Circular Process Technology for Environment and Energy (CPTEE)

 iKohza Name: Circular Process Technology for Environment and Energy
 Leader's Name and Title: Assoc. Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Liew Peng Yen
 Deputy Leader : Dr. Nor Ruwaida binti Jamian
 Main Contact Email: pyliew@utm.my
 Location/Office: Level 8, MJIIT
 Website or Social Media: https://mjiit.utm.my/cptee

 Main Research Themes/Keywords :

Sustainability, Circular Economy, Waste Management, Microplastics, Air Pollution, Renewable Energy, Biofuel, Energy Management

 Description of Research Focus Areas:

The Circular Process Technology for Environment and Energy (Air Resources i-Kohza) focuses on developing sustainable process technologies that advance the circular economy, environmental stewardship, and resilient energy systems. The i-Kohza integrates expertise in process engineering, environmental engineering, environmental science, and energy systems to deliver impactful research.
A core research thrust is sustainable waste management and resource circularity. Research activities emphasise waste reduction, recovery, and valorisation using advanced process technologies, including thermal and non-thermal treatment methods and innovative conversion pathways. These efforts enable circular economy implementation by transforming municipal, industrial, and agricultural wastes into value-added products and secondary resources while reducing environmental burdens.
Building on waste-to-resource strategies, the i-Kohza conducts research on sustainable energy production and utilisation, focusing on thermochemical and biochemical pathways such as pyrolysis for bio-oil production, gasification for syngas generation, and biodiesel production from waste-derived feedstocks. Complementary work addresses energy efficiency, process integration, thermal and power systems, hydrogen technologies, and optimisation of industrial energy networks to support decarbonisation and energy security.
Environmental sustainability underpins all activities, with strong emphasis on air quality management, atmospheric pollution assessment, airborne microplastics and particulate matter characterisation, life cycle assessment, carbon accounting, low-carbon community development, and evidence-based environmental policy formulation frameworks and implementation.

 Laboratories Used :

 Key Equipment/Technology Available :

• Lab-Scale Tube Furnace Pyrolyser: Suitable for research and experimentation with various feedstocks and process conditions.
• Subcritical Water-Waste Management System (SCW-WMS): A pilot scale waste management system for various biomass to produce fertiliser in a short time using subcritical water technology
• Computer Aided Process Analysis: Process design, simulation, optimisation and integration with computer aided tools, as well as life cycle assessment and carbon accounting.

• [Waste] Elucidating the Role of Nanofibrillated Cellulose from Empty Fruit Bunch in Enhancing the Mechanical Properties and Structural Synergies of Crosslinked Polyvinyl Alcohol and Starch Bioplastics Through a Subcritical Water-Assisted Mechanistic Study
• [Waste] Conversion of agricultural waste into high nutritional ruminant feed using subcritical water system
• [Environment] Analyzing the Spatiotemporal Distribution and Source of PM10, PM2.5 and Atmospheric Microplastics in Malaysia: Impact of Microplastic Exposure on Inflammation and Immune Responses and Sensor Development
• [Environment] Roadmap towards Zero Waste Kuala Lumpur 2050
• [Energy] Elucidating the Mechanism of Metal-Doped Cerium Oxides/PKSBC on Pyrolysis Performance of Non-Recyclable Polyethylene
• [Energy] Investigating the Integration of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Energy Trading in Industrial Multi-Utility Systems for Enhancing the Multi-Company Industrial Park Sustainability

 Selected Publications :

• WASW Abdullah, PY Liew, I Ismail, WS Ho, KS Woon, 2025, Liquid organic hydrogen carriers energy storage in urban-industrial symbiosis through process integration. Energy 320, 135289
• Y Shen, L Luo, K Chong, Y Yang, D Blersch, V Balasundram, S Shi, L Han, 2025, The targeted removal of aromatic inhibitors in dilute acid prehydrolysate of corn stover by KOH-modified biochar for the efficient production of lactic acid. Journal of Environmental Management 395, 127902
• M Dewika, K Markandan, S Nagaratnam, NA Irfan, MAAM Abdah, J Nor Ruwaida, YY Sara, Mohammad Khalid, 2025, Assessing the concentration, distribution and characteristics of suspended microplastics in the Malaysian indoor environment. Science of the Total Environment 959, 178049
• MH Hamzah, SR Anak Surik, AF Aili Hamzah, MS Mohd Basri, R Shamsudin, MZ Mohd Nor, AH Md Ali, 2025, Development of novel dabai pulp-based marker ink: optimization of process configurations, physico-chemical properties, and morphological analysis. Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery 15 (24), 30943-30962
• NM Huzir, ANR Amin, P Tamunaidu, Y Vadivelu, 2025, Sustainable Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil Using Diatomite as a Catalyst. International Journal of Integrated Engineering 17 (4), 229-242

 Academic Staff :

 Postdocs/Researchers:
 Postgraduate Students:

 Group Photo (recommended):
 Activity or Lab Photos (optional):
 Logo :

 Link to Video:
 Refer to the sample video shared:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uCct65sTQaNmssiLeKSd5RqQP_5EUMfs/view?usp=drive
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