The Research and Postgraduate Centre congratulates Chew Zhen Li, Phuang Zhen Xin and Associate Professor Ts. Dr. Vincent Woon Kok Sin from XMUM New Energy and Science Engineering (NESE) programme for publishing a research article in Science of the Total Environment (Q1, IF: 10.753). Chew Zhen Li is a fresh graduate of XMUM, while Phuang Zhen Xin is currently a master’s student under the supervision of Dr. Vincent Woon Kok Sin.  

In the paper An Integrated Life-cycle Greenhouse Gas Protocol Accounting on Oil Palm Trunk and Empty Fruit Bunch Biofuel Production, the authors combined life cycle assessment and Greenhouse Gas Protocol into an integrated framework to quantify the direct and indirect carbon emissions of oil palm trunk and empty fruit bunch densification from cradle-to-gate for three pellet plants in Indonesia and Malaysia. The integrated framework revealed that the pellet plants generate 534.7–732.3 kg CO2-eq/tonnepellet per hour, in which Scope 1 (i.e., direct emissions) is the major emission scope due to high emissions from wastewater production and drying fuel combustion. Producing empty fruit bunch pellets could reduce 62.0–74.1 % of carbon emissions than landfilling the empty fruit bunch. This study provides data-driven insights for quantifying carbon emissions through the integrated framework and could be a reference in future life cycle carbon footprint studies of the biomass densification process, which could contribute to the effort in the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) pledge.

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 The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159007 

This research was completed in collaboration with Mr. Tan Eng Hau and Mr. Sathiamurthy A/L Palaniandy from Treehouz Asia Sdn Bhd. 

Image	Chew Zhen Li: “I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor, Dr. Vincent, for guiding me from FYP to the completion of this study, and to Zhen Xin for her assistance. I would also like to thank Mr. Tan and Mr. Sathia from Treehouz Asia for providing me with this opportunity to collaborate with real industry and analyze actual emissions generated from industrial activities. I hope this study would provide a clearer view of the impact brought by utilizing palm wastes as pellet fuel and contribute to future carbon reduction studies.”
Image	Phuang Zhen Xin: "I would to extend my gratitude to Zhen Li and my supervisor, Dr. Vincent for offering me the opportunity to participate in this project. Working with collaborators from the industry field has definitely broadened my horizon beyond the research perspective. The application of an integrated framework has also inspired me that it is essential to always recognize the limitations of research methodologies and improvise the methodologies with scientifically-driven solutions. Upon the publication of this article, I hope that the potential of palm waste densification as a biofuel source will be discovered and fully utilized in achieving the carbon emissions reduction target of Malaysia.”
Image	Ts. Dr. Vincent Woon is an Associate Professor at XMUM School of Energy and Chemical Engineering. His research interests include carbon footprint analysis, life cycle assessment, waste management, green township, building development, and energy optimization. Since joining XMUM, he has received several international awards, including the UNFCCC-GIR-CASTT Fellowship by the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center of Korea and United Nations Climate Change, Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Academy Seminar Fellowship by the US Department of State, CrossCulture Programme Fellowship by the German Federal Foreign Office, and First Prize of the Japanese Award for Outstanding Research on Development by the Global Development Network. He is also a Professional Technologist with the Malaysia Board of Technologists and a Green Real Estate (GreenRE) Accredited Professional of Real Estate & Housing Developers' Association Malaysia.