This is a shout out for the IEM. My Technical Division will be  hosting a seminar on the 9th July, 2012. It'll start at 9:00 and is worth 7 CPD hours.

The fluctuation of effluent quality is always a challenge for industrial wastewater treatment. Wastewater analysis conducted by competent personnel is very important to provide accurate characteristics of the effluent so that the actual condition of the treatment efficiency can be evaluated effectively. In practice, precise and consistent measurement is sometimes difficult to obtain and is mainly due to the lack of knowledge and experience in analysis for most cases.
The workshop on "Industrial Wastewater Analysis" is aimed to help in capacity building and to build confidence in industrial wastewater monitoring and analysis. Technicians, engineers, chemists, scientists and researchers who work in water and wastewater related areas are greatly welcome. The objective of this workshop is to provide knowledge, introductory training and basic skills on industrial wastewater analysis through lectures and discussion. Some simple hands-on demonstration will be arranged during the workshop.

Ir. Assoc. Prof. Dr Chong Mei Fong obtained her BEng (Chemical) at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and her PhD at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). She received several "Sanggar Sanjung" awards for publications with journals of high impact factor. She joined The University of Nottingham, Malaysia Campus as an Assistant Professor to start her professional career. In 2009, she worked as a visiting scholar to Chung Yuan Christian University (CYCU), Taiwan. In the same year, the WaterInno Award gold medal was conferred on her for her outstanding works on wastewater treatment.

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

The CETD had its Planning Away Day on June 16th, 2012 at FRIM. Here are some photos of that event.

Half-Day HAZOP Training For Team Members - A Practical Approach

The CETD will be hosting a 1/2 day seminar on the 23rd June, 2012. It is worth 3.5 CPD points, and held at Wisma IEM.

A Hazard and Operability study is a formal and systematic and detailed examination of the process and engineering intentions of new or existing facilities which assesses the hazard potential and effects on the facility as a whole when operation is outside of the design envelope, or individual items of equipment malfunction.

This half-day course is designed to educate participants in the HAZOP process from the perspective of a HAZOP team member. It is meant to provide both instruction and workshop sessions so that the participants:

• Are familiar with the concept of ‘risk’
• Are familiar with the theory behind HAZOP
• Are familiar with the actual HAZOP workshop process
• Have expectations as to what the HAZOP will (and won’t provide)
• Understand what deliverables can be expected from a HAZOP
• Have the opportunity to participate in HAZOP exercise in a safe environment
• Opportunity to share HAZOP experiences

At the end of the session, the participants should:

• Understand the responsibilities of all parties in the HAZOP
• Have experience in a HAZOP session.
• Understand the outcomes from a HAZOP session

Wata has 16 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, in both design and operations.

Register here, or download the form here.

Talk on Plasticizers For Plastics – What, Where, How And Why

The Division will be hosting a talk on the 1st June, 2012. It'll be at 5:30 pm (makan-makan at 5:00).

Plasticizers are additives used in the plastic industry especially for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) manufacturing. It is the softening agent added to polymers to induce flexibility and improve processability. Initially, the plasticizer application is limited to the plastic industry, until the issue boom from Taiwan bubble tea industry, where plasticizer is used as clouding and thickening agent to induce smooth tastes of the beverages. This issue becomes so serious because plasticizers can cause serious health hazard when consumed orally. The most commonly found plasticizer is phathalate-based type. This type of plasticizer includes Diisononyl phthalate, Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, dioctyl phthalate, etc., and has been banned in Europe and western countries, mainly due to its high dose exposure has shown change of hormone levels and cause birth defects. In addition, adding large amount of plasticizer in plastics can increase its fire risk, because plasticizer itself is a high flammable substance. Nevertheless, plasticizers are not added in every plastic product. Some of the plasticizers are produced from the renewable resources such as soy bean oil which has found its usage in medical products as well.

Ir. Dr Tee Tiam Ting is an associate professor in Chemical Engineering Department of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR). He has more than 30 years of teaching and research experiences in the university. He was the former vice president of IEM and currently the fellow member of IEM.

Dr Lee Tin Sin is an assistant professor in Chemical Engineering Department of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. He graduated from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia with First Class Honours in Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical-Polymer) and PhD in Polymer Engineering.

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

Talk on Bio-Cosmetics Process and Safety Aspects

This is a shout out for the IEM. My Technical Division will be hosting a talk on the 19th May, 2012. It'll start at 10.00am and is worth 2 CPD hours.

The Chemical Engineering Technical Division (CETD) is planning to organize a talk on Bio-Cosmetics Product Development – From R and D to Market. The talk shall include topics such as extraction, bioactivity studies, safety and toxicology evaluations, product development and efficacy study. The speaker will be sharing her experiences in developing cosmetics products utilizing natural active ingredients sourced from local ginger species from bench scale to commercialization.

Register here or download the form here.

Congratulation: IEM Young Engineers Award 2012

IEM YOUNG ENGINEERS AWARD 2012 

ENGR. DR LEE TIN SIN

Dr Lee Tin Sin is currently an assistant professor in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. He has completed his PhD in two years time which was fastest graduation of PhD in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. His achievement has been reported by Sin Chew Daily on the 26 March 2011.

He involved in developing the biodegradable starch-based bio-plastic during his PhD study. The biodegradable bio-plastic is the blending of polyvinyl alcohol – a fully natural degradable polymer incorporation with tapioca starch. Such bio-plastic is a sustainable and environmental friendly material which can reduce the plastic wastes in landfill. Moreover, this material also can be applied as biomedical scaffolding material. He started his research of the bio-plastic right from the basis by conducting molecular simulation using quantum mechanics method and reached the finished products level. In other words, his findings can be easily adapted into the industrial with mass production ability.

The developed starch-based bio-plastic can be applied in many plastic industries without further modification of existing machineries. Again, this invention is recognized of its value through the winning of silver medal in Malaysia Technology Expo 2010 held in PWTC, Kuala Lumpur. Besides, Dr Lee Tin Sin has 30 publications in international journals, conference, book chapter and 3 patents in polymer field. One of these works has been published in international refereed journal POLYMER. [Lee Tin Sin, W. A. W. A. Rahman, A. R. Rahmat, A. A. Samad (2010). Computational modeling and experimental infrared spectroscopy of hydrogen bonding interactions in polyvinyl alcohol-starch blends. Polymer, 51, 1206-1211. (Impact Factor: 3.573)] which has been selected as the collection for the first VIRTUAL SPECIAL ISSUE of POLYMER (Published by Elsevier ScienceDirect). According to the Editorial of POLYMER, the collections were selected by POLYMER editors to present a set of excellent contributions to POLYMER. Moreover, he has filed three patents about the starch-based bio-plastic technology.

Historically, Dr Lee Tin Sin graduated with Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical-Polymer) with First Class Honours which his first degree was sponsored by Bursa Malaysia Foundation. After graduation, he works as a R&D process engineer in Superlon Worldwide Sdn. Bhd. In year 2008, he pursued PhD in Polymer Engineering under the sponsorship of National Science Fellowship of Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations. During the 46^th Convocation of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, he was honoured with two awards, i.e. Best Postgraduate Student with a gold medal and Publication Award which was conferred by the Her Majesty The Sultanah of Johor.

Dr Lee Tin Sin is currently serves as the committee member of Chemical Engineering Technical Division of IEM. He has delivered talks in IEM to share his experience on polymer field. He is an active reviewer for seven international journals. Early of this year, he was awarded a research grant from Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations to develop antimicrobial plastic packaging films.

His working teams comprise of those with depth experience in polymer field, to name some Ir. Assoc. Prof. Dr Tee Tiam Ting, Dr Abdul Razak Rahmat, Dr Wan Aizan Wan Abdul Rahman and etc. His research group has involved international collaboration with Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, China to explore the researches in polymer composite field. Finally, he always believes that a good engineer should work ethnically, efficiently, generous with knowledge and time to contribute actively for the goodwill of society.

The IEM Council at its meeting on 19 March 2012 unanimously confer the Young Engineer Award upon Engr. Dr Lee Tin Sin.

 

IEM Shout Out - Technical Visit to Sirim Berhad Bio-Cosmetics Facility, Shah Alam

This is a shout out for the IEM. My Technical Division will be hosting a visit on the 16th May, 2012. It'll start at 2:30pm and is worth 2 CPD hours.

This technical visit will provide participants insights to the bio-cosmetics research and testing conducted by SIRIM Berhad to ensure safety of the users. The visit will highlight the complete lab and facilities available at the Center to develop cosmetic and topical products starting from lab scale to pilot production. The facilities include the extraction and purification labs, the safety and biocompatibility lab, the product formulation lab, the extraction and fermentation pilot plant facilities and the Cosmetic GMP Pilot Plant.

Register here or download the form here.

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.
...

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.

...

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