The Research and Postgraduate Centre congratulates Lu Yichen, Asst. Prof. ChM. Dr. Lai Sin Yuan, and Asst. Prof. Dr. Noraini Mohd from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering on the publication of their recent research article in Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, an SCIE Q1 journal with a latest Impact Factor of 7.0. 

Lu Yichen, the first author of the article, is an undergraduate student in the Bachelor's programme in New Energy Science and Engineering. She will be pursuing a Master's degree in Electrochemical Propulsion Engineering at University College London starting in September 2026. 

The review article, titled “From biomass to bio-methanol: Catalytic innovations and global perspectives for renewable fuel production”, focuses on the design of catalysts in bio-methanol production from biomass. Driven by rising energy demands and climate change, there is an urgent need to transition to sustainable fuels like bio-methanol, a renewable liquid fuel made from organic wastes like wood leftovers, rotting trash, and household garbage. Bio-methanol offers a clean alternative for "hard-to-clean" sectors like global shipping and heavy manufacturing that cannot easily run-on electricity. While scientists can produce this fuel by carbonization wastes at extreme temperatures or using microbes to generate gas, a major bottleneck remains: the standard chemical matchmaking agents, called catalysts, degrade quickly when exposed to the high moisture levels found in organic waste gases. To overcome this, scientists are engineering next-generation catalysts using metal mixed oxides, specialized biological enzymes, and light-activated materials that can simultaneously convert toxic waste products into valuable energy. By bridging the gap between microscopic chemistry and large-scale factory engineering, this research maps out how to overcome current financial and technical hurdles, paving a realistic path toward global adoption supported by emerging international green regulations.

The published full article can be accessed at 10.1016/j.seta.2026.105128

This work is financially supported by Xiamen University Malaysia Research Fund (XMUMRF/2025-C15/IENG/0077).

Asst. Prof. ChM. Dr. Lai Sin Yuan's research lies at the cutting edge of sustainability, focusing on green chemistry, materials science, nanomaterials, photocatalysis, biomass, biofuels, biopolymer, and the integration of machine learning for sustainable development. To date, she has published 44 articles, with 38 indexed in the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection. 

Dr. Lai is currently seeking highly motivated Master's students to join her dynamic research team. If you are eager to work on impactful, sustainable technologies, please contact her directly at sinyuan.lai@xmu.edu.my.