7th Malaysian Chem-E-Car Competition 2012

Are you ready for the 7th Malaysian Chem-E-Car Competition? It will be held on the 11th and 12th April, 2012 at UMS. You can visit the official website for details.

The main objective of the competition is to construct a shoebox-sized car powered by a chemical reaction. The car must be able to carry a certain load of water and stop within 2 minutes at a specified distance. The closest car is the winner. Here, the students have to apply their knowledge in chemistry and reaction engineering as well as technical skills in designing gearbox and electrical circuits in order to successfully run and stop the car. The Chem-E Car Competitions a good platform for students to demonstrate their creativity and innovativeness gained from their undergraduate studies.

Car Performance

Each car will be given two opportunities to traverse a certain distance (15-25 meter) while carrying a specified load of water (100-500 mL).

The goal of the competition is to have the model car stop at the finishing line.
Participants are also required to abide by safety rules as specified by the organizer.
Details and competition rules would be made available to the participants upon acceptance of registration by the Organizing Committee.

Poster Presentation

The presentation duration is 2 min for each team followed by a 3-min Q&A session. The winner will be determined from an averaged mark of minimum 3 judges who will evaluate the 5 criteria below:

• Description of the chemical reaction / power source / stopping mechanism (20%)
• Design creativity and unique features of the vehicle (20%)
• Environmental and safety features (20%)
• Economic aspects (20%)
• Quality of the poster and team member presentations (20%)

Previous Winners

• Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (2005)
• UniKL MICET (2006)
• No ChemE Car competition held in 2007
• Universiti Malaya (2008)
• UniKL MICET (2009)
• Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (2010)
• Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (2011)

Previous Hosts

• Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (2005)
• Universiti Malaya (2006)
• No ChemE Car competition held in 2007
• Universiti Sains Malaysia (2008)
• UniKL, MICET (2009)
• SEGi University College (2010)
• Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (2011)

Look forward to seeing you there!

Shout Out - One Day Course On Process Integration For Waste Minimization And Production Carbon Footprint Reduction

This is a shout out for the IEM. My Technical Division will be  hosting a course on the 19th December, 2011. It'll start at 9:00 and is worth 6 CPD hours. You still gotta climb those steps at Wisma IEM. They promise up that the elevator will be ready by the next AGM.

Due to the growth of world population and concurrent economic development, the demands for natural resources such as natural gas, crude oil and water are increasing rapidly.  For instance, global water withdrawal for most uses (i.e. domestic, industrial, and livestock) is projected to increase more than 50% by 2025.  Fossil fuels (petroleum and other liquid fuels, natural gas, and coal) are expected to continue supplying much of the energy used worldwide. Furthermore, increase of public awareness towards environmental sustainability is reflected in more stringent emission legislation that has motivated the process industries to look into cost effective and more sustainable manufacturing processes.  One of the active areas for cost reduction and sustainable process development is resources conservation activities, where process integration and pinch analysis techniques have been well recognised as promising tools.  In this workshop, the targeting philosophy of process integration is emphasised, where rigorous targets for waste minimisation and carbon footprint reduction can be identified.
The workshop will introduce you to the following topics:

• How to identify a rigorous benchmark target for waste minimization in a process plant?
• How to design a resource conservation network that achieves maximum recovery?
• How can opportunities for carbon footprint reduction be identified?

Ir. Dr. Dominic Foo is a Professor of Process Design and Integration at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, and is the Director for the Centre of Excellence for Green Technologies.  He is a world leading researcher in process integration for resource conservation.  He establishes international collaboration with researchers from various countries in the Asia, Europe, American and Africa.  Dominic Foo is an active author, with two fore-coming books, more than 65 journal papers and made more than 120 conference presentations.  He served as an International Scientific Committee for several important conferences (CHISA/PRES, FOCAPD, ESCAPE, PSE, etc.).  He is the winner of the Innovator of the Year Award 2009 of Institution of Chemical Engineers UK (IChemE), as well as the 2010 Young Engineer Award of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM).  He actively conducts professional training for practicing engineers.

Register here or download the form here. A map to Wisma IEM is presented here.

Shout Out - Talk on Scientific Research Funding From The European Union

The Division will be hosting a talk on the 24th March, 2011. It'll be at 5:30 pm (makan-makan at 5:00). You still gotta climb those steps at Wisma IEM.

The Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development (FP7) is the European Union’s main instrument for funding research in Europe and beyond. FP7 is the result of years of consultation with the scientific community, research and policy making institutions, the business community and other interested parties.

Since their launch in 1984, the Framework Programmes have played a lead role in multidisciplinary research and cooperative activities in Europe and beyond. FP7 continues that task, and is both larger and more comprehensive than earlier Framework Programmes. Running from 2007 to 2013, the programme has a budget of 53.2 billion euros over its seven-year lifespan, the largest funding allocation yet for such programmes. Non European countries are usually eligible to apply, under certain conditions and up to around 30% of the FP7 budget may be spent outside Europe.

In addition, some 15% of the budget is earmarked for small medium enterprises (SMEs). This talk focuses on the Cooperation, and People elements of the FP7 with a particular emphasis on opportunities for SMEs, which are regarded as integral players in most FP7 collaborative projects. Indeed throughout FP7, SMEs will actively be encouraged to participate in all research actions, especially those under the Themes of the Cooperation programme and the People programme.

The Speaker, David Crowley is an International Business Development Executive for The University of Nottingham. With a background in International Finance and Business from Trinity College in Dublin, David also was Paul Henri Spaak Scholar at the Institute of European Studies in Brussels where he obtained his Masters degree in the Economics of the European Union (through French) and also spent time at the University of Maryland, USA.

Register here or download the form here. A map to Wisma IEM is presented here.

Shout Out - Talk on Cleaner Production for Engineers

The Division will be hosting a talk on the 21st March, 2011. It'll be at 5:30 pm (makan-makan at 5:00). You still gotta climb those steps at Wisma IEM.

Cleaner Production (CP) means the continuous application of an integrated preventive environmental strategy to processes and products. For production processes, CP includes conserving raw materials and energy, eliminating toxic raw materials, and reducing the quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wastes. CP acceptance and awareness among industries in Malaysia and ASEAN region are increasing, especially among the small and medium industries. In this talk, the speaker will be sharing his experience on how engineers can utilise their expertise in implementing cleaner production concept in an existing and new premises using examples.

The Speaker, Ir. Dr. Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman is an Associate Professor at the Chemical Engineering Department, University of Malaya. He is involved in various research activities and have published more than 85 publications in local and international journals and proceedings.

Register here or download the form here. A map to Wisma IEM is presented here.

Shout Out - Malaysian Chem-E-Car Competition (Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS)

The Division will be hosting this Competition. It will be held on the 16th and 17th March 2011, 8am to 5pm at the UTP.

Chem-E Car Competition is an annual event organized by the Chemical Engineering Technical Division (CETD) of the Institution of Engineers of Malaysia (IEM) and a selected host institution of higher learning. The event, which started in 2005, will mark the 6th consecutive competition in Malaysia. The previous Chem-E Car Competitions have attracted considerable participation from institutions of higher learning locally and abroad.
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You can register for the event here, and download the brochure here.

Report – CETD Study Tour, Bintulu

The Chemical Engineering Technical Division organized a study tour to Bintulu, Sarawak on June 14th, 2010. The study group comprised of 9 people. The tour was led by Ir. Razmahwata Mohd Razalli.

The tour started at the MLNG plant. The group was met by Mr. Rhymie Rashidie Ibrahim, Corporate Affair. The IEM guests were first brought to a presentation room where a safety briefing was first conducted. A corporate video was then shown, providing an overview of the history, specifications and achievements of the MLNG project.

After getting a bird’s eye view of the facility, a slide presentation was given. It started off with an introduction to the MLNG complex, and a recap of MLNG 1-3’s history. A simplified LNG process flow diagram was then used to describe the plant’s process to the group. An introduction to the technology and use of MISC’s LNG ships was provided, along with the breakdown of LNG customers (60% of LNG is shipped to Japan, 27% Korea, 12% Taiwan, 0.9% China. 19% of Japan’s LNG is imported from Malaysia).

At the end of the presentation, a number of questions were asked, and answered by the speaker. A selection of questions asked were the usage of LNG in Malaysia, the makeup of engineers disciplines in MLNG, the mercury removal process from the gas, and MLNG’s involvement in downstream industries.

This part of the tour was concluded with a token exchange ceremony.

After refreshments, a plant tour was arranged, guided by a knowledgeable engineer. The group had the opportunity of observing the plant from the luxury of an air conditioned van. Among the sites the group visited were the nine 380 tph boilers, the gas metering station, flare tower, the cryogenic unit, the mercury removal unit, the Sulphinol process, and the LNG berthing terminal, where Putri Delima Satu was in port.

After the MLNG visit, the group then visited the ABF plant. The group was met there by Mr. Roy Thian Shin Min, Process Technologist and Ms. Suryani Dohan, PR Executive. Mr. Roy presented an introduction of the plant. Among the commercial tidbits revealed was the ownership breakdown of the plant (63.5% Malaysia, 13% Indonesia, 13% Thailand, 9.5% Philippines, 1% Singapore) and the plant’s market breakdown (30% of ammonia is sold to Thailand, 20% to Malaysia, 24% to Vietnam) . He then talked the group through a process schematic of the plant. Among the process discussed were CO2 removal using a modified Benfield process, steam reforming using NiO catalyst in tubes, and the urea process. The uses of ammonia and urea was explained to the group. The presentation ended with an overview of the plant’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Among the questions asked by the group was what biuret was, and how much CO2 was released by the plant.

This part of the tour was concluded with a token exchange ceremony, and lunch that was hosted by the ABF.

As the plant was not open for a visit at the time, the group was taken to view the plant from a vantage point on top of the Bintulu Port Authority building, where we were treated to a breath-taking view of the plant and surrounding environs.

Shout Out - Control in Biomedical Engineering

This is a shout out for the IEM. My Technical Division will hosting a talk on the 12th July, 2010. It'll be at 5:30 pm (makan-makan at 5:00). You still gotta climb those steps at Wisma IEM.

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As the use of anesthetics in operation is to loss of sensation even by painful stimulation, here a question arose is what is sufficient dosage of anesthetics for a patient during a surgery? Because an overdose of anaesthetic can result in brain injury from asphyxiation, cardiovascular injury which can cause heart attack or stroke, tracheal damage, and wrongful death.

...

Closed loop system for patient under general anesthesia and diabetes type I patient is designed. The controller design in biomedical using model-based and model-free technique is discussed. Model-based optimal closed loop clinical trial for general anesthesia is discussed.

The speaker, Dr. Syafiie has a doctorate degree from the University of Valladolid, Spain in area of system engineering and automatic control. He did post doctoral research at department of electrical energy, system and automation collaborated with department of anesthesia and university hospital at Ghent University, Belgium. His project was development and clinical validation of a MIMO model-based predictive closed-loop system to guide patient-individualized ICU sedation.

Dr. S Syafiie has published several articles in area of model-free and model based control engineering and image processing. His current post is senior lecturer at department of chemical and environmental engineering at university putra malaysia.

You can obtain a brochure here. Flyers for the above and other events may be obtained here. A map to Wisma IEM is presented here.

REPORT - “USE OF ORGANIC MATTER FROM AGRO-INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES IN MALAYSIA: POTENTIAL, TECHNOLOGIES AND PERSPECTIVES”

A Technical Talk was organised by the Chemical Engineering Technical Division (CETD) entitled “Use of organic matter from agro-industrial processes in Malaysia: Potential, Technologies and Perspectives” on 13th May 2010 at C&S Lecture Room, 2nd Floor of Wisma IEM. The talk was delivered by Reza Dzulkiflee and Baptise Kervyn. Ten (10) members attended the talk.

The talk started with Mr Baptiste Kervyn introducing why organic matter management was required and important. He raised an important topic on Organic Matter (OM) cycle which was long being forgotten. He also discussed the Malaysian agriculture industry and explained how agriculture has impacted the environment and energy of Malaysia. Next, he raised another important point for the audience to ponder about, i.e. what is the relationship between agriculture, environment and energy, and how to maintain the sustainability. The answer was through a proper OM management system. He then highlighted some tools in OM management, which include energy generation from wastewater, composting, ferti-irrigation. An integration of all these tools is illustrated using a few case studies from palm oil and sugar cane milling industries. Mr Reza Dzulkiflee discussed further in detail on the biogas generation from wastewater. He focused on the case studies in South America and Malaysia. Finally, interesting conclusions were drawn by Mr Baptiste. The talk ended with a Q&A session at about 6.45 pm. On behalf of the Chemical Engineering Technical Division, Ir. Razmahwata Mohd Razalli presented a token of appreciation to Reza Dzulkiflee and Baptise Kervyn.

Reported by,


Engr Dr Chong Mei Fong

IEM Shout Out – Miri / ABF / MLNG Visit

This is a shout out for the IEM. My Technical Division will hosting a visit to the Asean Bintulu Fertilizer (ABF) and Malaysian Liquefied Natural Gas (MLNG) on on the 13th and 14th June, 2010. You will be awarded with 3.5 CPD points.



Flyer for Bintulu visit- 14 June 2010

Flyers for the above and other events may be obtained here.

Publications -

One committee member, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ir. Dominic, has provided some links to his papers written on his areas of interest. These are:

• Pinch Technology
• Phytochemical Processing
• Debottleneck Batch Production

Report - Eco Towns for Asia

A Technical Talk was organised by the Chemical Engineering Technical Division (CETD) entitled “Ecotowns for Asia” on 24th Nov 2009 at C&S Lecture Room, 2nd Floor of Wisma IEM. The talk was conducted by Mr Joe Eades, the Vice Chairman for the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE - Singapore Branch). Twenty-three (23) IEM members and 1 non-member attended the workshop.

The talk started at 5.30 pm. The talk began identifying what are the key issues facing us today for sustainable development, then proposing a solution in the form of a sustainable town development that combines green build techniques with an integrated decentralized infrastructure system. This would lead to a reduction net electrical consumption for a town by 80%, a net reduction in potable water consumption by 60%, then by integrating energy from waste technology, can reduce the landfill significantly as well as reduce the carbon footprint. On top of this closing the loops also become a net generator of food. This can be done economically using currently available and proven technology. This radical new approach when applied will provide power, water and food security for this region which soon will be facing huge challenges from population growth, urban migration as well as the potential loss in arable land due to global warming over the next 40 years.

The workshop concluded at 6.45 pm.

Reported by,
Engr Assoc Prof Dr Dominic C. Y. Foo

Shout Out - Use of Organic Matter from Agro-Industrial Processes in Malaysia

This is a shout out for the IEM. The Chemical Engineering Technical Division will hosting a talk on the 13th May, 2010. It'll be at 5:30 pm (makan-makan at 5:00).

Malaysia is one of the leading countries in agricultural-based industries in the ASEAN region. Many industrial processes are used in the chain of agro-based industries. ... There are several technologies available to manage the organic matters from the processes
...
Two speakers will be making the presentation. The first speaker is Mr. Reza Dzulkiflee, who is a Mechanical Engineer by qualification. Currently he is the Operation Manager of BIOTEC. The second speaker is Mr. Baptiste Kervyn who is an Agronomical Engineer. He is the CEO of BIOTEC.

Get the form here.  Flyers for the above and other events may be obtained here. A map to Wisma IEM is presented here. It's the building identified as 'Puteri Nursing College.'

IEM 2010 Young Engineer Award

Congratulations to Ir. Dr Dominic Foo Chwan Yee for being conferred the award.

IEM Journal - Special Edition

The December 2009 edition of the Journal focused on Chemical Engineering achievements. You may download a copy of the Journal for the IEM site.

CETD - Most Improved Technical Division, 2009

The Chemical Engineering Technical Division has been awarded the Most Improved Technical Division for 2009. The Award consists of:

• A certificate
• An appreciation dinner
• Presentation of the Award during the 2010 IEM Annual Dinner, which was held on Saturday night on 17th April, 2010 at the Sime Darby Convention Centre.

Congratulations to the committee members who made the award possible.