30th September 2020
Two teams from the Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology (FEGT) of Kampar Campus were awarded gold and silver medals in the Perlis International Engineering Invention Innovation Exhibition (Pi-ENVEX) 2020. The exhibition was co-organised by Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Center of Excellence Geopolymer and Green Technology (CEGeoGtech) and ENVEX Young Researcher Club (EYReC) UniMAP, MINDS Chapter from 18 to 21 May 2020 via online.
The Pi-ENVEX 2020, was a competition-cum-exhibition of new discovery research, which aimed at bringing together young researchers, scientists and inventors from all around the world to present their research projects. The competition also aimed to use its platform to motivate participants to engage in research and development, as well as to encourage researchers to pursue innovation and new creation. All judging for the competition was carried out online.
The teams’ supervisors Assoc Prof ChM Ts Dr Lam Sze Mun and Assoc Prof ChM Ts Dr Sin Jin Chung highlighted that this was the faculty’s first participation in the prestigious competition. Through this competition, they hope to encourage more students to take part in the research and innovation field as the opportunity will help them recognise their abilities and the need to engage in lifelong learning for the betterment of paving their career pathway. The supervisors also commented that the participation in the competition has provided students with the opportunity to network with local and international researchers in the field. From a wider perspective, they emphasised the need of Pi-ENVEX 2020 to support the nation’s advancement in science and technology through research and development.
Both teams participated in Class A: Agriculture & Environmental and Renewable Energy. The gold medal-winning team, supervised by Dr Lam, consisted of Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Environmental Engineering students Chai Yen Yi and Ng Hao Yu, and Master of Environmental Technology student Choong Man Kit. Their winning project was titled “Photocatalytic Fuel Cell for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment and Bacteria Disinfection Synchronized with Electricity Production”.
“Our team’s research utilises the photocatalytic fuel cell system for degradation of wastewater and simultaneous electricity generation. It is a green technology that will contribute towards sustainable development as the end products of the process are harmless carbon dioxide and water, and it is a multifunctional system. Our system is also capable of disinfecting bacteria. As environmental engineering students, we aim to use green technology and energy to treat wastewater. Our system is able to achieve this,” explained team leader Chai.
Chai added, “Our team is very grateful to our supervisors for their guidance on this project. As a team, we worked very well together. I am also grateful to my teammates. I am happy we won this category and we are glad to represent UTAR in this competition.”
The silver medal-winning team, supervised by Dr Sin, consisted of Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Petrochemical Engineering students Low Yu Zheng and Chang Jia Cheng, and Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) student Chin Ying Hui. Their winning project was titled “Advanced Photocatalytic Technology for Palm Oil Mill Effluent Degradation with Simultaneous Biogas Generation”.
“Our research utilises light-activated semiconductor catalysts to degrade the organic pollutants in wastewater, such as Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) and produce biogas at the same time. The most attractive part of this research is that the energy required for the photocatalytic reaction to place is free of charge, as the requirement for the reaction to take place is just the presence of sunlight. It then converts solar energy into chemical energy for environmental remediation and biogas production. With these criteria, this research is beneficial to Malaysia as it is a cost-effective and eco-friendly technology, which can be used for environmental remediation and clean energy fuel production,” explained team leader Low.
The team’s research was partly inspired by Dr Sin. Low said, “In realising the gradual environment deterioration due to effluent of the plantation, Dr Sin, provided us with the idea of utilising the technology of Advanced Photocatalytic Technology to degrade one of the most well-known plantation effluents in Malaysia, POME. Dr Sin has been doing and has published photocatalytic degradation researches for years, so with his guidance, we managed to complete the research with good results.”
He also added, “We are very happy to win this silver medal. This is one of the greatest achievements for us, engineering students, could have ever dreamed of. For us to be able to achieve this before graduating was the best reward. We are thankful to Dr Sin and UTAR for this opportunity and the platform to learn so much.”