JOHOR BARU: UNIVERSITI Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students have created a portable biodiesel mini reactor for research and education initiatives to fuel Malaysia's transition into a global hub of intellectual excellence.
The work of 19 undergraduates from the Faculties of Chemical Engineering and Petroleum and Renewable Energy, the mini reactor costs only RM15,000 to make and was completed in two months.
Leader of the student team, Khairul Iman Khidruzzak, 22, said the mini reactor was capable of producing 15 litres of biodiesel in two hours.
"Biodiesel plays an important role in the preservation of the ecosystem because its smoke emission is cleaner than that of diesel.
"Moreover, the reactor converts cooking oil into biodiesel, which indirectly solves the problem of proper disposal of used cooking oil," he said at a recent press conference at UTM.
Khairul said the mini-sized reactor was more portable compared with the conventional models.
"At the moment, we are using the mini reactors for research and education purposes because we want to attract teenagers to the field of engineering.
"If the opportunity arises, we will commercialise and market the reactor to promote biodiesel as a viable, green replacement for diesel as fuel," he said.
Faculty of Chemical Engineering senior lecturer Dr Norzita Ngadi, who acted as adviser to the team, commended the students for their their work.
"Coming up with an innovation that can help the country and enhance the reputation of the university is no easy feat. This is an achievement that we can all be proud of," Norzita said.