R & D ANNUAL REPORT 2016

1st series

Air pollution and control technologies

Date: 3 February 2016
Speaker: Mr. Tony Liew

Summary: The talk touched briefly on 2 main types of air pollutants – particulate and gases. Control technologies discussed included the dry and wet treatment processes, selection and efficiencies. The effectiveness of process combination in treating gases and particulate was highlighted. A critical comparison of the dry and wet scrubbers was made based on capital cost, operation cost, spares, chemical needed, ash disposal, manpower, land area, hazards, and etc. The talk focused on the good air pollution control system selection & design for different types of waste incinerators, including the latest high tech microwave incinerator. The talk was of a general nature and was of interest to both the layman as well as students and in the relevant Industry.

Speaker Background: Mr. Tony Liew holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Malaya. He was trained in various countries, namely, Japan (design and fabrication of incinerators for different types of waste), Australia (bacteria augmentation for wastewater treatment plants) and Sweden (solid waste management). He has good knowledge in the technologies involved in the wastewater and solid waste treatment systems from both the East and West developed countries. He had designed and built more than 700 wastewater treatment plants both in Malaysia and also in many parts of the world. The wastewater he had treated include the sewage and industrial wastewater from different industries. He is the first person who had exported Malaysian wastewater treatment technologies. Tony had also designed and fabricated more than 120 units of package incinerator for different types of waste, including the latest high tech microwave incinerator. These incinerators are equipped with air pollution control equipment to ensure emission compliance. Many of these incinerators had been exported to different countries. Given his vast experience and product knowledge in wastewater treatment products and solid waste technologies, he has been advising governments, non-government agencies and private companies in environmental technologies, and environmental policy matters. He is also the co-founder of The Association Of Environmental Consultants And Contractors Of Malaysia (AECCOM) in 1993 and was its Deputy Chairman from 1993 to 1997.

2nd series

The Revival of Bicycle as a Green and Sustainable Means of Transport for Neighborhood Travel

Date: 6 April 2016
Speaker: Dato Ir Foong

Summary: The bicycle was invented in Germany in 1817 well before the advent of motorised 4-wheel vehicles.  The popularity of bicycles was quickly overtaken by motorized vehicles. However, in recent years, the modest bicycle has proven to be a chosen mode for neighborhood (short distance) transportation. It is gaining more and more popularity, partly driven by the consciousness of society for a greener environment, healthy exercise, and the urge to reduce carbon footprint. The electric bicycle (or rightly speaking, power assisted bicycle) development and the general specifications of power assisted bicycles, together with the legality, usage and future trend of bicycle usage for the last kilometer journey were discussed in the talk.

The talk also discussed the energy consumption of various modes of transport and the pros and cons of using bicycles in today’s world. The nature of the talk is general. 

Speaker Background: Dato Ir Foong graduated from Tunku Abdul Rahman College, KL in 1980 with a Diploma in Technology (automotive) and the Engineering Council Part 2 Examination. He has 30 years work experience in the vehicle industry including selection and supervision of various types of vehicles; technical compliance and the legality of vehicles; supervision and certification of vehicle modification.  He is registered with the Road Transport Department Malaysia to carry out these works. Dato Ir Foong was appointed by the Minister of Transport to carry out the independent advisory panel and investigation panel for the Genting Highlands Bus Crash in 2013 and the Simpang Pulai-Cameron Highlands Bus Crash 2010. His recent business activities involve the sourcing, selection and distribution of power assisted bicycles into the local market. 
 

Dato Ir Foong is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, UK, Professional Engineer Malaysia and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia.  He is currently a practicing consulting engineer registered with the Board of Engineers, Malaysia. He also sits in the technical committees in SIRIM to formulate Malaysia Standard for commercial vehicles.

3rd series

Energy in the cement Industry

Date: 28 July 2016
Speaker: Mr. Ng Kah Seng
Senior Manager - Cement R & D, Hume Concrete Products Research Centre Sdn. Bhd

Summary: It is always a challenge to comprehend the relationship between manufacturing, marketing, sales and customers, especially for cement which is always been defined as commodity products and no differentiations are needed.  In today’s competitive market, the power shift has landed on the customer even for cement and subsequently the end products like concrete, precast, building etc. 

This presentation discussed the cement manufacturing process, quality control methodology, cement properties and how it will bring value and impact to customers. As the cement industry is one of the most energy intensive manufacturing industries, topics related to energy issues, practices and improvement plans being applied in the latest development were discussed.  Topics covered include: quarrying, raw milling preparation, pyro processing and cement grinding processes. The focus was more on the impact of the processes on the cement properties and the available levers.

Speaker Backgorund: Mr. Ng Kah Seng has 18 years' experience in the building material industry, specifically in the quality control, product development, production and project management of cement and concrete operations. Over the years, he has involved significantly in developing numbers of new standards in cement and concrete standards for Malaysia (MS EN 196, MS EN 413, MS EN 206 etc). He is appointed as technical committee and business development committee of Cement & Concrete Association Malaysia, task force member in Singapore Green Build Council, working committee in material and concrete group of Sirim Malaysia etc. He has given number of public speech on cement and concrete topics to government bodies, industries and academics. He obtained Chemical Engineering Degree from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and MBA from University of Western Australia.