PENANG, 20 August 2014 - Three undergraduate students – Leslie Ewe Fang Jun, Muhammad Zamani Zakaria and Vjayan a/l Thrumakunasagran – from USM School of Chemical Engineering invented a natural biodegradable and non-toxic coagulant derived from G. hylocereus plant to treat wastewater.

Vjayan said that chemical-based coagulants such as potassium aluminium sulphate (alum) and polyaluminium chloride (PAC) were used to treat wastewater and the aluminium compounds that dissolved in the water might cause Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological diseases such as pre-senile dementia.

“Instead of using alum or PAC, we use Dragon fruit (G. hylocereus) which produces biodegradable and non-toxic coagulant for waste water treatment.

“It can easily be produced because of its abundance and is relatively inexpensive to cultivate anywhere in Malaysia,” he said.

Among the advantages of this coagulant in treating waste water are that it is biodegradable, non-toxic, environment-friendly, and is cheap to produce.

Vjayan said that the treated wastewater is free from any toxic aluminium compounds and the treated water is clearer than that treated with alum or PAC within a few days.

This innovative product is among the 118 research project ideas exhibited by ambitious young researchers from 21 public and private institutions of higher learning of Malaysia and ASEAN countries at the Novel Research and Innovation Competition 2014 (NRIC 2014) held at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) from 19 to 22 August 2014.

The research project ideas are divided into six categories for judging purposes; they are Fundamental Science, Life Science, Information Technology & Communication, Engineering & Technology, Health & Medical Science, Social Transformation & Creative Arts.

NRIC 2014 was launched today by USM Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dato’ Dr. Omar Osman. Also present were Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students Affairs and Development) Professor Dr. Adnan Hussein and NRIC 2014 project director, Zhameir Shafiq Mohd Ilias.

The four-day exhibition-cum-competition is open to the public, ranging from school students to professionals and people from the industry. - Text & Photo: Mina Seifi