Dr. Tan Jian Ping & Team Publish on Durian Peel Sugar Recovery in Ultrasonics Sonochemistry
The Research and Postgraduate Centre congratulates Sim Xue Yan, Asst. Prof. Dr. Tan Jian Ping, from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Prof. Dr. Yeap Swee Keong and Dr. Erik Hui Yew Woh from the China-ASEAN College of Marine Sciences (CAMS) for publishing their research in Ultrasonics Sonochemistry. Ultrasonics Sonochemistry is an SCI Q1 journal dedicated to publishing quality research articles on chemical reactions and reactors induced by ultrasonic waves, with an impact factor of 8.7.
It is an collaborative research project with Prof. He Ning (Xiamen University China), Malaysia Government-Linked Company Sime Darby Plantation Research (SDPR), Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB), National University of Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Teknologi MARA.
With the title “Fermentable sugar recovery from durian peel by using ultrasound-assisted chemical pretreatment”, the manuscript highlighted that durian peel, an abundant waste in Malaysia, could be a potential substrate for fermentable sugar recovery for value-added biochemical production. Common pretreatments such as acid or alkaline pretreatment require extensive solid washing, which generates wastewater. Herein, this study aims to introduce sonication, on top of chemical pretreatment, to destruct lignin and reduce the chemical usage during the durian peel pretreatment process.
“I hope future research builds upon these findings can further explore the potential applications of combining ultrasound and chemical pretreatment, particularly in optimizing the recovery of fermentable sugars from various types of biomass, including durian peel waste, ” said Sim Xue Yan, the first author of the article.
This research is supported by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia through the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) (Project Number FRGS/1/2020/TK0/XMU/03/2), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Project Number TDF07211418), and Xiamen University Research Fund (Project Number XMUMRF/2022- C10/IENG/0047).

Sim Xue Yan

The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ultsonch.2024.106811
