Journal Practicum LASRA

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PROFFESIONAL TRAINING
JOURNAL
228.210 PRACTICUM 2
Industrial Training at Leather and Shoe Research Association (LASRA).
NAME: Ahmad Fadhil Bin Rahim
ID: 14100172
COURSE: Bachelor (Hons) Chemical And Bioprocess Engineering
INSTITUTION: Massey University of New Zealand
PERIOD: 16th
June 2015 – 24th
July 2015
COMPANY: Leather and Shoe Research Association. (LASRA)
DEPARTMENT: Environmental Research Department
EMPLOYER: Mr. Geoffrey Holmes

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AhmadFadhil BinRahim
99 FergusonStreet,
WestEnd
PalmerstonNorth,4410
Telephone:+64221099893
Email:fadhil_rahim@ymail.com Date:05th
June 2015
NZ LeatherandShoe ResearchAssociation
FitzherbertScienceCentre,
69 Dairy Farm Road,
PalmerstonNorth4446, NewZealand
Dear Sir,
Re: Internship position
I am Ahmad Fadhil Bin Rahim, currently studying in third year Bachelor of Engineering Chemical and
Bioprocess(hons) atMasseyUniversity,NewZealand.Foryourinformation,thisinternshipis one of the
essential requirements of Massey University’s engineering student to complete at least 300 hours of
internship every year.
I have enclosed my CV to support my application. It shows that I would bring important and
relevant knowledge; experience and skills to the position, including:
 Experience andproficiencyinroleswithinthe processingindustriesthrough my major and work
experience, as well as a solid comprehension of engineering principles.
 A good understanding of the application of creative and objective approaches to the
development process for the provision of innovative solutions to engineering problems.
 Experience inthe managementof projects,throughwhichIhave developeda high level of time
management and self-motivation skills.
I am keen to apply for the position in your company from 16st
June 2015 – 24st
July 2015. Being a
student of Massey University has taught me a clear knowledge in regards with upstream operations
specificallyinexplorationof chemical andbiologyfield.Hence,toimprove myknowledgeonthiscourse,
it will be a great honor to be part of your employees as an intern student.
Finally, I hope that u will consider my application and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank
you.
Yours sincerely
Ahmad Fadhil Bin Rahim,
Student,
Massey University, New Zealand.
Cover Letter for Internship

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CAREER OBJECTIVE
I am a highly motivated engineering student with a passion for chemical and bioprocess operations. Has a
good understanding and knowledge of designing, calculation of product flow, heat exchanges,
environmental control and others. Also brings a strong work ethic and a natural talent for analysis and
problem solving. Objective of internship is to be able gain experience and apply the knowledge that is
gained throughout the third year of study in Chemical Engineering. Also wants to develop skills in
becoming a professional engineer.
EDUCATION DETAILS ANDQUALIFICATIONS
Massey University,New Zealand (2015-Current)
Programme: Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Chemical and Bioprocess
Year Relevant papers and Grade Qualification(s) & achievement(s)
Massey University (2014)  Molecules to Materials (B+)
 Heat and mass transfer 1 (B-)
 Engineering practice 3 (C)
 Engineering mathematics 2 (A)
 Fluid and Particle (A-)
 Chemical Energetic (C+)
 Lead teams of up to 4 people to
complete successfully 1 major
project (Milk Processing).
 Successfully processing brew
from malt
 Currently study on waste
management and control
NAME: AHMAD FADHIL BIN RAHIM
ADDRESS: 99 Ferguson Street, West End, Palmerston North, 4412
Email: fadhil_rahim@ymail.com
Mobile: +64 22 1099893 (New Zealand)/+60134069984 (Malaysia)

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Other institutions
Institution and Year Programme
Qualification(s) and
award(s)
UniKL MICET (2013)
Bachelor of Chemical Engineering
Technology in Process (Honours) 1st year
CGPA: 3.42
Kolej MARA Kuala Nerang
(2012)
Foundation in Science and Technology CGPA: 3.81
MRSM Kuala Krai, Kelantan
(2011)
SPM 6A+ , 1A, 3A-
RELEVANT SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES
Computer literacy
 Proficient in Microsoft programs like Word, Excell and others.
 Experience with Mathlab and R-Gui Software for Calculation.
Ability to work
 Able to work independently and also as part of team
 I have led a team up to 4 people to complete successfully a major project.
Strong communication skills
 I have made individual and group presentations to groups of 30+ people.
 Written reports every week during my study.
 Taken strings of English proficiency test (IELTS) with band 7.

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POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY
YEAR POSITION(S)
2014
 Sport Officer of MUMSA student club in New Zealand
 Organizer in BERSATU games annual event held at Palmerston North, New
Zealand
2013  Enforcement Committee of College at UniKL MICET
2012
 President of Sport and Recreation Club;
 President of Warden Assistant Board in Kuala Nerang MARA College
2008-2011
 Student Representative Council of MJSC Kuala Krai
 Student Disciplinary Board for 2 consecutive years in MRSM Kuala Krai
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
YEAR ACHIEVEMENT(S)
2014
Represented Manawatu Region for North Island Badminton Championship in New
Zealand.
Build and Design a system for milk processing which are covered pump system, piping and
plate heat exchanger.
2013 Represent UniKL MICET in Hockey and Badminton Tournament.
2012
Represented Kolej MARA Kuala Nerang for Choral Speaking competition
Gold Medal for project exhibition at UNIMAP which explained about the lecithin for
butter production.
2010-2011
Represented MJSC Kuala Krai in Choral Speaking, International Olympiad Mathematic,
National Chemistry Quizzes, Malaysia Police Cadet Camp and become Best Student of
MJSC Kuala Krai in SPM 2011
REFEREES
1) Professor Don Cleland
Mentor and Head,
School of Engineering and Advanced Technology
Massey University
Email: D.Cleland@massey.ac.nz

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TECHNICAL INDUSTRIAL
TRAINING REPORT
PERIOD: 16th June 2015 – 24th July 2015
This report is submitted in partial fulfillment to be eligible to graduate in Bachelor (hons)
of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Thank you to Allah S.W.T. that allows me to finish this Internship Training. First and
foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Leather and Shoe Research Association
(LASRA) for giving me an opportunity to complete my internship during winter break. I am also
grateful for my company supervisor Mr. Geoffrey Holmes for his support, guidance and
encouragement during my internship period.
I also would like to thank to all staff of LASRA, especially to Dr. Sujay Prabakar for
suggesting me to have an experience working in LASRA. Not forget to thank to Dr. Dylan Ball,
Environmental Research Officer for helping and guiding me during my research and laboratory
work.
Besides, I would like to acknowledge Prof Don Cleland, my practicum supervisor and
Head of School of Engineering and Advanced Technology for giving me a chance to complete
my practicum 2 during winter break although it is supposed to be done during summer break.
Last but not least, I am especially indebted to my parent for continuously supporting me
so I can finish this industrial training.

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SUMMARY
From 16th June 2015 until 24th July 2015 I worked for Leather and Shoe Research
Association located at Fitzherbert Science Centre Dairy Farm Rd, Palmerston North. During that
period, I have learned many things about tanning processes and also their waste management.
The chemicals containing sulfur are widely used in leather processing causing high concentration
of sulphate in their waste water. So I have been tasked to find other method that can reduced the
sulphate concentration in the effluent so that it can be discharged to the river by following the
Ministry of Health of New Zealand which is 1200ppm. From the research that have been made,
combination of modified Lime and LSR treatment are the best method in order to reduce the
concentration of sulphate with a low cost treatment. Based on the experiment, the concentration
is successfully reduced below than 1000ppm. However, there are several recommendations that
need to be reconsidered before treating the waste water in large scale.

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CONTENT
Acknowledgement 8
Summary 9
2.0 Introduction 11
3.0 Company Background
3.1 Company History
3.2 LASRA’s Role
3.3 Goals and Objectives
12
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4.0 Company Operation
4.1 Research
4.2 Testing
4.3 Training
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5.0 Work Descriptions
5.1 Tanning Processes
5.2 Overview of Literature Review
5.3 Comparison between Treatment Processes
5.4 Recommended Method
5.5 Results
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6.0 Technology Analysis
6.1 Technologist Organization
6.2 Reporting Structure
6.3 Prioritization of Activities
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7.0 Conclusion 23
8.0 Recommendations 24
9.0 References 25
10.0 Appendices
10.1 LASRA’s History becoming TEO
10.2 Literature Survey Report
10.3 Flow Diagram of Recommended Treatment Method
26
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2.0 INTRODUCTION
LASRA is a Research Association that support the New Zealand pelt, hide, leather and related
industries through technical innovation, product testing and information dissemination. In leather
processing industry, there are large quantities of sulphuric acid and other chemicals containing
sulfurs usage as sharpening agent. This will causes high sulphate concentration in the waste
water of the tannery plant.
Currently, most of the tannery plant in New Zealand use dilution method in order to reduce the
sulphate concentration. However, this method needs very large quantities of pure water to
increase the water content inside the sulphate waste so that the concentration can be lowered.
And sometimes, this method still not achieves the standard from Ministry of Health of New
Zealand because the sulphate concentration is relatively high up to 3000-4000ppm.
LASRA has been engaged by the Industry Technical Advisory Group to investigate methods of
reducing the discharge of sulphate in effluent. I have been tasked with investigation of the best
methods to reduce sulphate levels in the waste steams but principally by precipitation as
etteringite.

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3.0 COMPANYBACKGROUND
3.1 History
LASRA has been serve the leather and footwear manufacturing industries since 1934. Because
LASRA has many facility, expertise and experience in providing industry specific research and
analysis to provide solutions to the industry challenges, it becomes the premier Australasian
research, technology and training provider for the leather, upholstery and footwear
manufacturing industries.
LASRA become more important to the leather industry when they start in giving an opportunity
to others tannery or footwear companies to have a developing practical, making commercial
sense of analytical and also testing work for the clients.
After a few years, the LASRA analytical laboratory has been credited by the International
Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and also Mutual Recognition Arrangement
(MRA). This is because all the testing performed are according to international standards which
are by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and also by ASTM International
which are develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for materials,
products, services and systems (Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, 2016).
Other than that, LASRA also acts as the information provider to the industry and running
correspondence courses to assist in providing training in leather manufacturing technology.
All of the information above is referred to the main website of the company. (LASRA, 2016)
3.2 LASRA’s Role
LASRA main role is to promote the well-being and the development of the leather and leather
related industries. LASRA only can achieve this by applying science and technology to the
understanding of hide and skin resources. LASRA also must promote the application of science,
technology and training to the production of leather and leathergoods. For more information of
this role, Appendices 10.1 shows the external evaluation of LASRA about being the Tertiary
Education Organization (TEO). Lastly, in order to achieve the role, they must ensure the
Association is well resourced and effectively managed in interests if its membership.

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3.3 Goals and Objectives
LASRA’s goals and objectives are divided into six different services which are:
a) Strategic Research
 To carry out strategic research related to hide and skin resources of relevance to
the membership
 To carry out leather science research appropriate to the interests of industry and
where appropriate, the public good
b) Applied Research
 To develop technology options to further the interests of the membership
 To provide applied research services and actively encourage the development of
hide and skin resources relevant to the interests of the membership.
c) Technical Services
 To assist technical development within the hide, skin, leather and leathergoods
industries through consultancy and technology transfer.
 To maintain technical facilities and information resources consistent with the
needs of the industrial membership interested parties and the general public.
d) Training Deliveries
 To provide a resource base for training activities for all industry sectors of the
membership.
 To foster the use of training as an effective means of improving product quality
and production performances in the hide, skin, leather, leathergoods industries.
e) Information Dissemination
 To maintain LASRA as a center of information on leather and promote
understandings of these industries within the general public.
 To disseminate information to the hide, skin, leather and leathergoods industries.
f) Effectiveness
 To ensure LASRA maintains and plans for capabilities required by its
membership.
 To ensure LASRA management and planning ensures future viability.
 To use connections and involvements with external bodies to protect and further
the interests of the LASRA membership.

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4.0 COMPANYOPERATIONS
LASRA support the New Zealand pelt, hide, leather and related industries through technical
innovation, product testing, and training. LASRA operates under ISO with accreditation from
IAANZ, International Accreditation New Zealand whose mutual recognition agreements with
counterpart authorities over 40 countries all over the world such as USA, Germany, Japan and
UK. (NZQA, 2012)
4.1 Research
LASRA conduct all aspects of research like production of skin, skin removal and also skin
improvement property value by maintenance of the advanced atomic force microscopy. LASRA
current research is focus on the improvement of intrinsic properties of skin material to get to the
maximum strength and performance. (LASRA, 2016)
Figure shown below is one of the research project on differentiate looseness of hide by using
ultrasound.
Figure 1: Ultrasound result from research on the differentiation of looseness of the hide. (LASRA, 2016)
4.2 Testing
LASRA provide both physical and chemical analytical testing of footwear,leather partially
processed and chemicals processed, and industrial waste by using variety of special equipment.
LASRA laboratory is using internationally recognized testing methods related to the
International Standards Organisation (ISO), British Standards Institute (BS), ASTM International
(ASTM), German standards (DIN) and SATRA standards (STM/PM) to ensure the integrity of
our results. (LASRA, 2016)

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4.3 Training
LASRA deliver 4 types of quality courses which is Introductory, Advanced, Fellmongery and
Moodle Courses. All the courses are full of latest international information and techniques
related to the hide tanners, lamb pelt tanners and also woolskin tanners. There are also online
quizzes to help strengthen the learning in each unit and provide immediate feedback to students
on their performance.

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5.0 WORK DESCRIPTIONS
During the internship period at LASRA, I was asked to do some research on tanning processes to
understand how the sulphate waste is produced in effluent discharges before having some
literature and laboratory testing.
5.1 Tanning Processes
Animal skins are converted to leather follow the steps below (M.M.McMillan):
1) Unhairing and Curing
Animal is killed and skinned before the body heat leaves the tissues. The hair of keratin
now is subject to the alkali which will break the sulphur-sulphur bond of keratin by
hydrolysis. Then, to prevent putrefaction of collagen from bacterial growth, salt is added
to the skin. Difference in osmotic pressure is applied to removes water in the skins.
2) Soaking
Soaking is a process to increase the moisture content of the skin back after the curing
process. During this process, all the salt left inside the skin will be removed.
3) Liming
Liming is a treatment with lime milk and sharpening agent which is usually sodium
sulfide is used to remove hairs, soluble proteins and natural grease. The covalent
disulfide bond will rupture and weakening the keratin structure inside the skins.
4) Deliming and Bateing
The skin structure is opened further by treatment of enzyme and all the unwanted
material is removed. Bateing is an enzyme digestion process that be achieved by acid
salts treatment like ammonium sulphate until the desired pH is reached.
5) Pickling
The skins are agitated in a solution of salt and sulphuric acid until the pH reached to 3.0-
3.5. The skins is treated in pickling process can preserve them up to two years.
6) Tanning
Tanning is the most chemically complex step because during tanning, some of the
collagen inside the skin structure is replaced with complex ions of chromium. The color
and texture of the leather also changed depending on the compounds used.

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7) Neutralizing, Dyeing and Fat Liquoring
To prevent deterioration, the leather is neutralized with alkali before it is dyed. To
improve the suppleness and flexibility of the leather, it is treated with reactive oils. The
oils will attach to the fibrous structure of the leather.
8) Drying
The chemical properties are stabilized after all the water inside the leather is removed by
drying process.
9) Finishing
To make sure the color and texture of the leather is even, a surface coating is applied. The
main requirements for finishing are evenness and the reproducibility of color and
adequate wear and feel properties.
All the information of the tanning process is referred to the (M.M.McMillan). Since the tanning
processes used large quantities of sulphuric acid and other sulfur containing chemicals, this will
causes high sulphate concentrations in the waste water of tannery plant. (Galiana-Aleixandre,
2011). Hence, I was asked to have some literature survey to find the best method in reducing the
sulphate concentration.

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5.2 Literature Review on Sulphate Removal Methods
To find a best method in reducing the sulphate concentration in tanning industrial waste water,
literature review was done which can be referred in Appendice 10.2. Currently, all tanneries in
New Zealand used dilution method which is not the concentration requirement for sulphate
before discharge into the river. The sulphate concentration must be below at 1200ppm and the
influent of the sulphate is relatively high which is in between 3000-4000ppm. So, the new
methods need to be discovered to replace the dilution methods.
There are many methods that have been tested in some tanneries but all of them are highly costs
and ineffective. As example, some of the company used membrane separation method like ultra-
filtration, reverse osmosis and ion exchange method, but all of these methods has a short
membrane life which need to changes every time. This is because the membranes pores are
always clogging with other bigger particles and causing high cost for maintenance.
In order to choose the best method, survey has been done to compare all of the method in terms
of sulphate removal efficiency, costs and also effectiveness. There are several methods that have
found which are lime/limestone treatment, SAVMIN, CESR, BaS, Adsorption, LSR and also
CSIR integrated methods.

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5.3 Comparison between Treatment Processes
Sulphate need to be reduced below than 1200mg/L from 3000mg/L of sulphate. Among of the
processes stated in the Appendices 10.2, the most suitable method is Lime/Limestone and LSR
treatment method. SAVMIN process seems suitable but because this method is slightly
expensive, so it was ignored. It is too effective which can reduce the sulphate concentration to
below than 50ppm instead of only below than 1200ppm. It is should be noted that the costs is
depend strongly on the specific design, local market prices and also labor costs. Cost that was
estimated in Appendices 10.2 must use with caution because they were made at different times
and may not been updated.
Lime/Limestone process seems can reduce the concentration of sulphate at the required level.
But this only can happen depends on the metal precipitation that can be occurs in the lime
treatment. If the concentration of metal in the influent is high, mostly calcium hydroxide will be
used by metal and produce metal precipitation and calcium ions. So, if this case happen, the
process can be further continue with LSR treatment by adding calcium aluminate to reduce again
the sulphate concentration.
For the Barium Sulphide and CESR methods, both are most expensive and CESR method will
produces largest amount of sludge. In biological methods, bioreactor appears to be most efficient
among other biological sulphate removal methods like Constructed Wetland, Alkalinity
Producing Systems and Permeable Barrier. This is because, Constructed Wetland and Alkalinity
Producing Systems has a very small reduction of sulphate and require pretreatment which can
increase the cost. Permeable Barrier can remove a large amount of sulphate, but it is for long
term performance because the reduction rate is in between 10.5-15.3 ppm/day. (Benner, 2002)
For adsorption method using activated carbon or zeolites, the reduction of sulphate depends on
the surface available in the adsorbent. If the concentration of sulphate is high, that means the area
and mass of the adsorbent will also increase. Furthermore, this method is only suitable for a low
sulphate concentration influent because of their micro porous character and chemical nature of
their surface. (Salman, 2009)

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5.4 Recommended Method
The treatment is recommended by combining lime/limestone treatment as pretreatment and LSR
for final clarification. The overall treatment processes can be summarized stage by stage as
below:
1) Stage 1 : Calcium Carbonate
The influent enters the treatment at acidic pH. The Calcium Carbonate need to be added
until the pH is neutralized at 7. This process will produce carbon dioxide and also
formation of gypsum. The gypsum is removed by vacuum filtration through membranes
filters and the carbon dioxide produced is collected for stage 5. The retention time for this
stage is 1 hour.
`
2) Stage 2 : Calcium Hydroxide
The pH need to be rised up until 12 by adding calcium hydroxide for magnesium
precipitation and also gypsum formation. Both of them are removed by vacuum filtration
and the retention of this stage is around 2.7 hours.
3) Stage 3 : Precipitation of Calcium Carbonate
For optimum precipitation of the calcium carbonate, the water needs to reduce it pH from
12 to 8. Addition of carbon dioxide from the first stage is needed for pH control. The
retention time is only 30 minutes. The calcium carbonate precipitation is collected for
recycled purpose at stage 1.
4) Stage 4 : Addition of Calcium Aluminate
Calcium aluminate is added until the pH rise up to 12 again. At this stage, the etteringite
crystalline will be form due to the reaction of remaining sulphate in the water with the
calcium aluminate.
5) Stage 5 : Final Clarification
Reduce the pH around 6.5 to 8.5 by using carbon dioxide to prevent dissolution of
aluminium hydroxide.
The summary of these processes can be shown in the figure 3 in Appendices 10.3.

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5.5 Results
Table 1 below shows the results from laboratory testing for treatment of suphate from the
tannery waste water. The results were taken by averaging the values of three different
measurements:
Table 1: Average results from 3 experiments
Parameter
Stages
Untreated CaCO3 CaOH CaCO3
Calcium
Aluminate
CO2
pH 2.6 7.1 11.8 8.5 12.4 7.3
Sulphate
(mg/L)
3700 2630 1588 1552 997 995
The pH value is measured by using the pH meter. pH value is very important in order to measure
the amount of the chemical reagent that need to be added. This is because, each chemical in all
stages require exact value of pH to make the reactions. In this experiment, carbon dioxide
produced in stage 1 did not recycled back into stage 5 because this experiment is in small scale
jar and really hard to collect the gas without a good collection pipe.
The sulphate concentration is measured by using chromatography method. After each of the
stages, the concentration of sulphate is measured to compare between all stages. Sludge
production and other metal composition in the waste water are ignored because of lack of time.
This is because; the main aim of this research is only to reduce the sulphate concentration.

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6.0 TECHNOLOGYANALYSIS
6.1 Technologist Organization
LASRA activities are under supervision of several Technical Advisory Groups which are
Ministry of Health New Zealand and World Health Organization. All the chemical usage and
discharge are under their control. But when some issues come to the company, the Groups will
ask for solution in order to solve the issues.
As example for my project research, the limit of sulphate concentration has been reduced to
1200ppm for river discharge, so, me and my team, Environmental Research Department led by
Mr. Dylan Ball needs to investigate a solution for this problem in order to fulfill the task given
by the Groups. After a solution is found, Testing & Services Department will work together to
conduct an experiment for solving the problem. All the result will be send to Product Evaluation
team before a report need to be done for LASRA’s director, Mr. Geoffrey Holmes.
6.2 Reporting Structure
There are three ways on how the reporting structure in LASRA been done. First, any project and
research will be presenting using power points. LASRA will have meeting with all staffs every
week, and at this time all the project progressions will be presenting on screen to share with all
the staffs. Second, the project or research is completely done; the report will be hand to Director
of LASRA. In August every year, LASRA will havin a conference mostly in Wellington, This
conference is attended by all LASRA staffs, Technical Advisory Group, Tannery and also
LASRA company’s members. During this conference, they will discuss all project and research
that have been done and also marketing plan. After the conference, a book will be published for
company future references. This book will book is not for sale and the copy only can be found in
LASRA’s Library managed by Miss Karen Jones.

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6.3 Prioritization of Activities
LASRA prioritize their activities by having a list of project on a board. LASRA wrote down
everything that needs to get done for that month. When they have everything down, they got
stickers which has urgent and non-urgent symbol besides the points. This will determine the top
activities for the day. By doing this, they can prevent spending too much time only on a project
or task.
7.0 CONCLUSION
As a conclusion, this internship is full of knowledge and job experiences and the most important
it is complying with my course. The LASRA had shown the real working environment and able
to relate theoretical knowledge in pursuing degree with application in the industry. In LASRA
also, I has faced the real life of working environment as a researcher and learnt how to handle
laboratory work. This experience is very valuable because students only learned about the basic
concept of all processes instead of to handle the processes by ourselves.
In term of the experiment, the sulphate has now been reduced below than 1200ppm by using the
five stages method. Although the small scale experiment were success but we still need to
consider in a large scale processes. Because of the final concentration of sulphate is below than
1000ppm instead of 1200ppm, this will cost much in a large scale. Some recommendation must
be done to have optimum processes that have both efficiency and low cost.

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8.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
First of all, it is recommended to make the internship period longer than 300 hour per practicum
for example the student need to complete two practicums by 450 hour each. This is because, the
student will know all the staff and of course the company well. Besides that, the project or task
given by the company can be done perfectly.
Then, about the processes, to reduce the cost, the lime or calcium carbonate in untreated waste
water need to reconsider. During the tanning process, lime is used in excess so that the
composition of calcium carbonate in the waste water is still in excess. So, stage 3 is no need at
all since the sulphate reduction in stage 3 is only ~2%. Hence, the cost can be saved by not
having stage 3.
Furthermore, other chemical compositions in the waste water need to be measured as well since
the world health organization also have their own limitation on the chemical contain. Hence, in
order to control the sulphate concentration, the other composition must be considered to make
sure the effluent of this process is completely can be discharged into the river.

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9.0 REFERENCES
Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. (7 February, 2016). Retrieved 18 February, 2016, from
ASTM International: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASTM_International
Benner, S. (2002). Rate of Sulphate Reduction and Metal Sulfides Precipitation in a Permeable
Reactive Barrier (Vol. 17). Appl. Geochem.
Galiana-Aleixandre, M. (2011). Reducing sulfates concentration in the tannery effluent by
applying pollution prevention techniques and nanofiltration. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 19, 91-98.
LASRA. (2016). Leather and Shoe Research Association. Retrieved 18 February, 2016, from
https://www.lasra.co.nz
M.M.McMillan, B. a. (n.d.). The Chemistry of the Leather Industry. G. L. Bowron & Co. Ltd.
NZQA. (2012). Report of external Evaluation and Review. New Zealand Qualifications
Authority.
Salman, M. (2009). Removal of Sulphate from Waste Water by Activated Carbon. Al-Khwarizmi
Engineering Journal, 5(3), 72-76.

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10.0 APPENDICES
10.1 LASRA’s History in Becoming TEO
Figure 2: Some information about LASRA in becoming one of the Tertiary Education Organization (NZQA, 2012)

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10.2 Literature Survey Report

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10.3 Flow Diagram of Recommended Treatment Process
Figure 3: Process Flow Diagram of Recommended Treatment Method

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INDUSTRIAL TRAINING
REFLECTIVE REPORT
STUDENT ID: 14100172
PERIOD: 16th
June 2015 – 24th
July 2015

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1.0 COMPARISON
The table below shows the comparison of the annual outcomes after having industrial training between
my supervisor and me. There are five type of rating categories which are:
 1 = Cannot Verify
 2 = Proven to a limited degree
 3 = Proven to some degree
 4 = Proven to high degree
 5 = Proven to outstanding degree
No Attributes My
Evaluation
Employer
Evaluation
1 Apply knowledge of mathematics, natural science, engineering
fundamental and an engineering specialization to the solution of
complex engineering problems.
3 5
2 Identify, formulate, research literature and analyze complex
engineering problems reaching substantiated conclusions using first
principles of mathematics, natural sciences and engineering sciences.
4 5
3 Design solutions for complex engineering problems and design
systems, components and processes that meet specified needs with
appropriate consideration for public health and safety, cultural, societal
and environmental considerations.
4 4
4 Conduct investigations of complex problems using research based
knowledge and research methods including design of experiments,
analysis and interpretation of data, and synthesis of information to
provide valid conclusions.
2 4
5 Create, select and apply appropriate techniques, resources, and modern
engineering and IT tools including prediction and modeling to complex
engineering activities with an understanding of the limitations.
3 3
6 Apply reasoning informed by contextual knowledge to access societal,
safety, legal and cultural issues and the consequent responsibilities
relevant to professional engineering practice and solutions to complex
engineering problems.
4 4
7 Understand and evaluate the sustainability and impact of professional
engineering work in the solution of complex engineering problems in
societal and environmental context.
5 5
8 Apply ethical principles and commit to professional ethics and
responsibilities and norms of engineering practice.
4 2
9 Function effectively as individual, and as a member or leader in diverse
teams and in multi-disciplinary settings.
4 5
10 Communicate effectively on complex engineering activities with the
engineering community and with society at large, such as being able to
comprehend and write effectively reports and design documentation,
make effective presentations and give and receive clear instructions.
3 3
11 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of engineering management
principles and economics-decision making and apply these to one’s
own work as a member and leader in a team to manage projects and in
multidisciplinary environments.
3 4
12 Recognize the need for, and have the preparation and ability to engage
in independent and life-long learning in the broadcast context of
technological change.
4 3

44
2.0 DISCUSSION
Attribute 1:
I have learned waste water treatment during my first semester in third year. But this case is
different because we only focused on sulphate removal instead of COD, BOD, TSS and others.
This is because, what I have learned in class is more on biological treatment compare to this
internship which are using only chemical precipitation treatment. So, I have to adapt myself to
the company problem by having some literature to understand everything about the company.
My supervisor give me 5 may be because of the basic knowledge about controlling waste since I
have pass the Environmental Technology paper.
Attribute 2:
On the first day of my internship, my supervisor asked me to read some literatures to identify the
best method for sulphate removal. This is because, currently in New Zealand tanning industry,
they used dilution method that is not meet sulphate concentration requirement for river
discharge. Hence, I give myself 4 because I have found so many methods for my literature. All
of these methods are quite new to me and I have learned new things outside the formal class.
When I submit the literature review report, my supervisor is shocked because of the nicely
written report. He was not expecting me to write any report actually, but I used to write it
anyway so that I can see the entire related article in one document. So, he gave me 5 for this
attribute.
Attribute 3:
From the result of my literature review, the best method for sulphate removal is a combination of
two methods which are Lime treatment and LSR treatment methods. The selection method is
based on consideration of sulphate removal efficiency and also treatment costs. Removal
efficiency must not too high and not too low since we only want to reduce the sulphate
concentration to 1200ppm. This is because too high performance of removal will cost a lot. So,
he agreed with my opinion because as the concentration of sulphate below than 1200ppm is
enough to keep the environment clean especially discharge river.
Attribute 4:
I gave my-self 2 because I need to wait for two week before one of the tanneries in New Zealand
gave the water sample for my experiments. During that time, my supervisor asked me to prepare
any materials and reagents that will be need during the experiment. Before that, he asked me to
have a plan on how we will conduct the experiment and measure the sulphate concentration. We
only need batch process like a jar test but more complicated because we have 4 different stages
that have their own retention time for all the chemical reagent react with the sulphate content in
the water sample.

45
Attribute 5:
The sulphate concentrations were measured by chromatography method. This method is usually
cannot be used because of this method use turbidity principle. But the waste water is only come
from the leather processing which is used a lot of sulphur contain chemical. Hence, the waste
water is only exposed to the sulphur content chemical but not others contaminant like in waste
water treatment plant that contain a lot of impurities both non-biodegradable and biodegradable.
So, this turbidity method for measuring the sulphate concentration is valid when others
impurities is considered as negligible. However, the chromatography is only can be used by
LASRA’s staff which means I only wait for the result to analyze the data.
Attribute 6:
Most of drinking water in New Zealand is treated from the river. And the river is one of the
sources for industrial waste discharge. So, to make sure the river is clean without any toxic
materials, all industrial company needs to obey the discharge requirement by Ministry of Health
New Zealand. Although it will be treated again before making the water as drinking water, but,
the environmental conditions also need to consider especially to the aquatic life. Hence, no
matter what cost the treatment is, all the industrial company need to find a solution in order to
meet the concentration limits.
Attribute 7:
As mentioned earlier, because of the dilution method cannot meet the new discharge requirement
for sulphate, a new methods need to be discovered to make sure the river is not polluted with
dangerous chemical substances. This is because when the river is polluted; all the aquatic life
will die because of the toxicity of the river. The decreasing number of aquatic life will cause
unstable ecosystem around the river as well. For societal impact, the drinking water will content
some untreated chemical content that is toxic for human. Furthermore, to those who are support
their living by fishing; this will affect them as well since the number of catches is reducing day
by day.
Attribute 8:
I believe that I have fulfilled the ethical and responsibilities during my internship period. I
always come on time to work, wear suitable attire and follow all the safety and health regulation
during in the labs. However, my supervisor gives me only 2 because I was not supposed to
smoking outside of the building with others staff during tea break. That was not a good manner
as engineering students (Although smoking at smoking area).

46
Attribute 9:
We always have group discussion and also meeting with all staffs every Thursdays morning.
This will make me more comfortable because I can discuss with them if I got any problems with
my research. This means, although all them have their own work and project, but they still can
share their idea and knowledge in order to solve my problems. As individual intern in the
company, i always make a good relationship with other staff to make sure my industrial training
is done smoothly without any problem.
Attribute 10:
In a company, a good relationship between the employees and employer will strength up the
company. That is why LASRA held a weekly meeting to make sure this kind of bonding does not
break. Although I did not have any presentation during my internship or weekly meeting, but I
did a good report which was praised a lot by Environmental Research Officer.
Attribute 11:
I recommended that the attendance system need to change to a better system like Time Clocking
System or Punch Card system. This will prevent any of the staff including me come late to work.
Log Book system is too old for this generation and this system can cause deception of the staffs
that comes late and still pretend that they come early.
Attribute 12:
Different plants have their own structure and working principle. The technology used also might
be different according to the amount of the influent and chemical usage. As example, when the
demand for leathers and leathergoods are increasing, the influent of the waste also increase
which will increase the cost. Another example is, when the Ministry of Health has increased the
sulphate concentration requirement for the river, the dilution method need to change because the
method is no longer work to have a better result.

Journal Practicum LASRA

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