Prof. Soottiporn Chittmittrapap, Secretary-General of National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) official opened the NRCT Invention Contest 2015 on September 9. Over 112 research proposals were received and reviewed by NRCT Judging Committee of which 84 research projects were chosen under 12 categories. The winners of this contest will be announced at the NRCT Inventor’s Day 2015 on 2 February which is declared by the Royal Thai Government as Inventor’s Day to commemorate the achievement of His Majesty King Bhumipol Adulyadej in inventing “the Slow Speed Surface Aerator” or “Chaipatana Surface Aerator” which won an award for inventions that bring benefits to the country.
The Nanomaterials for Energy and Catalysis Lab (NEC) at NANOTEC submitted the research on Thermally Induced 3-Phase Separation (TIPs) for NRCT consideration under the Engineering and Industrial Research Category. TIPs is a simple and effective approach for separation chicken fat from the mixed waste effluent in poultry slaughtering house. Once the fat is separated, nanocatalyst made from eggshell waste is then used to convert the treated fat into biodiesel for use in various applications.
“Currently we are collaborating with Betagro’s poultry slaughtering house to install a TIPs pilot unit at their facility to convert chicken fat into biodiesel” said Dr. Kajornsak Faungnawakij, Head of NEC. “It is expected that by installing this unit, the slaughtering house will eliminate the problem of wastewater effluent from chicken fat and operate in a green environment”.
In addition to this project, NEC is also developing new synthesis methods of nanocatalysts for conversion of chicken fat to green diesel and biojet fuel which has fuel properties much better than biodiesel. This biofuel is expected to significantly enhance the use of renewable energy in Thailand in the near future.
