AWARDS & EVENTS
Best Paper in Water and Environmental Engineering
UTAR Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology's
(FEGT) Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) student Goh Ching Lam received
the Best Paper Award in the 3rd International Conference of Chemical
Engineering and Industrial Biotechnology (ICCEIB) held at Bayou Lagoon
Park Resort, Malacca from 28 to 30 November 2016.
Organised by
Universiti Malaysia Pahang, the international conference was themed
'FEW: Emerging for the Sustainable Future' and served to disseminate
cutting-edge research findings and advances in the fields of chemical
engineering and industrial biotechnology towards food, energy and water.
Titled "Optimisation of Palm Oil Mill Sludge Biochar (POMSB) for
Heavy Metal Removal Using Response Surface Methodology (RSM)", Goh's
paper was handpicked as the Best Paper for the category of "Water and
Environmental Engineering". According to Goh, his research highlighted
the successful conversion of POMS into biochar for wastewater treatment.
"This will be able to solve environmental pollution caused by palm oil
mills. By producing high value-added biochar for wastewater treatment,
which is currently not yet available in the market and also not reported
in the literature, palm oil mills will also see an increase in revenue
in contrast with converting POMS into low-value fertiliser," he
explained. Goh also added that producing POMSB is much more economical
and energy-efficient than making powdered activated carbon which has a
similar function. "In a nutshell, biochar helps to create a sustainable
environment by reusing waste produced from palm oil mills to reduce
water contamination," Goh concluded.
A Senior Lecturer at Tunku
Abdul Rahman University College, Goh also extended his heartfelt
gratitude to his supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Sumathi a/p Sethupathi from
FEGT's Department of Environmental Engineering as well as
co-supervisor-cum-FEGT Head of Department of Environmental Engineering
Dr Mohammed J. K. Bashir for the guidance and encouragement, which gave
him confidence to overcome certain difficulties faced in his research.