UTP Students Triumphs at the Indonesia Chemical Engineering Challenge 2024
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) students made a remarkable achievement at the prestigious Indonesia Chemical Engineering Challenge (IChEC) 2024 held at the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) Indonesia.
The event, hosted annually by the ITB’s Chemical Engineering Students Association, is the largest chemical engineering competition in the region, gathering enthusiasts to showcase and compete their skills and ideas.
This year's theme, "Enhancing Energy Transition to Obtain Net Zero Emission Towards Green Economy," aligns with UTP's commitment to sustainability and innovation in industrial processes.
Neshwign Chandrasehgaran and Aunaath Nair Pathmanathan impressed the judges, securing a well-deserved 1st runner-up position in the Business Case Category. Their project focused on devising strategic recommendations for PT MNO, an Indonesian company specialising in recycled paper manufacturing, to achieve its net-zero emission target.
The project aimed to offer actionable insights and transformative solutions to empower PT MNO in its journey toward sustainability and carbon neutrality. Their exceptional talent showcase earned them a well-deserved IDR 4,500,000 (about RM1,300).
Apart from that, an honorable mention went to Kenneth Chong Yih Haur, Cindy Lau Jen Ding, and Kelvin Chung Jun Ket for their commendable efforts as finalists in the Plant Design category.
To design low-carbon processes that produce sustainable and high-value products from various resources, considering safety, technical, environmental, and economic aspects, they showcased a "Waste-to-Energy" concept. Their idea involved a plant that converts oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB), an abundant oil palm waste in Indonesia, into hydrogen using a CO2-enhanced gasification process.
For their achievement, Neshwign and Aunaath acknowledged Dr Nor Adilla Rashidi's invaluable supervision, which played a pivotal role in their success.
“We hope that our winning not only inspires current students to do more with their abilities but also showcases the calibre of talent fostered at UTP,” said Neshwign.
The participation of Dr Ir Dadan Kusdiana, the Director General of the New Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia, who shared his insights with the participants on creating a sustainable future, further enriched the experience.
In essence, these accomplishments foresee the potentially impactful contributions these students can make in the future, enhancing and advancing crucial domains within UTP or within the industry at large.
UTP is proud of these outstanding students and their remarkable achievements, which solidify the university's commitment to nurturing future sustainability leaders. The university actively supports PETRONAS' vision to achieve Net Zero Carbon Emission (NZCE) by 2050 by integrating this principle into its curriculum, research, and student experiences.
