Project Title: MVS: An Integrated Microwave Vacuum System for Use in Drying, Desalination and Waste-to-Wealth Applications

Researchers: Prof. Ts. Dr. Lam Su Shiung, Ms. Wan Adibah Wan Mahari, Ms. Foong Shin Ying, Ts. Liew Rock Keey, Prof. Emeritus Dr. Howard A. Chase, Mr. Peter Yek Nai Yuh, Prof. Ir. Dr. Ahmad Jusoh, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Man, Mr. Tony Liew Yuan Chin, Prof. Dr. Wanxi Peng, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yiu Fai Tsang, Prof. Dr. Young-Kwon Park 

Product Summary: MVS is a fast and energy-efficient system incorporating microwave heating, pyrolysis and vacuum condition. It provides rapid drying of crops, high recovery of freshwater and natural salt from seawater and also convert up to 100 wt% of biomass waste into biofuel (diesel-grade), syngas and highly porous biochar (surface area >1200 m2/g). The MVP shows advantages of rapid heating (up to 100 °C/min), short process time (<40 min), and relatively low process temperature (<500 oC). These have led to patent filing, journal publications, award (Gold in ITEX 2018), industrial partnership, consultancy, licensing and selling of prototype to several clients. 

Award: GOLD Medal

Project Title: Microwave Vacuum Pyrolyzer (MVP): A ‘Transformer’ to convert biomass waste into high-quality bio-adsorbent for use in agriculture and aquaculture applications

Researcher: Dr. Lam Su Shiung, Liew Rock Keey, Peter Yek Nai Yuh, Dr. Lee Chern Leing, Prof. Ir. Dr. Ahmad bin Jusoh, Prof. Emeritus Dr. Howard A. Chase, Tony Liew Yuan Chin 

Product Summary: Microwave Vacuum Pyrolyzer (MVP) is a fast and energy-efficient prototype incorporating microwave radiation, pyrolysis, & vacuum condition to process biomass wastes into high quality and low cost bio-adsorbent material plus biofuel & syngas. The MVP shows advantages of rapid heating (up to 100 °C/min), extensive pyrolysis cracking capacity, short process time (< 40 min), and a relatively low process temperature (< 500 oC), generating up to 40 wt% yield of bio-adsorbent material as the main product from biomass wastes (oil palm wastes, fruit waste, wood chip). The biofuel and syngas can be used as fuel to power the operation, and the use of a vacuum environment eliminates the cost to constantly use inert gas (N2) to maintain the pyrolysis condition and also improves the quality of the bio-adsorbent. The bio-adsorbent is a highly porous product with high surface area (> 1200 m2/g) and pore volume, low moisture and ash, and containing uniform micro-mesopores that can provide many adsorption sites. The bio-adsorbent has been tested for several applications and proved desirable to be used as nutrient adsorbent or soil additive in agriculture, and also as fish feed supplement or wastewater filter material in aquaculture. The estimated production cost (RM 0.85/kg of bio-adsorbent) by MVP is comparatively lower than the market price of the commercial product (RM 3–24/kg), indicating the MVP can be an economically viable technology to produce low cost bio-absorbent since it can be marketed as a low-cost product. These promising findings have led to patent filing for the prototype, journal publication, several awards (e.g. Grand Price in SIIF Korea 2016, Gold in ITEX 2016, Gold and Best Community Project Award in NRIC 2016), consultancy, servicing, industrial partnership with local and international company for prototype development and commercialization, and also distribution and application of the bio-adsorbent in agriculture application.

Award: GOLD Medal + SPECIAL AWARD

Project Title: PYRO-FUEL: A Desirable Biofuel derived from Microwave Pyrolysis of Used Frying Oil

Researcher: Dr. Lam Su Shiung, Wan Adibah binti Wan Mahari, Dr. Lee Chern Leing, Prof. Emeritus Dr. Howard A. Chase 

Product Summary: Pyro-Fuel is a diesel-like biofuel generated from used frying oil using an innovative pyrolysis approach incorporating microwave heating. It shows desirable fuel properties and a high calorific value nearly comparable to diesel fuel. The oil product also shows ‘green’ features with respect to its low oxygen and nitrogen content and is also free of carboxylic acid and sulfur. These features could reduce the formation of by-products (e.g. acidic tar, hazardous sludge) in the biofuel during storage. Our findings indicate that the Pyro-Fuel can be developed and used as a ‘cleaner’ and ‘greener’ biofuel in energy or power industry with potentially reduced by-products plus low or zero emissions of NOx and SOx. Pyro-Fuel also offers an attractive alternative to biodiesel that avoids the need to remove free fatty acids and glycerol from the biodiesel. The production cost of Pyro-Fuel is estimated at RM0.50-RM1.00/L, and it is estimated to produce profit ranging from RM0.55-1.58/L based on the current diesel price, thus showing excellent potential to be developed for commercialization. These promising findings have led to patent filing, journal publication, several awards (e.g. Grand Price in SIIF Korea 2016, Gold in ITEX 2016, Gold and Best Community Project Award in NRIC 2016), and industrial partnership with local and international company for prototype development and commercialization, and also distribution and application of pyro-fuel.

Award: GOLD Medal

Project Title: Bio-Peel-Char: A Promising Activated Carbon and Thermal Catalyst for use in Waste and Aquaculture Industry

Researcher: Dr. Lam Su Shiung, Liew Rock Keey, Prof. Ir. Dr. Ahmad bin Jusoh, Prof. Ir. Dr. Farid Nasir bin Ani

Product Summary: Bio-Peel-Char represents a versatile product with two main functions that can lead to multiple applications – the first function being an activated carbon to manage good water quality in waste and aquaculture systems, and another function as a catalyst for use in thermal processes in waste, oil and gas industries. It is a char product derived from waste fruit-peels, which is deemed as an unexplored biomass waste that is abundantly and readily available in Asia, and so far there have been no literature reports on the production of activated carbon or catalyst from fruit-peels, thus it represents a sustainable and cost effective material that can continually be transformed into a useful resource while preventing the release of fruit-peels as waste materials to the environment. A char production of up to 50 wt% can be obtained using an innovative pyrolysis prototype developed from our research. The Bio-Peel-Char has high carbon content and shows a highly uniform porous structure with high surface area (≥ 900 m2/g), the majority of which is comprised of micropores and mesopores, indicating a characteristic of good adsorption capacity and high internal porosity, thus it can be used as activated carbon to filter and purify the wastewater generated in waste and aquaculture systems. The highly porous Bio-Peel-Char can also provide many reaction sites to adsorb various metals and materials in order for catalytic cracking and heterogeneous reactions to occur. Combined with its high thermal stability in both O2 and N2 atmosphere, Bio-Peel-Char represents a durable catalyst that can be used in thermal processes involving high temperature, e.g. production of biogas, syngas, and H2 gas from plastic or biomass waste. The production cost of Bio-Peel-Char is estimated at RM300-500/ton, but it can be marketed as activated carbon or catalyst of different grades with an estimated selling price ranging from RM1800-20000/ton, thus suggesting excellent potential to be developed for commercialization.

Award: Bronze Medal

Project Title: Mic-Pyro: An Innovative Pyrolysis System to Convert Waste Oil to Diesel-like Fuel

Researcher: Dr. Lam Su Shiung, Wan Adibah binti Wan Mahari, Nur Fatihah binti Zainuddin, Liew Rock Keey, Tony Liew Yuan Chin

Product Summary: Mic-Pyro represents an innovative example of combining microwave heating and a reaction bed of microwave-absorber as a pyrolysis approach to convert waste engine and cooking oils into an oil product for potential use as a diesel fuel. A lab-scale pyrolysis prototype followed by an upgraded prototype have been designed and developed to demonstrate its technical feasibility for energy recovery from waste oils. This pyrolysis prototype shows advantages in providing a rapid heating followed by enhanced cracking to transform waste oils into a diesel-like oil product (≈70 wt%) containing light C5-C15 hydrocarbons and a high calorific value (46 MJ/kg). The oil product also shows a low oxygen content and is free of triglycerides, carboxylic acid, and sulphur (which are commonly associated with tar/sludge formation and SOx emissions). Mic-Pyro also has a beneficial effect of providing a reducing chemical environment to decrease oil oxidation and the resulting formation of undesirable oxidized compounds in the oil product. This could reduce the subsequent formation of acidic tar or sludge in the oil product and improve the stability of the oil product for storage and the subsequent refining to fuel. The pyrolysis prototype shows advantages over traditional approaches (e.g. incineration, landfilling) in providing a fast, energy-efficient, and targeted heating process in order for extensive pyrolysis cracking and conversion to occur, thus showing potential in maximizing the conversion yield at a low process temperature and a short process time. It also offers an alternative method over transesterification in avoiding the use of expensive solvents and catalyst and providing a cleaner removal of free fatty acid and glycerol from the oil product. The pyrolysis prototype shows a positive energy ratio of 4.6 (i.e. 4.6 kW of oil product/ kW of electrical power input) and a net energy output of 6048 kJ/h, thus representing a sustainable approach that can be developed and scaled up to a useful commercial level to convert problematic waste oils into a diesel-like fuel.

Award: Bronze Medal