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Dr. Steven Lim
Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Bandar Sungai Long, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

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0 Biomass
0 Catalysis
0 Kinetics and Reactions
0 Supercritical Process

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Short Biography

Steven Lim is an assistant professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia. He is also the chairperson of the Centre for Photonics and Advanced Materials Research. His research interests revolve around devising sustainable and cost-effective methods to synthesize renewable energy (biodiesel, bioethanol, and syngas) and other value-added products (bioplastic, cellulose nanofiber, and triacetin) from renewable sources such as biomass. He has published a lot of research in high-impact journals such as Bioresource Technology, Journal of Hazardous Material, and Journal of Applied Energy.

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Journal article
Published: 15 June 2021 in Sustainability
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Empty fruit bunch (EFB), which is one of the primary agricultural wastes generated from the palm oil plantation, is generally discharged into the open environment or ends up in landfills. The utilization of this EFB waste for other value-added applications such as activated carbon and biofuels remain low, despite extensive research efforts. One of the reasons is that the EFB is highly vulnerable to microbial and fungi degradation under natural environment owning to its inherent characteristic of high organic matter and moisture content. This can rapidly deteriorate its quality and results in poor performance when processed into other products. However, the lignocellulosic components in degraded EFB (DEFB) still largely remain intact. Consequently, it could become a promising feedstock for production of bio-products after suitable pretreatment with organic solvents. In this study, DEFB was subjected to five different types of organic solvents for the pretreatment, including ethanol, ethylene glycol, 2-propanol, acetic acid and acetone. The effects of temperature and residence time were also investigated during the pretreatment. Organosolv pretreatment in ethylene glycol (50 v/v%) with the addition of NaOH (3 v/v%) as an alkaline catalyst successfully detached 81.5 wt.% hemicellulose and 75.1 wt.% lignin. As high as 90.4 wt.% cellulose was also successfully retrieved at mild temperature (80 °C) and short duration (45 min), while the purity of cellulose in treated DEFB was recorded at 84.3%. High-purity lignin was successfully recovered from the pretreatment liquor by using sulfuric acid for precipitation. The amount of recovered lignin from alkaline ethylene glycol liquor was 74.6% at pH 2.0. The high recovery of cellulose and lignin in DEFB by using organosolv pretreatment rendered it as one of the suitable feedstocks to be applied in downstream biorefinery processes. This can be further investigated in more detailed studies in the future.

ACS Style

Danny Chin; Steven Lim; Yean Pang; Chun Lim; Siew Shuit; Kiat Lee; Cheng Chong. Effects of Organic Solvents on the Organosolv Pretreatment of Degraded Empty Fruit Bunch for Fractionation and Lignin Removal. Sustainability 2021, 13, 6757 .

AMA Style

Danny Chin, Steven Lim, Yean Pang, Chun Lim, Siew Shuit, Kiat Lee, Cheng Chong. Effects of Organic Solvents on the Organosolv Pretreatment of Degraded Empty Fruit Bunch for Fractionation and Lignin Removal. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (12):6757.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Danny Chin; Steven Lim; Yean Pang; Chun Lim; Siew Shuit; Kiat Lee; Cheng Chong. 2021. "Effects of Organic Solvents on the Organosolv Pretreatment of Degraded Empty Fruit Bunch for Fractionation and Lignin Removal." Sustainability 13, no. 12: 6757.

Journal article
Published: 06 June 2021 in Journal of the Energy Institute
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Palm biodiesel-ethanol blends could be the better automotive fuel over palm biodiesel alone owing to the high oxygen content and high volatility of ethanol. The evaporation and burning characteristics of palm biodiesel with 10%, 20%, and 30% ethanol by volume concentration respectively, were investigated by using the droplet experiment. Rapid bubble growth and bubble explosions during the heating stage were observed to be substantial for the palm biodiesel droplet added with 30% volume of ethanol (BE30). Adding ethanol in palm biodiesel increased the ignition delay and burn-rate constant by up to 38.6% and 23.2%, respectively whereas, the evaporation duration and burning period decreased by up to 20.6% and 22.5%, respectively. Overall, the relatively shorter evaporation duration and higher burn-rate found for the BE30 droplet could promote high thermal efficiency and has the potential to achieve ultra-low carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (UHCs) emissions in diesel and gas turbine engines.

ACS Style

Jong Boon Ooi; Ming Rong Chow; Kong Meng Chee; Chun Hoe Pun; Manh-Vu Tran; Jeffrey Chin Kong Leong; Steven Lim. Effects of ethanol on the evaporation and burning characteristics of palm-oil based biodiesel droplet. Journal of the Energy Institute 2021, 98, 35 -43.

AMA Style

Jong Boon Ooi, Ming Rong Chow, Kong Meng Chee, Chun Hoe Pun, Manh-Vu Tran, Jeffrey Chin Kong Leong, Steven Lim. Effects of ethanol on the evaporation and burning characteristics of palm-oil based biodiesel droplet. Journal of the Energy Institute. 2021; 98 ():35-43.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jong Boon Ooi; Ming Rong Chow; Kong Meng Chee; Chun Hoe Pun; Manh-Vu Tran; Jeffrey Chin Kong Leong; Steven Lim. 2021. "Effects of ethanol on the evaporation and burning characteristics of palm-oil based biodiesel droplet." Journal of the Energy Institute 98, no. : 35-43.

Journal article
Published: 27 May 2021 in Current Analytical Chemistry
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Background: Nowadays, effective wastewater treatment has become a hot research topic in the field of environment. A series of novel activated carbon/ titanium dioxide (AC/TiO2) composites at various weight ratio were synthesised using the sol-gel method and were characterised using XRD, SEM-EDX, FT-IR, TGA and surface area analysis. Method: TiO2 particles were successfully incorporated on the AC surface and were mainly composed of Ti, O and C atoms. The AC/TiO2 composites were made up of spherical TiO2 particles agglomerated on the smooth tubular and porous structure of AC. The photocatalytic efficiency was influenced by the weight proportion of AC:TiO2 and the degradation process was attributed to the adsorption and photocatalytic processes. Results: It was found that 2.5 g/L AC/TiO2 at a weight ratio of 3:1 on an initial Malachite Green concentration of 10 mg/L at 50°C led to a degradation efficiency of 96.3% in 7.5 minutes under a halogen lamp. A chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 96.7% was also recorded. Reusability of the AC/TiO2 composite and kinetic study of the photodegradation of Malachite Green were also investigated. The recycled AC/TiO2 composite achieved high catalytic performance (83.1%) after one catalytic cycle. Conclusion: The degradation kinetics of Malachite Green at various solution temperatures were fitted to the pseudo-first-order reactions and the activation energy for the degradation of Malachite Green was 21.48 kJ/mol. This work demonstrated that AC/TiO2 composite is a promising material for photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes.

ACS Style

Yean L. Pang; Wen S. Teh; Steven Lim; Ahmad Z. Abdullah; Hwai C. Ong; Chien-Hou Wu. Enhancement of Adsorption-Photocatalysis of Malachite Green Using Oil Palm Biomass-Derived Activated Carbon/ Titanium Dioxide Composite. Current Analytical Chemistry 2021, 17, 603 -617.

AMA Style

Yean L. Pang, Wen S. Teh, Steven Lim, Ahmad Z. Abdullah, Hwai C. Ong, Chien-Hou Wu. Enhancement of Adsorption-Photocatalysis of Malachite Green Using Oil Palm Biomass-Derived Activated Carbon/ Titanium Dioxide Composite. Current Analytical Chemistry. 2021; 17 (5):603-617.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yean L. Pang; Wen S. Teh; Steven Lim; Ahmad Z. Abdullah; Hwai C. Ong; Chien-Hou Wu. 2021. "Enhancement of Adsorption-Photocatalysis of Malachite Green Using Oil Palm Biomass-Derived Activated Carbon/ Titanium Dioxide Composite." Current Analytical Chemistry 17, no. 5: 603-617.

Journal article
Published: 23 April 2021 in Journal of Cleaner Production
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As one of the major vegetable oils, the sustainability development in the palm oil industry is a critical concern among the global community. Majority of the sustainability concerns relate to the plantation practises which were claimed to be inefficient and create pollution. This paper explores the issues associated with the oil palm plantation site, specifically in the fresh fruit bunch (FFB) harvesting and evacuation process that known to be a labour and energy intensive process. A novel mathematical model was proposed to determine the shortest distance required to collect harvestable FFBs within the site. The model was demonstrated on various scenarios within the oil palm plantation site, including the differences in floorplan shape, distribution of harvestable trees, and loading capacity of transporter. The results have shown that the proposed model is capable to propose the shortest route(s) for different plantation site to reduce the travelled distance. Vertical rectangular plantation layout was found to have the highest reduction in travelled distance at 21% as compared to other floorplans; and the impact of the reduction in travelled distance is most noticeable at low harvestable tree distribution (60%) at 26.4%. Lastly, the proposed model was demonstrated to be able to propose a multiple trips solution when a low loading capacity transporter (wheelbarrow), which is a critical solution for small and medium enterprise farmers.

ACS Style

Chun Hsion Lim; Zi Hooi Cheah; Xi Him Lee; Bing Shen How; Wendy Pei Qin Ng; Sue Lin Ngan; Steven Lim; Hon Loong Lam. Harvesting and evacuation route optimisation model for fresh fruit bunch in the oil palm plantation site. Journal of Cleaner Production 2021, 307, 127238 .

AMA Style

Chun Hsion Lim, Zi Hooi Cheah, Xi Him Lee, Bing Shen How, Wendy Pei Qin Ng, Sue Lin Ngan, Steven Lim, Hon Loong Lam. Harvesting and evacuation route optimisation model for fresh fruit bunch in the oil palm plantation site. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2021; 307 ():127238.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chun Hsion Lim; Zi Hooi Cheah; Xi Him Lee; Bing Shen How; Wendy Pei Qin Ng; Sue Lin Ngan; Steven Lim; Hon Loong Lam. 2021. "Harvesting and evacuation route optimisation model for fresh fruit bunch in the oil palm plantation site." Journal of Cleaner Production 307, no. : 127238.

Conference paper
Published: 02 April 2021 in Materials Today: Proceedings
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Titanium dioxide (TiO2), cellulose and TiO2 immobilised on cellulose at 10–70 wt% were synthesised through hydrothermal method. These samples were characterised by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Fourier transmission infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR). The TiO2 produced was in an amorphous phase. TiO2 particles were spherical and composed of titanium (Ti) and oxygen (O) elements only. TiO2 showed O-Ti-O bonds due to the presence of TiO2 precursor. Cellulose possesses peak at 2894 cm−1 due to the vibration of the carbon (C) – hydrogen (H) bond. The effect of various parameters such as amount of TiO2 immobilised on cellulose (10–70 wt%), catalyst concentration (0.3 g/L to 1.1 g/L), dye concentration (20 ppm to 100 ppm), solution pH (pH 1 to 9) and solution temperature (27 °C to 65 °C) for photocatalytic degradation were studied in order to determine the optimum conditions. It was found that the highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency of malachite green (78.27%) after 1 h was achieved in the presence of 50 wt% TiO2 immobilised on cellulose (50 T/C) at the optimum conditions with the catalyst concentration of 0.9 g/L, initial dye concentration of 20 ppm, natural solution pH 5 and solution temperature of 27 °C. In addition, 100% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was achieved at the prescribed optimum condition. In the reusability study, it was found that the reused 50 T/C which regenerated through washing by distilled water and 0.1 M of sodium hydroxide maintained high photocatalytic activity (78%) after three catalytic cycles. This study proved that appropriate amount of TiO2 immobilised on cellulose potentially to be used as an effective and efficient photocatalyst to degrade the organic dye in water.

ACS Style

Y.L. Pang; H.S. Chuo; S. Lim; W.C. Chong. Photocatalytic degradation of malachite green using titanium dioxide immobilised on oil palm empty fruit bunch derived cellulose. Materials Today: Proceedings 2021, 46, 2017 -2023.

AMA Style

Y.L. Pang, H.S. Chuo, S. Lim, W.C. Chong. Photocatalytic degradation of malachite green using titanium dioxide immobilised on oil palm empty fruit bunch derived cellulose. Materials Today: Proceedings. 2021; 46 ():2017-2023.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Y.L. Pang; H.S. Chuo; S. Lim; W.C. Chong. 2021. "Photocatalytic degradation of malachite green using titanium dioxide immobilised on oil palm empty fruit bunch derived cellulose." Materials Today: Proceedings 46, no. : 2017-2023.

Journal article
Published: 27 March 2021 in Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
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An enormous amount of research had been dedicated to exploring the nanotechnology over the past decade. The fast-paced development of nanomaterial production has enhanced the application of zinc oxide (ZnO) in a wide variety field. ZnO nanoparticles can be obtained mechanically or chemically for commercial use. However, the environmental issues raised by these techniques have been brought to the world’s attention. Nowadays, green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles is of particular interest in the research field aiming to mitigate environmental problems. In this green approach, natural based materials such as plant extract, microbes, fungus and algae are used as bio-reductants and bio-stabilizers due to their enrichment in bioactive phytochemicals. Numerous studies have proven that the green synthesis is facile and feasible to produce ZnO nanopowder with advanced properties as compared to the chemically synthesized ZnO nanoparticles. In order to make the green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles more applicable in a wide range of uses, surface modification using metal and non-metal ions are applied to alter and improve the properties of ZnO nanoparticles. The findings available currently represent an excellent initial step towards the promising green approach in the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles and additional work should be undertaken to exploit the application of green synthesis in the commercial platform.

ACS Style

Yin Yin Chan; Yean Ling Pang; Steven Lim; Woon Chan Chong. Facile green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using natural-based materials: Properties, mechanism, surface modification and application. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 2021, 9, 105417 .

AMA Style

Yin Yin Chan, Yean Ling Pang, Steven Lim, Woon Chan Chong. Facile green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using natural-based materials: Properties, mechanism, surface modification and application. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 2021; 9 (4):105417.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yin Yin Chan; Yean Ling Pang; Steven Lim; Woon Chan Chong. 2021. "Facile green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using natural-based materials: Properties, mechanism, surface modification and application." Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 9, no. 4: 105417.

Conference paper
Published: 25 March 2021 in Materials Today: Proceedings
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In this work, silver doped zinc oxide nanoparticles were successfully prepared using green synthesis. The prepared samples were then characterized by the means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The samples were found to have high crystallinity and purity. A reduction in the size was observed in silver doped ZnO nanoparticles as compared to pristine ZnO nanoparticles due to the lattice distortion induced by dopant. The introduction of silver dopant into the lattice structure also led to band gap narrowing. Evaluation of sonocatalytic degradation was carried out through parameter study including the types of plants used to synthesize silver doped ZnO nanoparticles, initial dye concentration (20 mg/L to 40 mg/L), catalyst loading (0.75 g/L to 2.0 g/L) and different types of dye. ZnO nanoparticles synthesized using Asian pigeonwings flower with 5 wt% of silver doping performed the best in the sonocatalytic degradation among all the samples. The degradation efficiency of Congo red was optimized at operating conditions with 20 mg/L of initial dye concentration and 1.75 g/L of catalyst loading. In addition, the biosynthesized silver doped ZnO nanoparticles show excellent sonocatalytic performance in the degradation of various types of dye. In short, this work provides exposure for developing the removal of hazardous organic dye pollutants using green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles with silver doping under ultrasound irradiation.

ACS Style

Yin Yin Chan; Yean Ling Pang; Steven Lim; Woon Chan Chong. Sonocatalytic degradation of Congo red by using green synthesized silver doped zinc oxide nanoparticles. Materials Today: Proceedings 2021, 46, 1948 -1953.

AMA Style

Yin Yin Chan, Yean Ling Pang, Steven Lim, Woon Chan Chong. Sonocatalytic degradation of Congo red by using green synthesized silver doped zinc oxide nanoparticles. Materials Today: Proceedings. 2021; 46 ():1948-1953.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yin Yin Chan; Yean Ling Pang; Steven Lim; Woon Chan Chong. 2021. "Sonocatalytic degradation of Congo red by using green synthesized silver doped zinc oxide nanoparticles." Materials Today: Proceedings 46, no. : 1948-1953.

Journal article
Published: 09 January 2021 in Chemosphere
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Iron-doped titanium dioxide loaded on activated carbon (Fe–TiO2/AC) was successfully synthesized from oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) using sol-gel method. The properties of the synthesized pure TiO2, Fe-doped TiO2, AC, TiO2/AC and Fe–TiO2/AC were examined by various techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–Vis DRS) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analyses at 77 K. FE-SEM revealed that Fe-doped TiO2 particles were dispersed homogeneously on the AC surface. FT-IR demonstrated high surface hydroxylation after Fe doping on TiO2 and UV–Vis DRS showed that Fe–TiO2/AC had the lowest band gap energy. Catalytic performance results proved that Fe dopants could restrict the recombination rate of hole and electron pairs, whereas AC support improved the Malachite Green (MG) adsorption sites and active sites of the hybrid catalyst. Photocatalytic degradation of 100 mg/L MG in the presence of 1.0 g/L 15 wt% Fe–TiO2 incorporated with 25 wt% AC, initial solution pH of 4 and 3 mM H2O2 could achieve the highest removal efficiency of 97% after 45 min light irradiation. This work demonstrates a promising approach to synthesis an inexpensive and efficient Fe–TiO2/AC for the photocatalytic degradation of organic dye.

ACS Style

Wei Wen Loo; Yean Ling Pang; Steven Lim; Kam Huei Wong; Chin Wei Lai; Ahmad Zuhairi Abdullah. Enhancement of photocatalytic degradation of Malachite Green using iron doped titanium dioxide loaded on oil palm empty fruit bunch-derived activated carbon. Chemosphere 2021, 272, 129588 .

AMA Style

Wei Wen Loo, Yean Ling Pang, Steven Lim, Kam Huei Wong, Chin Wei Lai, Ahmad Zuhairi Abdullah. Enhancement of photocatalytic degradation of Malachite Green using iron doped titanium dioxide loaded on oil palm empty fruit bunch-derived activated carbon. Chemosphere. 2021; 272 ():129588.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wei Wen Loo; Yean Ling Pang; Steven Lim; Kam Huei Wong; Chin Wei Lai; Ahmad Zuhairi Abdullah. 2021. "Enhancement of photocatalytic degradation of Malachite Green using iron doped titanium dioxide loaded on oil palm empty fruit bunch-derived activated carbon." Chemosphere 272, no. : 129588.

Special issue research article
Published: 29 October 2020 in International Journal of Energy Research
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The current research was aimed to corroborate as well as compare the feasible applicability of waste banana peel and empty fruit bunch (EFB) in synthesising high‐performing heterogeneous catalysts. The solid acid catalysts originated from biomass wastes were employed for the synthesis of glycerol‐free fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) using catalytic interesterification process pathway. Acetic acid was produced as the by‐product instead of glycerol. The heterogeneous acid catalysts were synthesised utilising sulphuric acid through direct sulfonation with thermal treatment. The concentration of the sulphuric acid was manipulated from 2 to 13 mol L−1 to investigate its effects on the resulting FAME yield while maintaining the sulfonating ratio at 10 mL g−1. The catalytic performances of the as‐synthesised catalysts were studied under reaction conditions of 12 wt % catalyst loading, 50:1 methyl acetate to oleic acid molar ratio for a duration of 8 hours at 60°C. The catalyst produced by activated carbon derived from EFB and sulfonated with 13 mol L−1 sulphuric acid exhibited the highest FAME yield at 44.3%. The parameter studies on reactant ratio (45:1‐70:1), reaction temperature (90°C‐130°C) and time (4‐24 hours) of interesterification reaction discovered a general increasing trend in the FAME yield up to 52.3% with the optimum conditions of 50:1, 110°C and 8 hours, respectively. The catalyst was recyclable with 82% of the catalytic performance retained after five successive cycles with catalyst reactivation. This study confirmed that the renewable heterogeneous catalyst derived from biomass waste could catalyse the glycerol‐free interesterification process via an environmentally benign and promising approach for green fuel production.

ACS Style

Wan‐Ying Wong; Steven Lim; Yean‐Ling Pang; Wei‐Hsin Chen; Man‐Kee Lam; Inn‐Shi Tan. Synthesis of glycerol‐free fatty acid methyl ester using interesterification reaction based on solid acid carbon catalyst derived from low‐cost biomass wastes. International Journal of Energy Research 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Wan‐Ying Wong, Steven Lim, Yean‐Ling Pang, Wei‐Hsin Chen, Man‐Kee Lam, Inn‐Shi Tan. Synthesis of glycerol‐free fatty acid methyl ester using interesterification reaction based on solid acid carbon catalyst derived from low‐cost biomass wastes. International Journal of Energy Research. 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wan‐Ying Wong; Steven Lim; Yean‐Ling Pang; Wei‐Hsin Chen; Man‐Kee Lam; Inn‐Shi Tan. 2020. "Synthesis of glycerol‐free fatty acid methyl ester using interesterification reaction based on solid acid carbon catalyst derived from low‐cost biomass wastes." International Journal of Energy Research , no. : 1.

Review
Published: 24 August 2020 in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
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Palm oil is a renewable resource that has the potential to replace fossil fuel and petrochemical for a better sustainable system. However, there is room for improvement in the current operation of the palm oil industry to achieve better sustainability development. The industrial revolution toward automation and artificial intelligence (AI) is the new trend known as the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). Unfortunately, the palm oil industry has been moving slowly in this revolution. This paper aims to conduct a detailed review of the current state of the palm oil industry development toward Industry 4.0. A novel Hazard and Operability Analysis (HAZOP) approach is adopted i) to ensure a detailed evaluation of the existing problems, and ii) to identify potential implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the palm oil industry. HAZOP is a common approach used in chemical engineering to systematically evaluate process safety and identify the possible improvement of the existing system. The same concept is applied in this paper to investigate the possible adaptation of Industry 4.0 technologies to improve the palm oil industry. Existing Industry 4.0 technologies and features were evaluated to identify feasible adaptation in the industry. The HAZOP review proposed 23 recommendations to improve the palm oil industry with Industry 4.0 technologies to achieve a higher standard in sustainable production. A total of 13 specific Industry 4.0 features were identified as the potential development gaps for palm oil industry stakeholders, which included the adaptation of Internet-of-Things sensors, cloud computing, blockchain, and smart imaging processing technologies.

ACS Style

Chun Hsion Lim; Steven Lim; Bing Shen How; Wendy Pei Qin Ng; Sue Lin Ngan; Wei Dong Leong; Hon Loong Lam. A review of industry 4.0 revolution potential in a sustainable and renewable palm oil industry: HAZOP approach. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2020, 135, 110223 .

AMA Style

Chun Hsion Lim, Steven Lim, Bing Shen How, Wendy Pei Qin Ng, Sue Lin Ngan, Wei Dong Leong, Hon Loong Lam. A review of industry 4.0 revolution potential in a sustainable and renewable palm oil industry: HAZOP approach. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2020; 135 ():110223.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chun Hsion Lim; Steven Lim; Bing Shen How; Wendy Pei Qin Ng; Sue Lin Ngan; Wei Dong Leong; Hon Loong Lam. 2020. "A review of industry 4.0 revolution potential in a sustainable and renewable palm oil industry: HAZOP approach." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 135, no. : 110223.

Review article
Published: 13 August 2020 in Energy Conversion and Management
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The increase in human consumption of plant and animal oils has led to the rise in waste cooking oil (WCO) production. Instead of disposing the used cooking oil as waste, recent technological advance has enabled the use of WCO as a sustainable feedstock for biofuels production, thereby maximising the value of biowastes via energy recovery while concomitantly solving the disposal issue. The current regulatory frameworks for WCO collection and recycling practices imposed by major WCO producing countries are reviewed, followed by the overview of the progress in biodiesel conversion techniques, along with novel methods to improve the feasibility for upscaling. The factors which influence the efficiency of the reactions such as properties of feedstock, heterogenous catalytic processes, cost effectiveness and selectivity of reaction product are discussed. Ultrasonic-assisted transesterification is found to be the least energy intensive method for producing biodiesel. The production of bio-jet fuels from WCO, while scarce, provide diversity in waste utilisation if problems such as carbon chain length, requirements of bio-jet fuel properties, extreme reaction conditions and effectiveness of selected catalyst-support system can be solved. Technoeconomic studies revealed that WCO biofuels is financially viable with benefit of mitigating carbon emissions, provided that the price gap between the produced fuel and commercial fuels, sufficient supply of WCO and variation in the oil properties are addressed. This review shows that WCO is a biowaste with high potential for advanced transportation fuel production for ground and aviation industries. The advancement in fuel production technology and relevant policies would accelerate the application of sustainable WCO biofuels.

ACS Style

Brandon Han Hoe Goh; Cheng Tung Chong; Yuqi Ge; Hwai Chyuan Ong; Jo-Han Ng; Bo Tian; Veeramuthu Ashokkumar; Steven Lim; Tine Seljak; Viktor Józsa. Progress in utilisation of waste cooking oil for sustainable biodiesel and biojet fuel production. Energy Conversion and Management 2020, 223, 113296 .

AMA Style

Brandon Han Hoe Goh, Cheng Tung Chong, Yuqi Ge, Hwai Chyuan Ong, Jo-Han Ng, Bo Tian, Veeramuthu Ashokkumar, Steven Lim, Tine Seljak, Viktor Józsa. Progress in utilisation of waste cooking oil for sustainable biodiesel and biojet fuel production. Energy Conversion and Management. 2020; 223 ():113296.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Brandon Han Hoe Goh; Cheng Tung Chong; Yuqi Ge; Hwai Chyuan Ong; Jo-Han Ng; Bo Tian; Veeramuthu Ashokkumar; Steven Lim; Tine Seljak; Viktor Józsa. 2020. "Progress in utilisation of waste cooking oil for sustainable biodiesel and biojet fuel production." Energy Conversion and Management 223, no. : 113296.

Journal article
Published: 28 May 2020 in Renewable Energy
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This study evaluated the utilisation of biomass wastes as catalyst supports by comparing the catalytic performance of papaya seed, empty fruit bunch (EFB) and corncob biomass waste derived carbon based acid catalysts applied for biodiesel production through esterification reaction of palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) and methanol. Arylation of 4-benzenediazonium sulfonate synthesis method was able to sulfonate the catalyst support efficiently. The activated carbon (AC) synthesised possessed high porosity with surface area ranged between 639.68 and 972.66 m2/g. The effect of catalyst synthesising condition including carbonisation temperature (600–1000 °C), sulfonation time (0.5–2.5 h) and sulfanilic acid to AC weight ratio (3:1–13:1) towards the FAME yield and free fatty acid (FFA) conversion were evaluated. At the optimum catalyst synthesis conditions, corncob waste derived sulfonated AC catalyst exhibited the highest FAME yield and FFA conversion of 72.09% and 93.49%, respectively. Reusability study showed that corncob waste derived sulfonated AC catalyst was able to achieve relatively high FAME yield at the first two reaction cycles. The esterification reaction followed the irreversible pseudo-homogeneous reaction model. The high catalytic efficiency of the catalyst had shown its high potential to fit into the cost-effective and sustainable framework for biodiesel production.

ACS Style

Zo-Ee Tang; Steven Lim; Yean-Ling Pang; Siew-Hoong Shuit; Hwai-Chyuan Ong. Utilisation of biomass wastes based activated carbon supported heterogeneous acid catalyst for biodiesel production. Renewable Energy 2020, 158, 91 -102.

AMA Style

Zo-Ee Tang, Steven Lim, Yean-Ling Pang, Siew-Hoong Shuit, Hwai-Chyuan Ong. Utilisation of biomass wastes based activated carbon supported heterogeneous acid catalyst for biodiesel production. Renewable Energy. 2020; 158 ():91-102.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zo-Ee Tang; Steven Lim; Yean-Ling Pang; Siew-Hoong Shuit; Hwai-Chyuan Ong. 2020. "Utilisation of biomass wastes based activated carbon supported heterogeneous acid catalyst for biodiesel production." Renewable Energy 158, no. : 91-102.

Review
Published: 30 April 2020 in Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining
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Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant renewable source of bioenergy. However, its intertwined structures prevent the embedded cellulose and hemicellulose from undergoing further chemical transformations. Organosolv pretreatment has been known to be effective in reducing the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass. It possesses advantages in the recovery of components and the recovered components such as cellulose can be converted into bioproducts through consolidated bioprocessing (CBP). The main objective of this paper is to review recent developments in organosolv pretreatment, including a comparison of different organic solvents and their optimum operation conditions in terms of pretreatment performance and efficiency. Conventional solvents were also compared with several emerging solvents to discover more potential utilization of organosolv pretreatment. This paper also reviewed fundamental knowledge regarding organosolv pretreatment such as its mechanism, and the chemical and physical properties of the solvents, which are still rarely discussed in the literature due to a lack of conclusive information. The challenges and way forward for organosolv pretreatment were also analyzed in depth to consider the synergistic advantages after the integration of organosolv pretreatment into CBP. It is believed that, through more fundamental exploration and optimization work, organosolv pretreatment can play a vital role in determining the sustainability of CBP, to pave the way for more efficient bioprocessing in the future. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

ACS Style

Danny Wei Kit Chin; Steven Lim; Yean Ling Pang; Man Kee Lam. Fundamental review of organosolv pretreatment and its challenges in emerging consolidated bioprocessing. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 2020, 14, 808 -829.

AMA Style

Danny Wei Kit Chin, Steven Lim, Yean Ling Pang, Man Kee Lam. Fundamental review of organosolv pretreatment and its challenges in emerging consolidated bioprocessing. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. 2020; 14 (4):808-829.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Danny Wei Kit Chin; Steven Lim; Yean Ling Pang; Man Kee Lam. 2020. "Fundamental review of organosolv pretreatment and its challenges in emerging consolidated bioprocessing." Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 14, no. 4: 808-829.

Journal article
Published: 07 April 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
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Interest in biodiesel research has escalated over the years due to dwindling fossil fuel reserves. The implementation of a carbon-based solid acid catalyst in biodiesel production eradicates the separation problems associated with homogeneous catalysis. However, its application in the glycerol-free interesterification process for biodiesel production is still rarely being studied in the literature. In this study, novel environmentally benign catalysts were prepared from oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) derived activated carbon (AC) which is sustainable and low cost via direct sulfonation using concentrated sulfuric acid. The effects of synthesizing variables such as carbonization and sulfonation temperatures with different holding times towards the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield in interesterification reaction with oleic acid and methyl acetate were investigated in detail. It was found that the optimum carbonization temperature and duration together with sulfonation temperature and duration were 600 °C, 3 h, 100 °C and 6 h, respectively. The catalyst possessed an amorphous structure with a high total acid density of 9.0 mmol NaOH g−1 due to the well-developed porous framework structure of the carbon support. Under these optimum conditions, the OPEFB derived solid acid catalyst recorded an excellent catalytic activity of 50.5% methyl oleate yield at 100 °C after 8 h with 50:1 methyl acetate to oleic acid molar ratio and 10 wt% catalyst dosage. The heterogeneous acid catalyst derived from OPEFB had shown promising properties that made them highly suitable for cost-effective and environmental-friendly glycerol-free biodiesel production.

ACS Style

Wan-Ying Wong; Steven Lim; Yean-Ling Pang; Siew-Hoong Shuit; Wei-Hsin Chen; Keat-Teong Lee. Synthesis of renewable heterogeneous acid catalyst from oil palm empty fruit bunch for glycerol-free biodiesel production. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 727, 138534 .

AMA Style

Wan-Ying Wong, Steven Lim, Yean-Ling Pang, Siew-Hoong Shuit, Wei-Hsin Chen, Keat-Teong Lee. Synthesis of renewable heterogeneous acid catalyst from oil palm empty fruit bunch for glycerol-free biodiesel production. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 727 ():138534.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wan-Ying Wong; Steven Lim; Yean-Ling Pang; Siew-Hoong Shuit; Wei-Hsin Chen; Keat-Teong Lee. 2020. "Synthesis of renewable heterogeneous acid catalyst from oil palm empty fruit bunch for glycerol-free biodiesel production." Science of The Total Environment 727, no. : 138534.

Journal article
Published: 02 April 2020 in Fuel
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In the present study, the effect of co-solvent and different reaction parameters on fatty acid ester yield composition produced from in-situ transesterification of wet Chlorella vulgaris was investigated. The result showed that under wet microalgae condition (75 wt% of moisture content), increasing of methanol concentration resulted in more significant improvement of fatty acid ester yield as compared to H2SO4 concentration. This was due to the equilibrium shifting to the FAME product direction under high methanol concentration condition. The highest fatty acid ester yield attained under wet microalgae condition was 96.0 wt% of esterifiable lipid with 650 mol/mol and 10000 mol/mol of H2SO4 and methanol concentration, respectively. Besides, by introducing small amount of n-butanol or tetrahydrofuran (THF) (0.1 mol/mol of methanol) as co-solvent resulted to remarkable enhancement in fatty acid ester yield (100 wt% and 98.7 wt% of esterifiable lipid corresponding to n-butanol and THF, respectively) and 33% reduction of methanol usage. This was due to the synergetic effect of co-solvent in the lipid extraction process and enhancement of solubility between lipid and methanol phase to accelerate the transesterification reaction. Moreover, n-butanol or THF also lead to different selectivity of fatty acid esters, whereby high concentration of long-chain fatty acid esters (e.g. C18) were attained with n-butanol while short-chain fatty acid esters (e.g. C10 and C16) were obtained by adding THF. Overall, the results from the present study revealed the possibility to obtain high fatty acid ester yield from wet microalgae paste that could be useful for scale-up study.

ACS Style

Thanh Tien Nguyen; Man Kee Lam; Yoshimitsu Uemura; Nurlidia Mansor; Jun Wei Lim; Pau Loke Show; Inn Shi Tan; Steven Lim. High biodiesel yield from wet microalgae paste via in-situ transesterification: Effect of reaction parameters towards the selectivity of fatty acid esters. Fuel 2020, 272, 117718 .

AMA Style

Thanh Tien Nguyen, Man Kee Lam, Yoshimitsu Uemura, Nurlidia Mansor, Jun Wei Lim, Pau Loke Show, Inn Shi Tan, Steven Lim. High biodiesel yield from wet microalgae paste via in-situ transesterification: Effect of reaction parameters towards the selectivity of fatty acid esters. Fuel. 2020; 272 ():117718.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thanh Tien Nguyen; Man Kee Lam; Yoshimitsu Uemura; Nurlidia Mansor; Jun Wei Lim; Pau Loke Show; Inn Shi Tan; Steven Lim. 2020. "High biodiesel yield from wet microalgae paste via in-situ transesterification: Effect of reaction parameters towards the selectivity of fatty acid esters." Fuel 272, no. : 117718.

Data article
Published: 17 March 2020 in Data in Brief
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Lignocellulosic biomass can provide a consistent and sustainable source of bioenergy. Degraded empty fruit bunch (DEFB) from oil palm is a suitable candidate for biofuels and biochemicals production by using alkaline ethylene glycol pretreatment and two-staged acid hydrolysis. This paper provided several important physical and chemical properties of treated DEFB after alkaline ethylene glycol pretreatment. The dataset for analysis methods which were used in two-staged acid hydrolysis for the determination of reducing sugars, phenolic compounds, furfural and hydroxymethyfurfural (HMF) in the acid hydrolysate was also provided. The key information and dataset provided in this article can be useful for researchers to determine the product compositions from lignocellulosic biomass after the pretreatment and acid hydrolysis processes in the future.

ACS Style

Danny Wei Kit Chin; Steven Lim; Yean Ling Pang; Chun Hsion Lim; Kiat Moon Lee. Dataset of alkaline ethylene glycol pretreatment and two-staged acid hydrolysis using oil palm empty fruit bunch. Data in Brief 2020, 30, 105431 .

AMA Style

Danny Wei Kit Chin, Steven Lim, Yean Ling Pang, Chun Hsion Lim, Kiat Moon Lee. Dataset of alkaline ethylene glycol pretreatment and two-staged acid hydrolysis using oil palm empty fruit bunch. Data in Brief. 2020; 30 ():105431.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Danny Wei Kit Chin; Steven Lim; Yean Ling Pang; Chun Hsion Lim; Kiat Moon Lee. 2020. "Dataset of alkaline ethylene glycol pretreatment and two-staged acid hydrolysis using oil palm empty fruit bunch." Data in Brief 30, no. : 105431.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2020 in Fuel
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ACS Style

Brandon Han Hoe Goh; Hwai Chyuan Ong; Cheng Tung Chong; Wei-Hsin Chen; Kin Yuen Leong; Shiou Xuan Tan; Xin Jiat Lee. Ultrasonic assisted oil extraction and biodiesel synthesis of Spent Coffee Ground. Fuel 2020, 261, 1 .

AMA Style

Brandon Han Hoe Goh, Hwai Chyuan Ong, Cheng Tung Chong, Wei-Hsin Chen, Kin Yuen Leong, Shiou Xuan Tan, Xin Jiat Lee. Ultrasonic assisted oil extraction and biodiesel synthesis of Spent Coffee Ground. Fuel. 2020; 261 ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Brandon Han Hoe Goh; Hwai Chyuan Ong; Cheng Tung Chong; Wei-Hsin Chen; Kin Yuen Leong; Shiou Xuan Tan; Xin Jiat Lee. 2020. "Ultrasonic assisted oil extraction and biodiesel synthesis of Spent Coffee Ground." Fuel 261, no. : 1.

Special issue research article
Published: 01 January 2020 in International Journal of Energy Research
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This research investigated for the first time the synthesis of monk fruit seed (Siraitia grosvenorii)‐based solid acid catalyst for biodiesel production. The catalyst was synthesized using a two‐step surface functionalization method with trimethoxy phenyl silane and chlorosulfonic acid. The as‐synthesized catalyst was characterized to ascertain its catalytic characteristics through surface morphology, chemical bonding, and thermal stability. The effects of activating agent impregnation ratio, carbonization temperature, and sulfonation temperature towards fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield were elucidated. The esterification reaction with palmitic acid was found to produce FAME yield up to 98.5% with 4 wt.% catalyst loading, 6‐h reaction duration and 120°C reaction temperature. The catalyst also demonstrated high reusability with 84.4% FAME yield being successfully maintained after four successive cycles without reactivation. These proved that the as‐synthesized catalyst had high prospect to become a suitable low‐cost alternative for biodiesel production through catalytic esterification process in the future.

ACS Style

Steven Lim; Yean Ling Pang; Siew Hoong Shuit; Kam Huei Wong; Chee Keen Leong. Synthesis and characterization of monk fruit seed ( Siraitia grosvenorii )‐based heterogeneous acid catalyst for biodiesel production through esterification process. International Journal of Energy Research 2020, 44, 9454 -9465.

AMA Style

Steven Lim, Yean Ling Pang, Siew Hoong Shuit, Kam Huei Wong, Chee Keen Leong. Synthesis and characterization of monk fruit seed ( Siraitia grosvenorii )‐based heterogeneous acid catalyst for biodiesel production through esterification process. International Journal of Energy Research. 2020; 44 (12):9454-9465.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Steven Lim; Yean Ling Pang; Siew Hoong Shuit; Kam Huei Wong; Chee Keen Leong. 2020. "Synthesis and characterization of monk fruit seed ( Siraitia grosvenorii )‐based heterogeneous acid catalyst for biodiesel production through esterification process." International Journal of Energy Research 44, no. 12: 9454-9465.

Journal article
Published: 01 November 2019 in Bioresource Technology
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Ethylene glycol in the presence of sodium hydroxide was utilised as pretreatment for effective delignification and reduced the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass which ramified the exposure of cellulose. Two-staged acid hydrolysis was also investigated which demonstrated its synergistic efficiency by minimising the deficiency of single stage acid hydrolysis. The operating parameters including acid concentration, temperature, residence time and cellulose loading for two-staged acid hydrolysis were studied by using ethylene glycol delignified degraded oil palm empty fruit bunch (DEFB) to recover the sugar based substrates for potential biofuels and other bio-chemicals production. In this study, stage I 45 wt% acid at 65 °C for 30 min coupled with high cellulose loading 21.25 w/v% and 12 wt% acid at 100 °C for 120 min was able to release a total of 89.8% optimum sugar yield with minimal formation of degradation products including 0.058 g/L furfural, 0.0251 g/L hydroxymethylfurfural and 0.200 g/L phenolic compounds.

ACS Style

Danny Wei Kit Chin; Steven Lim; Yean Ling Pang; Chun Hsion Lim; Kiat Moon Lee. Two-staged acid hydrolysis on ethylene glycol pretreated degraded oil palm empty fruit bunch for sugar based substrate recovery. Bioresource Technology 2019, 292, 121967 .

AMA Style

Danny Wei Kit Chin, Steven Lim, Yean Ling Pang, Chun Hsion Lim, Kiat Moon Lee. Two-staged acid hydrolysis on ethylene glycol pretreated degraded oil palm empty fruit bunch for sugar based substrate recovery. Bioresource Technology. 2019; 292 ():121967.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Danny Wei Kit Chin; Steven Lim; Yean Ling Pang; Chun Hsion Lim; Kiat Moon Lee. 2019. "Two-staged acid hydrolysis on ethylene glycol pretreated degraded oil palm empty fruit bunch for sugar based substrate recovery." Bioresource Technology 292, no. : 121967.

Journal article
Published: 27 October 2019 in Journal of Hazardous Materials
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In this research, biomass from oil palm empty fruit bunch was used as the carbon precursor and sulfonated by 4-benzenediazonium sulfonate (4-BDS) to produce solid acid catalyst. The as-synthesized catalysts were characterized and the performances were tested in esterification of palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) for biodiesel production. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed that clear porous and rough carbon surface was successfully developed after calcination which favored the attachment of sulfonic groups. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) result showed that the catalyst was thermally stable up to 600 °C. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) proved that S = O and -SO3H sulfonic groups were successfully attached to the carbon catalyst. From the catalytic activity tests, the results showed that the catalyst which was calcined at 200 °C and sulfonated with 15:1 sulfanilic acid to AC ratio was the optimum catalyst as it provided the highest biodiesel yield. Further investigation showed that the reaction time of 7 h and 20 wt.% of catalyst loading were reported as optimum esterification conditions which provided the highest biodiesel yield at 98.1%.

ACS Style

Steven Lim; Chin Yi Yap; Yean Ling Pang; Kam Huei Wong. Biodiesel synthesis from oil palm empty fruit bunch biochar derived heterogeneous solid catalyst using 4-benzenediazonium sulfonate. Journal of Hazardous Materials 2019, 390, 121532 .

AMA Style

Steven Lim, Chin Yi Yap, Yean Ling Pang, Kam Huei Wong. Biodiesel synthesis from oil palm empty fruit bunch biochar derived heterogeneous solid catalyst using 4-benzenediazonium sulfonate. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2019; 390 ():121532.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Steven Lim; Chin Yi Yap; Yean Ling Pang; Kam Huei Wong. 2019. "Biodiesel synthesis from oil palm empty fruit bunch biochar derived heterogeneous solid catalyst using 4-benzenediazonium sulfonate." Journal of Hazardous Materials 390, no. : 121532.