacy of chemicals as coagulants such as alum is all around perceived. Nevertheless, there are numerous drawbacks related with the use including high operational costs, impeding impacts on human wellbeing and generation of huge sludge volumes. In this manner, it is crucial to supplant these chemical coagulants with organic-based coagulants t...

An integrated hybrid bioreactor (IHB) and integrated suspended bioreactor (ISB) coupling aerobic, anoxic and settling units was evaluated for industrial wastewater treatment with and without the installation of a rectangular hollow engraved submerged Perspex media in the aerobic unit. Bioreactor performance was examined at different overall hydraul...

The fundamental understanding of mass transfer kinetics is essential for biosorption of phosphorus by aerobic granular sludge (AGS) to gain an insight into biological processes regarding the treatment of wastewater with high organic load. The removal of phosphorus by AGS from palm oil mill effluent was performed in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR)...

Air pollution is a worldwide issue that is mainly caused from excessive inhalation of hazardous PM2.5 pollutant that is emitted into the air. The objective of this study is to assess the fundamental knowledge revolving PM2.5 (particles aerodynamic diameter of lower than or equal to 2.5 μm) and its inorganic composition in ambient air of urban areas...

Sludge bulking caused by filamentous microorganisms is one of the prevailing operational problems in activated sludge process. Its severity is determined by the relative abundance of filamentous microorganisms that prevents the close packing of sludge flocs. This occurrence interferes in the separation and settling activities leading to the failure...

Palm oil has become a major edible and economic commodity with applications in various domestic and industrial processes. Malaysia is the second largest producer and exporter of crude palm oil (CPO). The oil palm industry in Malaysia significantly expanded and has become a major economic sector. The global demand of this precious commodity as food...

Present study aimed at evaluating the formation of biogranules using sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) in treating textile wastewater under the influence of static mixer. Three sets of experiment were run with different superficial air velocity (SAV) of 0.5, 1.4 and 2.1 cms-1, each set consisting of two SBR one with and one without static mixer. The...

Extra-cellular polymeric substances are responsible towards bioflocculation and settleability of sludge. This substances act as glue that holds the bioflocs to form larger aggregates by intervening both cells cohesion and adhesion. Different composition of this substances lead to different circumstances of sludge problem including bulking. Numerous...

Natural coagulants have been increasingly popular in the past few years due to its benefits and the fact that it resolves most of the associated problems when using chemical coagulants. Plant-based natural coagulants perform coagulation either by polymer bridging or charge neutralization, it can be extracted from various plant components. Concerted...

In this study, the particulate matter with diameter less than 10 micrometers (PM10) is being observed. Other factors that influenced the pollutant dispersion are also being studied prior to identification of their relationship. The aim of this study is to identify the trend of PM10 concentrations in the Southern Peninsular of Malaysia during the pe...

In activated sludge system, the performance of the process largely depends on the balance between filamentous and floc-forming microorganisms. When the normal balance of these biological communities is disturbed, filamentous microorganisms tend to proliferate, causing various problems to the treatment performances such as sludge bulking. Various ap...

Transportation system is an important part of the municipal solid waste management system, and also requires substantial investment and operational costs after the landfill. The further of the service route and the more the number of trucks ritation then the greater the operational costs to be incurred. Transportation system in the research locatio...

Textile industry generates large quantities of wastewater. Discharging effluent of textile industry without treatment is led to the degradation of the quality of receiving water bodies.A high color, high BOD/COD and salt (Total Dissolved Solids, TDS) load are founded in the textile wastewater. Several alternative of methods,including physico-chemic...

A pilot-scale sequential batch reactor (SBR) biogranular system for the treatment of actual textile wastewater was developed in this study. The reactor had a working volume of 70 L and was operated according to SBR’s sequence for 24-hr cycle, which includes sequential anaerobic and aerobic reaction phases. Wastewater from two textile mills were use...

Understanding of mass transfer kinetics is important for biosorption of nitrogen compounds from palm oil mill effluent (POME) to gain mechanistic insight into the future biological processes for the treatment of high organic loading wastewater. In this study, the rates of global and sequential mass transfer were determined using the modified mass t...

Over the decades the palm oil industry has managed some challenging environmental concerns regarding land transformation and degradation, increase in eutrophication, changing habitats of wildlife, pesticides runoff into inland watercourses, and probable climate change. Countries producing palm oil desire to do so in a more sustainable way that will...

Over the decades the palm oil industry has managed some challenging environmental concerns regarding land transformation and degradation, increase in eutrophication, changing habitats of wildlife, pesticides runoff into inland watercourses, and probable climate change. Countries producing palm oil desire to do so in a more sustainable way that will...

This study investigated the effect of various cations (Ca^{2 }, Mg^{2 }, Al^{3 }, Mn^{2 }, Zn^{2 }) on the autoaggregation (AAg) and surface hydrophobicity (SHb) of three different bacteria (Brevibacillus panacihumi strain (ZB1), Lysinibacillus fusiformis strain (ZB2) and Enterococcus faecalis strain (ZL)) using a 2-level factorial design. The AAg...

Kinetic and mass transfer aspects of biosorption of oxidisable organic matter (OOM) from wastewater are important for better understanding of the mechanisms of granules initiation and development. The modified mass transfer factor models were used to predict the liquid-solid mass transfer rates of OOM biosorption from palm oil mill effluent (POME)...

The combination of granular activated carbon (GAC)–hydrogen peroxide (FeGAC/H2O2) (pretreatment phase) and sequencing batch reactor (SBR) (post-treatment phase) for the removal of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and improvement of the biodegradability of the pesticide wastewater was studied. In the pretreatment phase, COD and TOC...

To sustain a greener image of the palm oil industry, the producing countries have been placing remarkable efforts to promote palm oil as an environmental friendly product. This paper aims to report a study regarding the wastes generated in local palm oil mills. Study was conducted to seven palm oil mills of different capacity, years of operation co...

The effectiveness of water hyacinth (EichhorniaCrassipes) in the remediation of municipal wastewater and production of bioethanol was compared with water lettuce (Pistia Stratiotes) and water spinach (Ipomoea Aquatica). Preliminary test using hydroponic system was conducted in order to measure the parameters required at the laboratory scale continu...

Batch tests were employed to estimate the optimal conditions for improving the settleability of activated sludge through aggregation under magnetic field. A four – factor central composite design (CCD) was employed to find out the interaction effects of the variables while response surface methodology (RSM) was utilized for process optimization. Fo...

Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)'s nutrient composition and its ensuing removal from the wastewater is rarely reported in contrast with organics removal. Thus, the efficiency of several Industrial Effluent Treatment Systems (IETS) in nutrient removal are studied. Many laboratory- and full-scale studies have been constructed to examine the effectivenes...

While most studies concentrate on organic removal from palm oil mill effluent (POME), the resulting nutrient recovery and subsequent removal from the wastewater is infrequently described. Although sporadic research has been performed to investigate nutrient removal efficiency of a single technology, the efficacy after combined with other technologi...

The term " wastewater fingerprint " portrays all activities in a particular industry are registered and reflected in its wastewater. Studies on wastewater give very detailed picture on the processes involved in a particular industry. World major agro-industrial effluents have received attention on its characteristics, treatment processes, and more...

This study examined the degradation of pesticide aqueous solution containing chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin and chlorothalonil by the FeGAC/H2O2 process. Under the operating conditions (FeGAC 5 g/L, H2O2 concentration 100 mg/L and pH 3), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon removal were 96.2 and 79.2%, respectively, and biodegradabilit...

The Malaysian palm oil industry is a major revenue earner and the country is ranked as one of the largest producers in the world. However, growth of the industry is synonymous with a massive production of agro-industrial wastewater. As an environmental protection and public health concern, the highly polluting palm oil mill effluent (POME) has beco...

This study examined the effect of operating conditions of UV Fenton pretreatment combined with aerobic sequencing batch reactor on degradation and biodegradability (BOD5/COD ratio) improvement of chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin and chlorothalonil pesticide wastewater. The optimum operating conditions in the pretreatment phase were H2O2/COD molar ratio 2...

This review is intended to critically convey information on water magnetization and to discuss each application that employs magnetic field as an aid in wastewater treatment. The magnetically assisted wastewater treatments are presented and compared in terms of performances with those of conventional treatment systems. The advantages and limitation...

This paper presents the effect of different sizes of palm kernel shell (PKS) activated carbon as the carrier material in a micro-bioreactor system to treat the palm oil mill effluent (POME). Three different sizes of PKS activated carbon were used as the carrier material, i.e. 4.750 – 2.360 mm (large), 1.180 – 0.710 mm (average) and 0.425 – 0.300 mm...