Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) has collaborated with Solution Engineering Holdings Bhd (SEH) in the establishment of a pilot plant capable of producing bio based vegetable oil. The plant will be located in Puchong, Malaysia.

Once completed, the pilot plant will accommodate the production of up to 700 metric tons of bio-based vegetable oil every year,” said the SEH Managing Director Barry Lim. The product is expected to be in the market by 2010, Lim added.

Lim is targeting to penetrate the market in Europe, Korea, Japan and the United States. These countries have greater demand for bio-based oil, which is used in the mixture process of environment-friendly biopolymer oil. “The raw material used during the process is normally bio diesel from raw palm oil. Vegetable oil and other raw materials from plants such as Jatropha is also usable. It is a tropical plant that is internationally recognized due to its potential as biodiesel fuel,” Lim said.

Associate Professor Dr. Sobiah Yunus, a researcher from the Chemical Engineering and Environment Department, of the UPM Faculty of Engineering leads other researchers in developing the technology process of the pilot plant. UPM received techno fund worth RM 4.55 mil (USD 1.3 mil) from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation in October 2007 for the said purpose. The collaborative project between UPM and SEH is an initial project geared towards research and commercialization. Thirty percent of the endowment will be used to purchase testing and analysis equipment, cover research and design fees, marketing and product certification as well as raw materials. (Source: Media section, Corporate Communication Division, March 2009 UPM/ www.upm.edu.my/)