Synthesising resources for all
FROM small personal electronic devices to large machinery, food and combustion fuel, consumers have it easy when it comes to attaining their desired items.
Be it a necessity or luxury, an individual simply has to make his way to the shops or specialised dealers at any given time before making a transaction.
Many people, however, do not realise that raw natural resources that chemical engineers develop into new composites such as unique forms of plastic, alloys and other synthetic materials eventually lead to the production of items they use every day.
The country has greatly benefited from chemical engineering advancements, particularly in areas related to petroleum, rubber and palm oil.
For this reason, universities need to be at the forefront of not only producing highly skilled chemical engineers but making discoveries that will indirectly and ultimately revolutionise the way people live by affecting society’s consumption patterns and spending trends.
National income contributors
The oil and gas industry has been a major contributor to Malaysia’s economy for many years, making the country the second largest oil producer in South-East Asia and the world’s second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.
At the same time, palm oil is being exported to China, Pakistan, India, the United States and many countries within the European Union.
According to Prof Ir Dr Dominic CY Foo, director for research in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC), the wide acceptance and international demand for oil and oil palm by-products allowed Malaysia to capitalise on the situation, transitioning from a commodity-based to manufacturing-based economy.
His article, The Malaysian Chemicals Industry: From commodities to manufacturing that was featured in CEP magazine – an American Institute of Chemical Engineers publication – explains that the abundance of both resources plus the involvement of chemical engineers led to the wide breath of by-products such as naphtha, methane, butane condensate and ethylene in the petrochemical industry as well as palm kernel oil, palm stearin and palm kernel fatty acid distillate in the oleochemical industry.
The article also claims that the demand paved the way for supporting industries that include machinery and equipment manufacturers, operations and maintenance service providers, as well as engineering, drilling, fabrication and offshore oil installers and contractors.
Combined, these industries are expected to create an extra 90,000 jobs and pump billions of ringgit into Malaysia’s gross national income in the coming years.
Furthermore, the Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council reveals that Malaysia is the world’s fifth largest producer of natural rubber, raking in nearly RM18bil through its exports of latex and non-latex rubber products.
Besides exporting rubberised automotive components, hoses and structural bearings, Malaysia produces up to 64% of the global rubber glove industry.
Role of universities
Recognising that chemical engineering can greatly improve economic viability and increase job opportunities of local communities, Monash University Malaysia’s (Monash) associate head of the engineering school (graduate research) Dr Poh Phaik Eong firmly believes universities play a bigger role than merely creating new material for commercial production.
“The intensified growth of various industries in the country is inflicting strain on resources, particularly in energy and the environment.
“To sustain the long-term growth of industries, it is essential to find methods to reduce reliance on non-renewable and fossil fuel energy sources and minimise the social and environmental impacts,” says Dr Poh.
Dr Poh conveys that as universities possess the access to the most up-to-date technological developments and research resources, it is up to them to drive innovation and find the needed solutions.
Monash, for example, practises what it preaches through its multiple industrial partnerships, working on a broad spectrum of research that includes areas such as energy, environment and water, biotechnology, food and pharmaceuticals.
It is hoped that every study on the phenomenon of chemical processes will bring them a step closer to resolving fundamental issues that affect the productivity of the process, developing large-scale production of advanced materials and improving the sustainability of various processes.
She shares, “As most of our research are aligned with the National Key Economic Areas, the research output can potentially be commercialised to improve the productivity of Malaysia’s main economic drivers.
“Industrial partnerships allow output to be directly applied to solve present issues in the industry.”
A persistent struggle
Like all businesses operating in a slow economy, however, the quantity of general output is hampered as both public and private universities are in a constant struggle to find sufficient funds for research activities.
While the wider community may claim that the higher tuition fees of private universities should cover all research costs, the truth is that a large proportion of that money goes back into the general maintenance and administrative costs of running a university, including the improvement of campus facilities.
Therefore, universities have to look externally, either through industrial partnerships or government grants. However, this too can pose a challenge for many researchers.
Prof Foo of UNMC says, “The availability of research funds is an issue, especially in recent years due to the budget reduction by government ministries such as Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry and Higher Education Ministry.”
Furthermore, as the field of research projects are usually chosen by the researcher, Prof Foo shares it can be hard to match the interests between the researcher, government bodies and industry players.
“As the director of research for my department, I can only encourage my colleagues to do research. Because of the desire to practise academic freedom, I cannot force or direct them to work on something that they do not have an interest in.
“Research projects depend on whether researchers can find funding bodies to support what they like to do,” says Prof Foo.
Prof Poh agrees with this statement and adds, “Funding opportunities are hard to come by and it is highly competitive.
“The success rate for a project to be funded by government and international funding agencies can be less than 20%, with support from industries being more scarce in Malaysia.
“As such, we have to work very hard in the preparation of good project proposals that could potentially attract funding to sustain research and development efforts,” she says.
Taking into consideration the innovative solutions that can potentially be introduced into the various industries, more industrial players or corporate companies should be looking at collaborating with universities.
Requiring further involvement
Prof Foo, who is also editorin-chief of Process Integration & Optimization for Sustainability and subject editor (resource and waste management) for Process Safety and Environmental Protection, believes environmental and palm oilrelated topics have been the two main streams of research in the Malaysian chemical engineering community within the last 15 years.
“The reason is simple. We are a developing country and industrialisation is active here. Anything to do with the environmental topics such as waste management or recycling will get good attention.”
As such, it is commendable when agencies unrelated to these fields such as the Malaysia Nanotechnology Association, Malaysian Rubber Board, National Innovation Agency Malaysia and Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute are associated with university research and finding new processes that can contribute to the nation’s gross domestic product.
However, taking into consideration the innovative solutions that can potentially be introduced into the various industries, more industrial players or corporate companies should be looking at collaborating with universities.
They should see this not only as an investment opportunity that can generate substantial returns in the long run but a social responsibility towards the environment and communities.
Prof Foo suggests industry assistance need not necessarily be limited to financial aid as it can vary depending on the nature of the collaboration.
He says, “Some institutions such as Malaysia Palm Oil Board do provide research funds, scholarship for students as well as necessary data for research.”
Future focus
With 2020 just around the corner, it is high time for Malaysia to step up its game in the research field and match its developed nation aspirations with profound research output.
Continuous efforts into developing new processes and substances related to oil and gas, rubber and palm oil is encouraged.
However, companies along with agencies and universities must always look at the bigger picture of what can be attained with just an added amount of research.
Universiti Malaya and Universiti Sains Malaysia’s joint international ranking of 38th in chemical engineering in Quacquarelli Symonds’ 2017 World University Rankings by Subject proves that Malaysia has the technology and skills to produce excellent research results and compete against the very best in the academic world.
From more environmentally friendly and sustainable materials to affordable alternatives and effective substitutes, each discovery is a win for all parties involved.
Not only will the nation experience a positive economic transformation, companies will be able to reap the benefits of being the pioneers of new technologies and universities will elevate their prestige in research, allowing for greater student enrolment and more lucrative funding opportunities.