RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Palm phytonutrients

• Natural deep eutectic solvents

• Green extraction process

• Food waste valorisation

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

• Master Degree, MEng (Chemical Engineering), Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, Malaysia (2008-2011)

• Ph. D Degree (Chemical Engineering), Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering University of Nottingham, Malaysia (2014-2017)

INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE

• Project/Production/Process Engineer, Inorganic coating / Electroplating, Shin-Etsu (M) Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia (2012-2013).

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

• Research Assistant, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, Malaysia (2014-2017)

• Research Intern, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, UK and Malaysia (2010)

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

• Teaching Assistant, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, Malaysia (2017-2018)

• Hall Tutor, Halls of Residence, University of Nottingham, Malaysia (2014-2017)

   

   

HONORS/AWARDS/GRANTS

• Best Paper Award, International Conference on Global Sustainability and Chemical Engineering, Malaysia (2018)

• Best Oral Presentation, 4^th International Conference on Chemical and Food Engineering, Japan (2017)

• Top 6 Finalist of Poster Presentation, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (2015)

• Best Poster Award, 3^rd Symposium of Foods, Vegetables and Fruits, Malaysia (2014)

• Certified GEOMET Engineer, NOF Metal Coatings Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., Japan (2012)

• Outstanding Project Management Presentation, Project Management Institute, Malaysia (2010)

• Recipient of High Achievers Scholarship, University of Nottingham, Malaysia (2008-2011)

LIST OF PUBLICATION

• Kua, Y.L., Gan, S., Morris, A. and Ng. H.K. (2018) Optimization of simultaneous carotenes and vitamin E (tocols) extraction from crude palm olein using response surface methodology, Chemical Engineering Communications, 205(5), 596-609.

• Kua, Y.L., Gan, S., Morris, A. and Ng. H.K. (2018) Simultaneous recovery of carotenes and tocols  from crude palm olein using ethyl lactate and ethanol, Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 989, 012005.

• Kua, Y.L., Gan, S., Morris, A. and Ng. H.K. (2017) Liquid-liquid equilibrium data for the ternary systems of palm oil + ethyl lactate + phytonutrients (carotene and tocol) at 303.15 K, International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications, 8(3), pp 215-220.

• Kua, Y.L., Gan, S., Morris, A. and Ng. H.K. (2016) A validated, rapid, simple and economical high-performance liquid-chromatography method to quantify palm tocopherol and tocotrienols, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 53, 22-29.

• Kua, Y.L., Gan, S., Morris, A. and Ng. H.K. (2016) Ethyl lactate as a potential green solvent to extract hydrophilic (polar) and lipophilic (non-polar) phytonutrients simultaneously from fruit and vegetable by-products, Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy, 4, 21-31.

• Sethu, V.S., Kua, Y.L., Quek, W.S., Lim, K.V., Andresen, J.M. (2011) Adsorption Thermodynamics of Cu(II) Ions from Waste Water Using Neem-Leaf Based Biosorbents, Journal of Environmental Research and Development, Vol. 6(1), pp 26-33.

• Kua, Y.L., Gan, S., Morris, A. and Ng. H.K. Non-evaporative method to remove high boiling point solvent (ethyl lactate) from palm oil extract at atmospheric conditions, International Food Research Journal (Accepted).

• Kua, Y.L. and Gan, S. Natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) as a greener alternative for the extraction of hydrophilic (polar) and lipophilic (non-polar) phytonutrients, Key Engineering Materials (Accepted).