Post by Yong Xuan Lai

✨ From Vision to Reality: Balancing Strategy and Engineering Practicality in Net Zero Industrial Symbiosis ✨ As I finish my Chemical Engineering journey at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), I am reflecting on our biggest project of all: the Net Zero Emission Verbund Plant Design Project. Serving as Deputy Plant Manager for Verbund Team 4 and leading Design Team 15 tested my technical baseline, critical thinking, and leadership philosophy. 💡 Leadership: Communicating the Big Picture 💡 Managing a Verbund Industrial Park taught me that leadership is about being visionary, not just technical. By conducting early research, I became an information anchor for our Verbund Team. I focused on competency building in Semester 1 and shifted to coaching in Semester 2, leveraging soft skills to empower my brilliant peers. The validation of this collective effort? Verbund Team 4 won Second Runner-Up for Best Verbund Team at the final award ceremony! 🧪 Design Team 15: Moving Beyond Academic Assumptions 🧪 Our team designed a sustainable plant producing 30,000 tonnes per year of Ethyl Acetate via direct esterification. While initial shortcut models favoured an exotic Ionic Liquid solvent, [OMIM][BF4], to break the stubborn ethyl acetate- ethanol- water azeotrope, our rigorous whole-plant Aspen Plus simulation exposed critical real-world limitations. Recognising the thermodynamic and economic realities, we made a bold pivot to Ethylene Glycol (EG): 1. CAPEX Drop: At RM 2.77 per kg, EG lowered upfront solvent capital costs by over 99% compared to [OMIM][BF4]. 2. Purity Leap: Advanced from a 97.49% manual baseline to 99.95% premium pharmaceutical-grade purity. 3. Equipment & Safety: Utilised carbon steel piping configurations and local supply chains while eliminating severe transdermal hazards. ⌛ The Grind and The "Aha!" Moment ⌛ Semester 1 was a true test. Balancing Plant Design, an industrial OSH project, and FYP2 data required strict prioritisation via the Eisenhower Matrix and strategic delegation. My true "Aha!" moment arrived when our chaotic initial stream charts and simulation bottlenecks finally crystallised into a profitable, eco-feasible plant. It proved that a single abstract thought, through consistent iteration and teamwork, becomes impactful reality. 🫶 Acknowledgments 🫶 Deepest thanks to: Academic Supervisors: Dr Saharudin Haron (DT) and Dr Muhammad Afiq Zubir (VT) Industrial Design Team Supervisor: Dr Nagendran CChem FRSC Program Coordinators: Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr Sharifah Rafidah Wan Alwi and Associate Prof. Ir. Dr. Jamarosliza Jamaluddin To my #VT4 and #DT15 teammates, thank you for letting your strengths shine and trusting me to lead you. I deeply appreciate the feedback and suggestions given by all panels, supervisors, teammates and those who contribute directly and indirectly. #VT4 #DT15 #VerbundPDP2026 #ChemicalEngineering #PlantDesign #IndustrialSymbiosis #NetZero #EngineeringEducation #UTM #FKTUTM