Chien Hwa Chong

• BEng, PhD, CEng MIChemE, PEng
• Professor (Associate) at University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus

A formulated photocurable poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) and 2-hydroxylethyl methacrylate (HEMA) polymer matrix (PEGDA:HEMA) was developed for constructing an adsorptive 3D cubic monolith using masked stereolithography (MSLA) 3D-printing technique. A pure PEGDA formulation served as a control in comparative studies. Additionally, two stru...

Plants contain a wide variety of bioactive compounds, which have attracted the interest of researchers in finding novel sources of natural medicine. In the following paper, we aim to evaluate the antibacterial potential of extract fractions associated with Parkia speciosa pods and beans against human pathogenic bacteria. Antimicrobial activity was...

In the original publication [...]

With the rapid advancement of three dimensional (3D) printing technology that offers flexibility to achieve desired surface area and permeability for wastewater applications, structural topology design has the potential to significantly improve the adsorption performance. This present work involves fabricating the green water technology with four d...

Access to clean water is a fundamental problem that has been emphasized by the United Nations and World Health Organization. Water is one of the vital necessities for humans to stay alive and prevent disease. However, due to the increasing world population and climate change, it is predicted water resources will be stressed and limited due to poor...

The emergence and rapid evolution of human pathogenic viruses, combined with the difficulties in developing effective vaccines, underline the need to develop innovative broad-spectrum antiviral therapeutic agents. The present study aims to determine the in silico antiviral potential of six bacterial antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), two phytochemicals...

A novel and newly developed 3D-printed poly (ethylene glycol) monolith grafted with chitosan was fabricated by adopting a robust approach, combining 3D printing technology and surface grafting to improve the adsorption capacity. In present work, response surface methodology (RSM) approach was used to investigate the controlling factors of dipping t...

This study compared the effects of three drying techniques on Citrus hystrix leaves: convective hot air drying (CAD), microwave vacuum drying (MVD), and convective hot air pre‐drying followed by microwave vacuum finishing drying (CPD‐MVFD). As a control, freeze‐drying (FD) was employed. As a result, the modified Page model best described the drying...

Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) system is popular in most islands and coastal areas around the world with limited fresh water resources. A SWRO system was designed to fulfil 50% of the population water demand in Cape Town, South Africa, which can lead up to 383,353 m3/day in the next 15 years. The total dissolved solid (TDS) within the product (i.e...

The management of insect pests and fungal diseases that cause damage to crops has become challenging due to the rise of pesticide and fungicide resistance. The recent developments in studies related to plant-derived essential oil products has led to the discovery of a range of phytochemicals with the potential to combat pesticide and fungicide resi...

The fluoride removal capability of a new industrial-based chemical coagulant (Formula A) in one-and two-stage coagulation treatments was investigated in present study. Three main controlling factors, the coagulant concentration , reaction time and the initial pH of Formula A were studied on the fluoride removal accordingly, with the aid of other co...

The objective of this study is to optimise the wastewater treatment plant of poultry industry. The optimisation of simulation model was done using the SuperPRO designer as simulator. The performance of the wastewater treatment plant for the poultry industry has improved significantly at the minimum cost. The COD value reduced from 133 mg/L to 0.05...

Drying is considered as the most common and fundamental technique for the postharvest preservation of herbs and is regarded as an excellent process to retain bioactive compounds. Past studies suggest that the choice of drying method and the parameters applied can influence the chemical and biological activities of herbs because pronounced differenc...

The adoption of the landfill method for chemical sludge management is an issue of concern as landfill leachates can cause negative impacts on the environment. Furthermore, the high moisture content in chemical sludge has resulted in higher disposal costs due to its heavyweight. This research study is conducted to determine the optimum thermal dewat...

The preservation of herbs during post-harvest operations is crucial in maintaining their potency. The preservation of Malaysian rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) was investigated by determining the effect of various drying processes on active volatile components and their respective bioactivities. The drying processes included convective drying...

The combined chemical and natural coagulant showed greater fluoride ion removal in synthetic hydrofluoric acid wastewater when compared to natural coagulant or chemical coagulant treatment alone. The impact of applying fibrous thin film on the coagulation activity was assessed in this study. In this study, a new chemical coagulant called Ecogent F-...

A critical review on drying of low rank coal drying using conventional air-drying, fluidised bed drying and microwave drying methods. The parameters of different drying methods that affected the water effective diffusivity values were identified and critically discussed in details including hot air temperatures, flow rates, particle sizes, particle...

This study aims to reduce the amount of specific energy consumed during the drying of fresh Murraya koenigii leaves by comparing four drying methods: (1) convective hot-air drying (CD; 40, 50 and 60 °C); (2) single-stage microwave-vacuum drying (MVD; 6, 9 and 12 W/g); (3) two-stage convective hot-air pre-drying followed by microwave-vacuum finishin...

Malaysia’s oleochemical processing industry uses crude palm oil as the main source of process feedstocks. Physical–chemical treatment methods such as coagulation and flocculation processes are widely used to pre-treat oleochemical effluent followed by biological treatment to meet Standard A/B as required by the Department of Environment (DOE). Esta...

The preservation of active constituents in Cassia alata through the removal of moisture is crucial in producing a final product with high antioxidant activity. This study aims to determine the influences of various drying methods and drying conditions on the antioxidant activity, volatiles and phytosterols content of C. alata. The drying methods us...

Drying is an important process in the preservation of antioxidants in medicinal plants. In this study, leaves of Phyla nodiflora, or commonly known as frog fruit, were dried using convective drying (CD) at 40, 50, and 60 °C; vacuum-microwave drying (VMD) at 6, 9, and 12 W/g; and convective pre-drying followed by vacuum-microwave finish drying (CPD–...

The preservation of active constituents in fresh herbs is affected by drying methods. An effective drying method for Strobilanthes crispus which is increasingly marketed as an important herbal tea remains to be reported. This study evaluated the effects of conventional and new drying technologies, namely vacuum microwave drying methods, on the anti...

Drying is considered as the most common and fundamental technique for the postharvest preservation of herbs and is regarded as a good process to retain bioactive compounds. Past studies suggest that the choice of drying method and the parameters applied were able to influence the chemical and biological activities of herbs because pronounced differ...

The coagulation activity of Moringa oleifera seed and Hibiscus esculentus (okra) mucilage were assessed for their ability to remove both anionic and cationic contaminants in aluminium sulphate and hydrofluoric acid synthetic wastewater. The effect of encasing these coagulants in a fibrous thin film along with their effect on pH and concentration we...

The phenolic constituents in Piper betle are well known for their antioxidant potential; however, current literature has very little information on their stability under the influence of storage factors. Present study evaluated the stability of total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity together with individual phenolic constituents (hyd...

Present study investigated the extraction kinetics of antioxidants from Piper betle by ultrasound-assisted extraction for three extraction variables: temperature, solute to solvent ratio and ethanol concentration. Based on the results of yield, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity, the optimum results were obtained at 50°C, 1:20 g/mL and...

In this study, a modified submerged membrane reactor was investigated as a new configuration for efficient enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis. From the results, effectiveness of ultrafiltration was increased due to the complete glucose permeation and enzyme retention up to 80%. Intermittent product removal at 50% volume replacement was better because i...

Process design involved drying and purification technologies that are essential for herbal processing industry. These techniques are used to retain bioactive compounds of herbs during their processing. In this chapter, herb drying and purification techniques were simulated using process simulation software PRO/II v9.3 (Schneider Electric, 2015). Be...

This chapter aims to provide a step-by-step guide in simulating an integrated process flowsheet using SimSci PRO/II (Schneider Electric, 2015). The concept of simulation is based on sequential modular approach and follows the onion model for flowsheet synthesis (see Chapter 1 for details). The case study on n-octane production (Example 1.1) is used...

As mentioned in Chapter 1, the first step of setting up a process simulation is to define chemical components that involve in the entire process. Note, however, that not all components are available in the database of the simulation software. Hence, one will have to define/register the chemical component(s) before one can make use of them in the si...

Chemical Engineering Process Simulation is ideal for students, early career researchers, and practitioners, as it guides you through chemical processes and unit operations using the main simulation softwares that are used in the industrial sector. This book will help you predict the characteristics of a process using mathematical models and compute...

The piping network system has been implemented in houses, buildings, and industries so it is important to increase the efficiency of this system. This paper illustrates the concept of improving the piping network system by reducing the pressure loss in 90: bend. Losses are the main problems for piping as it consumes energy and increase the cost and...

Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose in the conventional batch reactors is severely affected by product inhibition due to the accumulation of glucose inside. The approach of using ultrafiltration membranes has created an effective way for simultaneously glucose removal and enzyme recovery with two main configurations of membrane reactors developed by...

Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose in the conventional batch reactors is severely affected by product inhibition due to the accumulation of glucose inside. The approach of using ultrafiltration membranes has created an effective way for simultaneously glucose removal and enzyme recovery with two main configurations of membrane reactors developed by...

The conceive – design – implement – operate educational framework is implemented by educators to generate graduates who are able to tackle complex engineering challenges. A set of 12 standards define this framework and how to implement it. Taylor’s School of Engineering has been part of this framework for the past six years and utilises it in the d...

Polypropylene (PP) is a typical polymorphic polymer with α-form, β-form, γ-form, and mesomorphic smectic form modifications, and crystallizes into diverse morphologies. In this book, Chapter One comprehensively reviews the kinds of self-assembly β-nucleating agents and the manipulation strategies in the practical processing to control the crystal s...

Herbs are well known for medicinal purposes throughout human history. Benefits and applications of herbs have been well known and used in traditional medicine since centuries ago, including healing of different diseases, maintaining and restoring body balances. Bioactive compounds in the herbs is recognised as compounds that help in defencing human...

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of using coconut coir and polypropylene as thermal insulators for a solar air collector. The absorber of the solar collector is made of an aluminium plate with area of 20.0 × 47.0 cm2 and thickness of 3.0 mm in the form of rectangular shape. The solar collector wall was made of plywood with 1...

Peak Demand is a major concern in addressing the commercial or industrial buildings energy saving strategy. Taylor’s university lakeside campus (TULC) electricity peak demand consumption is about 30% the total consumption. The charges for the peak demand are about 200 times that of the normal power consumption. On top of this, there is a penalty fu...

Application of porous material in acoustic panel has shown its effectiveness to control noise in term of sound absorption. Optimizing synthetic fiber as resource in current market contributed several issues related to the depletion of environment. Hence, engineer has turned to natural fiber from agriculture waste as alternative strategic solution....

A new strategy for engineering education has been developing since the early 1960s as a reaction to the new era after the World War II. By the 1980s, the new educational system has evolved with a strong emphasis on technical fundamentals. Accordingly, a list of new Learning Outcomes became the cornerstone as a result of many years of surveying, con...

Plectranthus amboinicus (PA) is one of the herbal plants that traditionally used to cure asthma, coughs and diseases affected by virus and bacteria. The objectives of this study were to extract essential oil from the leaves of this plant and optimise the extraction parameters using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The PA leaves were dried us...

Apple cubes of 15 mm were dried naturally without adding any chemical preservative using various drying methods namely intermittent hot air–dehumidified air drying with cyclic temperature profile and step-up temperature profile, heat-pump-assisted (HP) drying, convective vacuum-microwave (C/VM) drying, and heat pump vacuum-microwave (HP/VM) drying....

The effect of chamber pressure of a freeze dryer on essential oil contents, drying kinetics, drying characteristics lemon balm leaves and morphology of lemon balm glandular trichomes (oil reservoirs) were investigated. It was found that overall freeze drying (FD) carried out at high (FD-HP) and low pressure (FD-LP) settings consist of sublimation r...

Excessive exposure to noise is harmful for human health. Noise-induced hearing loss is one prevalent disorder resulted from above case. One root solution that converts the unnecessary sound waves to dissipated heat energy is acoustic absorption panel. Previous studies had looked upon potential sound-absorbing resources corresponding to natural fibe...

The effect of chamber pressure of a freeze dryer on essential oil contents, drying kinetics, drying characteristics lemon balm leaves and morphology of lemon balm glandular trichomes (oil reservoirs) were investigated. It was found that overall freeze drying (FD) carried out at high (FD-HP) and low pressure (FD-LP) settings consist of sublimation r...

The drying of Piper betle Linn (betel) leaf extract using a lab scale spray dryer was simulated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Three different turbulent models (standard k-ε, RNG k-ε and realizable k-ε) were used in the present study to determine the most suitable model for predicting the flow profile. Parametric studies were also conduc...

Plectranthus amboinicus (PA) is one of the herbal plants that traditionally used to cure asthma, coughs and diseases affected by virus and bacteria. The objectives of this study were to extract essential oil from the leaves of the plant and optimise the extraction parameters using Research Surface Methodology (RSM). The PA leaves were dried using...

Programme Outcomes (POs) in the context of engineering education consists of a set of desired attributes which is to be possessed by an engineering graduate. POs are typically defined as a set of outcomes which is to be attained by an engineering graduate upon completion of the programme (or during graduation). In order to ascertain the attainment...

Part fulfilment of providing an engineering programme which implements outcome based education includes various outcomes that are tied to what the graduate should achieve after, during and before graduation. The programme outcomes are specifically crafted to encapsulate attributes that must be attained by a student upon graduation. The following pa...

This paper focuses on providing a template of how to practice Continual Quality Improvement (CQI) in an Engineering Undergraduate Programme. At the inception of the programme, the academic curriculum is based upon the notion of the type of graduate an institution of higher learning would like to produce. Hence, a graduate of a particular institutio...

Programme Outcomes (POs) in the context of engineering education consists of a set of desired attributes which is to be possessed by an engineering graduate. POs are typically defined as a set of outcomes which is to be attained by an engineering graduate upon completion of the programme (or during graduation). In order to ascertain the attainment...

Uneven hardness and difficulty in masticating dried fruits are common product quality problems. The product rejection rate is relatively high due to these problems. This study found that the textural attributes of dried fruits can be controlled or standardized by applying novel drying techniques, viz. intermittent hot air–dehumidified air drying. I...

An intermittent hot air dehumidified air dryer, a heat pump dryer and a convective vacuum microwave dryer was designed and manufactured to dried fruits product. Fresh apple, pear, ciku, papaya and mango were chosen as raw materials. The decreased of moisture ratio with drying time were modeled using semi-empirical Page equation. This model gave exc...

Sun drying of ciku (Manilkara zapota) was carried out on different sample sizes to investigate the effects on drying kinetics. It was found that the maximum drying rates of sun-dried ciku decreased with larger product size. Three sunny days are needed to dry the ciku slabs to an average final moisture content of 0.2 g H2O/g dry mass. The results sh...

Sun drying of chempedak (Artocarpus integer) was carried out on different sample sizes to investigate the effects on product quality. Fick's second law model was used to determine the effective diffusivities of sun–dried chempedak slabs based on the drying rate versus moisture content plots. In addition, texture degradation and total color changes...

The objective of this study was to investigate the drying kinetics of chempedak (Artocarpus integer) at different drying temperatures (50°C, 60°C, 70°C) and slab dimensions. The drying data were fitted to the different semi-theoretical models based on moisture ratio (MR) to predict the drying kinetics. A logarithmic model was found to be the best f...