v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT



First praise is to Allah the Almighty, on whom ultimately we depend for
sustenance and guidance. Second, my sincere appreciation goes to my supervisor, Dr.
Kamariah Noor Ismail, whose guidance, careful reading and constructive comments
were valuable. Her timely and efficient contribution helped me shape this into its
final form and I express my sincerest appreciation for her assistance in any way that I
may have asked. I am also deeply indebted to the faculty researcher; En. Mohibah
Musa for his time and consultations.

I also wish to thank the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, its leadership and
the staffs for providing me with an academic base, which has enabled me to take up
this study. I am also indebted to my fellow classmates. Special thanks, tribute and
appreciation to all those their names do not appear here who have contributed to the
successful completion of this study. Finally, I am forever indebted to my family,
who, understanding the importance of this work and for providing endless support
throughout my entire life.































vi

ABSTRAK



Saban tahun, sejumlah besar spent bleaching earth atau dikenali dengan
nama akronim SBE dihasilkan oleh kilang penapisan minyak isirong kelapa sawit
yang akan mengakibatkan masalah sisa pepejal. Oleh demikian, ia adalah perlu untuk
mengkaji sifat-sifat kimia dan fizikal SBE ini untuk menjamin kemampanan alam
sekitar. Alam sekitar yang mampan boleh dinikmati dengan mengurangkan sisa-sisa
SBE samada melalui kitar semula atau guna semula. Objektif utama kajian ini adalah
untuk mencirikan SBE dari segi fizikal dan kimianya. Sifat-sifat fizikal terdiri
daripada mengkaji taburan saiz zarah, struktur permukaan dan tahap lembapan. Alat-
alat analitikal yang digunakan adalah mikroskop pengimbas electron (SEM),
penganalis termogravimetri (TGA), mikroskop optik dan Malvern Mastersizer 2000
penganalisis saiz zarah. Sementara itu, pencirian kimia ke atas sampel dilakukan
dengan menggunakan mesin penganalisis mikro berprob elekton (EPMA) bagi
mengesan kehadiran unsur-unsur logam, termasuk juga jumlah Karbon dan Oksigen
di dalam sampel. Berdasarkan hasil kajian, didapati 17.76% bersamaan dengan 3.196
mg sisa minyak terperangkap didalam SBE. Luas permukaan spesifik RBE ialah
0.374 m
2
/g dan SBE ialah 0.05 m
2
/g; bermakna keporosan bleaching earth telah
berkurang setelah digunakan untuk merawat minyak isirong sawit. Diameter zarah
RBE ialah 53.375 m manakala diameter partikel SBE ialah 163.364 m.
Berdasarkan keputusan analisa EPMA, fosforus didapati hadir di dalam SBE tetapi
tidak di dalam RBE. Unsur Karbon juga didapati tinggi di dalam SBE berbanding
RBE.





















vii

ABSTRACT

Huge amount of Spent bleaching earth (SBE) is annually produced by the
crude palm kernel oil refinery contributes to the solid waste problem. Therefore, it is
necessary to investigate their chemical and physical properties in order to achieve
environmental sustainability. Environmental sustainability can be achieved by
reducing the SBE wastes either through recycling or reuse. The main goal of this
work is to characterize SBE in terms of its physical and chemical properties. The
physical characterization consists of studying its particle size distribution, surface
morphology and moisture content. The analytical tools used were Scanning Electron
Microscopy (SEM), Thermogravimetry Analyzer (TGA), optical microscope and
Malvern Mastersizer 2000 particle size analyzer. Meanwhile, chemical
characterization was conducted by using Electron Probe MicroAnalyzer (EPMA) in
order to detect the presence of metal elements, as well as the amount of Carbon and
Oxygen constituents. From the analysis, the residual oil content in the SBE is
approximately 17.76% which is equivalent to 3.196 mg of 20 mg sample. Specific
surface area of RBE and SBE is 0.374 m
2
/g and 0.05 m
2
/g respectively; it means the
porosity of SBE has been reduced due to the oil content that resides in the SBE. The
particle diameter of RBE is 53.375 micron while D
p
of SBE is 163.364 micron.
According to the EPMA analysis, phosphorus is appeared in SBE but not in RBE.
Carbon element is also appeared to be in high amount in SBE compared to RBE.