{"id":3673,"date":"2026-07-23T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T10:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/?p=3673"},"modified":"2026-07-23T10:01:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T10:01:34","slug":"our-student-secures-kwef-grant-for-sustainable-water-treatment-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/2026\/07\/23\/our-student-secures-kwef-grant-for-sustainable-water-treatment-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Student Secures KWEF Grant for Sustainable Water Treatment Project"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\">\n<div class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-WEB:66fed66f-0594-4262-8eb8-4eee36075978-3\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\">\n<section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-WEB:66fed66f-0594-4262-8eb8-4eee36075978-3\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-WEB:66fed66f-0594-4262-8eb8-4eee36075978-3\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-2\" data-turn=\"assistant\">\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-15 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\">\n<div data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\" class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\">\n<div data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"65e1b2e2-6fab-43d2-a09f-7ac992898eaf\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-6-thinking\" class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\">\n<p data-start=\"87\" data-end=\"336\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"><strong data-start=\"87\" data-end=\"116\">JOHOR BAHRU, 23 July 2026<\/strong> \u2013 Mr. Bong Lai Zhi from the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), has successfully secured research funding from the <strong data-start=\"278\" data-end=\"328\">Kurita Water and Environment Foundation (KWEF)<\/strong>, Japan.<span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"338\" data-end=\"728\">The grant, valued at <strong data-start=\"359\" data-end=\"374\">JPY 400,000<\/strong>, will support a research project entitled <strong data-start=\"417\" data-end=\"557\">\u201cSustainable Water Treatment via Photocatalytic Degradation of Paracetamol Using Cobalt Oxide Derived from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries.\u201d<\/strong> The project will be conducted from <strong data-start=\"593\" data-end=\"627\">October 2026 to September 2027<\/strong> under the supervision of <strong data-start=\"653\" data-end=\"694\">Assoc. Prof. ChM. Dr. Sheela Chandren<\/strong> from the Department of Chemistry.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"730\" data-end=\"1122\">The research addresses two important environmental challenges: the presence of pharmaceutical contaminants in water and the increasing accumulation of spent lithium-ion batteries. By recovering cobalt-based materials from discarded batteries and applying them as photocatalysts, the project aims to develop a more sustainable approach for degrading paracetamol residues in contaminated water.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1124\" data-end=\"1505\">This initiative highlights the potential of waste-derived functional materials in environmental remediation while supporting circular-economy practices through the reuse of valuable resources from electronic waste. The project also reflects the Faculty of Science\u2019s commitment to advancing innovative research in sustainable chemistry, water treatment and environmental protection.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1507\" data-end=\"1688\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">The Faculty of Science congratulates Mr. Bong Lai Zhi and Assoc. Prof. ChM. Dr. Sheela Chandren on this achievement and wishes them every success in completing the research project.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"z-0 flex min-h-[46px] justify-start\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\" class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"pointer-events-none -mt-px h-px translate-y-(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom)\"><\/div>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;http:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/642\/2026\/07\/Bong-Kurita.jpg&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; title_text=&#8221;Bong &#8211; Kurita&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JOHOR BAHRU, 23 July 2026 \u2013 Mr. Bong Lai Zhi from the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), has successfully secured research funding from the Kurita Water and Environment Foundation (KWEF), Japan. The grant, valued at JPY 400,000, will support a research project entitled \u201cSustainable Water Treatment via Photocatalytic Degradation of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":390,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-awards-achievements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/390"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3673"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3678,"href":"https:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3673\/revisions\/3678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.utm.my\/utmfsresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}