AMSET Research Group Strategic Planning Writing Workshop

In the era where research grants reduces, diminish and shrink, I was invited to this program to share about Research Grant Opportunities for UTM Researchers. It’s best to focus our effort more on industrial and international research grants. That’s the way to go. Thanks AMSET RG for inviting me as a speaker.

Hopefully the sharing was fruitful and beneficial to AMSET members, as well as the students. InsyaAllah.

After lunch I missed Dr. Ilyas inspiring sharing. I heard his sharing was aspiring!

FB Source and Linkedin source for more pics

#20242025 Day 001

New Publication: Thermodynamic Analysis of Glycerol Dry Reforming to Hydrogen at Low Pressure (Editor’s Choice)

Alhamdulillah, today, the work of my SPACE FYP student, Hafiz, has been published in the Chemical Process Engineering journal, under Semarak International Journal.

Brief information about the paper:

Hydrogen plays a vital role in the chemical industry, with about 95% of global production currently sourced from fossil fuels such as methane (CH₄). However, dry reforming technologies face significant challenges, including raw material limitations, efficiency concerns, and integration-related safety issues. Glycerol, a by-product of biodiesel production, presents a sustainable and promising alternative feedstock for hydrogen generation. This study investigates the thermodynamics of glycerol dry reforming using the HSC Chemistry software. By applying total Gibbs free energy minimization, the influence of various reaction conditions—including temperature (300°C–1000°C), pressure (0.001–1.0 bar), and glycerol-to-CO₂ ratios (1:1, 1:3, 1:5, 3:1, and 5:1)—was evaluated on hydrogen (H₂) and carbon monoxide (CO) production. The results indicate that hydrogen is the dominant product, with optimal yields achieved at 783 K, 1 bar, and a glycerol-to-CO₂ ratio of 5:1. Additionally, at reduced pressure (0.001 bar) and lower temperature (573 K), higher glycerol concentrations further enhanced hydrogen output. These findings highlight glycerol’s potential to improve the efficiency and economic viability of the dry reforming process, particularly under low-pressure conditions.

Link for the paper: https://semarakilmu.my/index.php/sijcpe/article/view/334/760

Here is the June 2025 publication of the journal: https://semarakilmu.my/index.php/sijcpe/issue/view/205

Day 019 (25/26) – Presented as Keynote Speaker – International conference on Advanced Research in Engineering, Technology and Innovation Manageent 2025 (ICARETIM2025)

Amid the discussion with HiCOE IKG this morning, I asked for permission to step out briefly as I had to present a keynote at a conference. Thank you to Anis Amira Wan Ranizang for helping to prepare the slides and paper for the conference. Luckily, everything was conducted online, and thank you to IKG for lending me a room so I could deliver the keynote comfortably.

Here is the Tentative Schedule: https://semarakilmu.com.my/journals/index.php/ICARETIM2025/Program_Schedule

Expertise Summary – Ir. Ts. Dr. Zaki Yamani Zakaria (for Erasmus Grant)

Expertise Summary – Ir. Ts. Dr. Zaki Yamani Zakaria

 Ir. Ts. Dr. Zaki Yamani Zakaria is from the School of Chemical & Energy Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). His main research interests are in catalytic reaction engineering, engineering education, green related technology, and safety and health. He is presently a fellow researcher in the Center of Engineering Education (CEE), UTM. Previously, he practiced as a Project Engineer (2003-2005) and Process Engineer (2005-2008). Dr. Zaki has published his research works in various reputable journals, international conferences and book chapters. In 2018 he published his own book, “Ramblings of a Chemical Engineer”, which has been well received by fellow chemical engineers from Malaysia and around the globe. Dr. Zaki actively shares chemical engineering related information in his Chemical Engineering Facebook Page (facebook.com/ChemicalEngineeringWorld/) which up till now has 40k followers. His first ever blog, Chemical Engineering World (chem-eng.blogspot.com/), was selected as the Top 10 Chemical Engineering Blogs in the internet in 2019. He and his team recently won Gold Medal in 2019 International Conference and Exposition on Invention by Institution of Higher Learning (Pecipta 2019) in UTHM, Gold Medal in New Academia Learning Innovation (NALI 2019) and Best NALI 2019 Award in UTM for various innovations in student-centred-learning approach.

 

My Biography for PIPOC 2019

Biography (As submitted for PIPOC 2019)

Ir. Ts. Dr. Zaki Yamani Zakaria

 Ir. Ts. Dr. Zaki Yamani Zakaria has been with the School of Chemical & Energy Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) since 2008. His main research interests are in catalytic reaction engineering, engineering education, green related technology, and safety and health. He is presently a fellow researcher in the Center of Engineering Education (CEE), UTM. He obtained his Ph.D (Chemical Engineering) UTM (2013). Before joining the faculty, he has been practicing as a Project Engineer (2003-2005) and Process Engineer (2005-2008). Ir. Dr. Zaki Yamani Zakaria became a Professional Engineer (BEM) and Chartered Engineer (IChemE) in 2010. He was appointed as a Professional Technologist in 2018 by Malaysia Board of Technologist (MBOT).

Ir. Ts. Dr. Zaki Yamani Zakaria presently supervises 7 postgraduate students. He has published his research works in various reputable journals, international conferences, book chapters (including Wiley Publisher) and others. In 2018 he published his own book, “Ramblings of a Chemical Engineer”, which has been read and well received by fellow chemical engineers from Malaysia and around the globe. Ir. Ts. Dr. Zaki Yamani Zakaria actively writes in his official FCEE staff website (people.utm.my/zakiyamani/) as well as shares chemical engineering related information in his Chemical Engineering Facebook Page (facebook.com/ChemicalEngineeringWorld/) which up till now has 37k followers. His first ever blog, Chemical Engineering World (chem-eng.blogspot.com/), was recently selected as the Top 10 Chemical Engineering Blogs in the internet. He and his team recently won Gold Medal in 2019 International Conference and Exposition on Invention by Institution of Higher Learning (Pecipta 2019) in UTHM, Gold Medal in New Academia Learning Innovation (NALI 2019) and Best NALI 2019 Award in UTM for various innovations in student-centred-learning approach.

Regional Conference in Engineering Education (RCEE) & Research in Higher Education (RHeD) 2020

If you are an engineering educator and would like to share your scholarly contribution and improvement that you have made in your engineering teachings, this is a spectacular platform for you!

Just prepare an extended abstract (2 pages only) and submit before 10 February 2020.

My Typical Day As A Chemical Engineering Lecturer

My typical day in office when not in class, meeting or others. Shot was taken last Sunday.

https://youtu.be/2j18gYEq3dQ

Congratulations PM Ir. Dr. Mohamed Sultan Bin Mohamed Ali

I would like to congratulate Assoc. Prof. Ir. Dr. Mohamed Sultan bin Mohamed Ali from Faculty of Engineering for receiving research grant worth RM1.2 million from Microtronics Technology Sdn. Bhd. for research titled Failure Analysis Methods and Processes in Electronics Manufacturing Industry.  

Congrats Prof Dr. Syed Abdul Rahman

 

Very inspiring! Very proud indeed.

I would like to congratulate Prof. Dr. Syed Abdul Rahman bin Syed Abu Bakar from Faculty of Engineering with a collaboration of Dr. Adel Hafiz from Taibah University for winning a research grant worth 1.8 million Saudi Riyal from the RDO International Collaboration Grant for their research proposal titled “Smart Video-Based Crowd Surveillance and Management System for Pilgrimages in the Holy places of Makkah and Madina”.

This is something that we academician should do and contribute.

Quantum Computings Potential Impact on Chemicals

The chemical industry is poised to be an early beneficiary of the vastly expanded modeling and computational capabilities of quantum computing. Companies must act now to capture the benefits.

Over the past several years, quantum computing has been the subject of a lot of hype. Work underway in the field at tech giants such as IBM and Google has been extensively reported, and this interest has been mirrored by investments in the quantum-computing field by players from a broad array of industries, including the chemical industry. We have been following these developments, and our assessment is that quantum computing could potentially be a game changer for chemical companies.

Continue reading this informative article here: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/chemicals/our-insights/the-next-big-thing-quantum-computings-potential-impact-on-chemicals