Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Chemical Engineering student Lim Jun Yoong obtained a certificate of achievement and a cash prize of RM150 for winning 5th place in the paper writing competition at the 6th Regional Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Conference (RCEUC) 2022. The title of his paper was Synthesis of Carbon Acid Catalyst via Ultrasound-Assisted Direct Sulfonation for Glycerol-Free Biodiesel Production from Sludge Palm Oil.

The online competition was held from 17 to 18 August 2022. Lim’s supervisors were Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science academics Dr Steven Lim and Dr Ng Yee Sern. Dr Kong Pei San and Dr Chew Chien Lye from Sime Darby were Lim’s co-researchers for this project. They assisted by providing raw materials and technical advice.

Themed Responding to Industrial Revolution 4.0 In Chemical Engineering: Present and Future, RCEUC 2022 aimed to promote the advancement of research and development initiatives in various chemical engineering-related fields.

Speaking about his project, Lim said, “Renewable energy such as biodiesel has received great interest around the world as the substitute for fossil-based fuels due to the environmental policies and energy security. However, the conventional biodiesel production which generates glycerol as the by-product has caused an oversupply of glycerol in the market. Hence, this study focuses on the glycerol-free biodiesel production by replacing the alcohol reactant to methyl acetate with a novel catalyst synthesised from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). A relative fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield of 80.8% was successfully obtained with a 1:80 sludge palm oil to methyl acetate molar ratio, 60 wt.% Cat-MCC-400 catalyst loading, 100 °C and 12 h. Therefore, it is clear that the catalyst synthesised is eco-friendly and promising in glycerol-free biodiesel production.”

Lim also expressed his gratitude to his supervisor for their guidance. “This competition is a good platform to showcase our chemical engineering FYP research to our peers. It is a reputable regional competition which has attracted more than 80 participants from local universities in Malaysia. We are delighted to win 5th place amid the intense competition from other participants in Malaysia. This also proves that the FYP research quality of the UTAR Chemical Engineering programme is recognised. This recognition is important to spur more similar research and development works in the future. Also, we would like to thank Dr Kong Pei San and Dr Chew Chien Lye from Sime Darby for their generous support in this research project,” he added.

Regional Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Conference (RCEUC) is an annual conference that aims to prepare fresh graduates for the industry by means of keynote speeches, forums, and relevant workshops. It serves as a platform to encourage networking among chemical engineering students. The goal is to bring together bright minds to deliver talks, foster learning and nurture communication skills.

The conference was organised by the Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya. It was held in collaboration with Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Club (CEUC) and IChemE-UM Student Chapter (IChemE-UM SC). The event was also supported by Palm Oil Processing Special Interest Group (POPSIG) and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC).