BIOGRAPHY

In 2016, Dr. Yee Kian Fei obtained his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), in the research of “Multi-walled carbon nanotubes as pervaporation buckypaper membranes and catalysts for etherification reaction”. In 2011, he has completed Master of Science (M.Sc) degree in the School of Chemical Engineering, USM, in the research of “Production of biodiesel from Jatropha Curcas L. oil catalyzed by SO42-/ZrO2”. In 2009, he was invited by the Department of Chemical Engineering of National Taiwan University (NTU) as a visiting scholar in the research of “Synthesis of heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production”. He has a 7-year experiences as an academia and he has supervised 30-final year projects and 12-group capstone projects (Plant Design) by 2023. He is one of the associate editors of Progress in Energy and Environment (ProgEE) from 2019 to 2020 and he has published numerous international publications including peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers and chapter in books. Furthermore, he is the principle investigator of Xiamen University Research Fund (XMUMRF) on the project of “Studies on the transformation of waste eggs shell and durian fruit biomass into derived catalysts for biodiesel production from non-edible parts of fish waste oil”, from 2020 to 2024. Currently, he is a graduate engineer of Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), an associate member of IChemE and a member of Golden Key International Honour Society. Besides that, he is one of the advisors of IEM-XMUM Student Section, XMUM IChemE Student Chapter, Rotaract Club and Yanan Chinese Orchestra Society in Xiamen University Malaysia.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Catalysis and reaction engineering, Petrochemicals and oil refining, Process optimization, Renewable and green technology, Nanocarbon-based materials, Catalytic membrane and pervaporation, Essential oil extraction, Natural biosorbents and water treatment, Food waste valorization

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

• Doctor of Philosophy (Chemical Engineering), School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia (2016)

• Master of Science (Chemical Engineering), School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia (2011)

• Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical Engineering, Honours), School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia (2008)

WORKING EXPERIENCE  

• Assistant Professor & Lead of Quality Assurance of Chemical Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM), Malaysia (2019-present)

• Lecturer & Final Year Project Co-ordinator, Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Science and Engineering, Manipal International University (MIU), Nilai Campus, Malaysia (2016-2019)

• Academic Tutor, School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia (2010-2011)

• Visiting Scholar, National Taiwan University (NTU), Department of Chemical Engineering, Taipei, Taiwan (2009)

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE / GRANTS

(A)  Associate Editor

Associate editor of Progress in Energy and Environment (ProgEE); 2019-2020

(B)  Peer Reviewer

Bioresource Technology, Chemical Engineering Communications Journal, International Research Journal of Power and Energy Engineering, Advanced Journal of Agricultural Research, British Biotechnology Journal, Revista Mexicana de Ingeniería Química, Progress in Energy and Environment, SN Applied Sciences, Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization and Environmental Effects, South African Journal of Chemical Engineering, International Conference on Environmental Research and Technology (ICERT 2015)

(C)  Conference Organizing Committee

[1] Finance committee member of 1st International Conference on Energy Materials (ICEM) in Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM), Malaysia (5-8th November 2021)

[2] Scientific committee of 7th International Conference on Environment 2020, Malaysia (8-10th December 2020)

[3] Co-convenor & scientific/technical committee member of 1st International Conference on Contemporary Issues (ICCI’19) in Manipal International University (MIU), Malaysia (27-28th March 2019)

[4] Postgraduate committee member of International Conference on Environment 2012 (ICENV 2012) in University Sains Malaysia (USM), Malaysia (11-13th December 2012)

(D)  Grant

Principle Investigator; Xiamen University Research Fund (XMUMRF), 2020-2024; Grant Number: XMUMRF/2020-C5/IENG/0028; Vote Number: IENG/0028; RM60,000; Project: “Studies on the transformation of waste eggs shell and durian fruit biomass into derived catalysts for biodiesel production from non-edible parts of fish waste oil”.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

(A) Peer-Reviewed Articles (* denotes corresponding author)

[1] Low, Y. W. and Yee, K. F.* (2021). ‘A review on lignocellulosic biomass waste into biochar-derived catalyst: Current conversion techniques, sustainable applications and challenges’ Biomass and Bioenergy, Volume 154: 106245.

[2] Santya, G., Maheswaran, T. & Yee, K. F.* (2019), ‘Optimization of biodiesel production from high free fatty acid river catfish oil (Pangasius Hypothalamus) and waste cooking oil catalyzed by waste chicken egg shells derived catalyst’, SN Applied Sciences, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 1-9

[3] Yee, K. F., Ng, E. P., Mohamed, A. R., Adam, F. & Tan, S. H. (2016), ‘Functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes as heterogeneous lewis acid catalysts in the etherification reaction of tert-butyl alcohol and ethanol’, Chemical Engineering Communications, vol. 203, no. 10, pp. 1385-1394. (SCI, 196/449, Chemical, Chemistry (miscellaneous))

[4] Yee, K. F., Ong, Y. T., Mohamed, A. R. & Tan, S. H. (2014), 'Novel MWCNT-buckypaper/polyvinyl alcohol asymmetric membrane for dehydration of etherification reaction mixture: Fabrication, characterisation and application', Journal of Membrane Science, vol. 453, no. 0, pp.  546-555. (SCI, 1/18, Chemical Engineering, Filtration and separation)

[5] Yee, K. F., Mohamed, A. R. & Tan, S. H. (2013), 'A review on the evolution of ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) and its future prospects', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 22, no. 0, pp.  604-620. (SCI, 8/395, Energy, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the environment)

[6] Yee, K. F., Lee, K. T., Abdullah, A. Z. & Wu, J. C. S. (2013), 'An Alternative Route for the Preparation of Sulfated Zirconia Loaded on Alumina (SZA) for Biodiesel Production: An Optimization Study', Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, vol. 35, no. 14, pp.  1296-1305. (SCI, 38/95, Energy, Nuclear energy and engineering)

[7] Shuit, S. H., Yee, K. F., Lee, K. T., Subhash, B. & Tan, S. H. (2013), 'Evolution towards the utilisation of functionalised carbon nanotubes as a new generation catalyst support in biodiesel production: An overview', RSC Advances, vol. 3, no. 24, pp.  9070-9094. (SCI, 52/455, Chemical Engineering, Chemical engineering (miscellaneous))  

[8] Ong, Y. T., Yee, K. F., Cheng, Y. K. & Tan, S. H. (2013), 'A Review on the Use and Stability of Supported Liquid Membranes in the Pervaporation Process', Separation & Purification Reviews, vol. 43, no. 1, pp.  62-88. (SCI, 2/18, Chemical engineering, Filtration and separation)

[9] Yee, K. F., Wu, J. C. S. & Lee, K. T. (2011), 'A green catalyst for biodiesel production from jatropha oil: Optimization study', Biomass and Bioenergy, vol. 35, no. 5, pp.  1739-1746. (SCI, 34/395, Energy, Renewable energy, sustainability and the environment)

[10] Yee, K. F., Lee, K. T., Ceccato, R. & Abdullah, A. Z. (2011), 'Production of biodiesel from Jatropha curcas L. oil catalyzed by SO42-/ZrO2 catalyst: Effect of interaction between process variables', Bioresource Technology, vol. 102, no. 5, pp.  4285-4289. (SCI, 16/395, Energy, Renewable energy, sustainability and the environment)  

[11] Yee, K. F., Kansedo, J. & Lee, K. T. (2010), 'Biodiesel production from palm oil via heterogeneous transesterification: Optimization study', Chemical Engineering Communications, vol. 197, no. 12, pp.  1597-1611. (SCI, 196/449, Chemical, Chemistry (miscellaneous))

[12] Yee, K. F., Tan, K. T., Abdullah, A. Z. & Lee, K. T. (2009), 'Life cycle assessment of palm biodiesel: Revealing facts and benefits for sustainability', Applied Energy, vol. 86, no. SUPPL. 1, pp.189-196. (SCI, 4/273, Energy, Fuel technology)

(B) Book Chapter

[1] Yee, K. F., Yeang, Q. W., Ong, Y. T., Vadivelu, V. M. & Tan, S. H. (2014) Chapter 17: Water Remediation Using Nanoparticle and Nanocomposite Membranes. Nanomaterials for Environmental Protection. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Pp. 269-291

[2] Ong, Y. T., Yee, K. F., Yeang, Q. W., Zein, S. H. S. & Tan, S. H. (2014) Chapter 8: Carbon Nanotubes: Next-generation nanomaterials for clean water technologies. Nanomaterials for Environmental Protection. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Pp. 127-142

HONORS/AWARDS

[1] Scholar of University Sains Malaysia (USM) Fellowship (2008-2014)

[2] Sanggar Sanjung Award for excellent achievement in the category of Journal Publications (2013)

[3] Highly-cited author of the journal articles “Life cycle assessment of palm biodiesel: Revealing facts and benefits for sustainability” by Thomson Reuters Essential Science IndicatorsSM and Web of Science® (2012)

[4] Sanggar Sanjung Award for excellent achievement in the category of Journal Publications (2011)

[5] Dean’s Honour List, University Sains Malaysia (2004-2008)