Chemical Substitutes from Agricultural and Industrial By-Products

Suraini Abd-Aziz is Professor at the Department of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. She is currently the AFOB Vice President of Malaysia region, President of AFOB Malaysia Chapter, and AFOB Co-Chair of Bioenergy and Biorefinery Division. She graduated with a B.Sc. (Honours) Clinical Biochemistry from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (the National University of Malaysia) in 1992, M.Sc. (Biochemical Engineering) from the University of Wales Swansea, United Kingdom, in 1994, and PhD (Biochemical Engineering) from the University of Wales Swansea, United Kingdom, in 1997. In research, she had developed her research interest in the field of Industrial Biotechnology specialized in bioenergy and biobased chemical, which focused on the utilization of agro wastes for bioenergy and value-added products toward zero waste emission. She is one of the Malaysia Top Research Scientists (TRSM 2018). Apart from being the project leader of her own research grants, she also actively contributed to other projects in her capacity as an expert in enzyme technology, fermentation technology, bioprocess engineering, and environmental biotechnology.
Misri Gozan is Professor of Bioprocess Engineering, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia. He was the former of the Asian Federation of Biotechnology AFOB Vice President of the Indonesia region. He completed his Bachelor of Engineering Education in the Department of Gas and Petrochemical Engineering Universitas Indonesia in 1993. He earned a Master in Technology in the field of Process and Environmental Engineering from Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand, in 1998. In 2004, he finished his Doctor of Ingineuer at the Faculty of Geology, Forestry and Hydrology, TU Dresden, Germany. His research works were published in international articles related to bioprocess engineering, especially in the efficacy of biochemicals extracted from Nicotiana tabacum, biochemical synthesis from agricultural solid waste, and oil extraction of indigenous plants.
Mohamad Faizal Ibrahim is Associate Professor at the Department of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia. He obtained his Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology) in 2009 and PhD (Environmental Biotechnology) in 2013, both from UPM before being appointed as a senior lecturer at UPM in 2013. His works mostly on the utilization of biomass into value-added products such as enzymes, biofuels, biosugars, animal feed, activated carbon, essential oils, and other biobased chemicals, which cover various bioprocessing approaches such as fermentation, extraction, pretreatment, carbonization, and activation. He is a member of the AFOB and currently the Secretary of the AFOB Malaysia Chapter.
Lai-Yee Phang is Associate Professor at the Department of Bioprocess Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang Malaysia. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology) in 1998 from the Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Food Science and Biotechnology, UPM, and obtained a Master degree in Science in the field of Environmental Biotechnology at the same department in 2001. She pursued her PhD study at Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan. Her research interest is in Environmental Biotechnology, focusing on the conversion of waste materials into valuable products such as fine chemicals and biofuels, which includes screening of microorganisms, fermentation, optimization, and pretreatment. She is also working on the phytoremediation of contaminated soil. She is a member of the AFOB and currently the Treasurer of the AFOB Malaysia Chapter.