Solution to oil spills, pollution wins award in int’l confab

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A GROUP of chemical engineering students bagged the Best Oral Presentation award for proposing a solution to oil spills during the 2017 Pure and Applied Chemistry International Conference (PACCON) last Feb. 2 to 3 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Among a thousand local and foreign presenters, the UST team, composed of Cheynne Louise Abelardo, Kevin Chad Cerezo and Coleen Palicpic, bagged the award for their research on polymer chemistry. Two other groups UST participated.

The award-winning research, titled “Modified Polyurethane Foam Derived from Liquefied Coconut Husk with Incorporated Nanoclay for Oil Absorption,” explored ways to remove oil using liquid from coconut husks to help resolve industrial waste problems and oil spills.

“Our study [used] sorbent to address [these problems] in a more cost-effective way,” Cerezo said in an interview with the Varsitarian.

”The use of sorbents is less detrimental to the environment, which helps alleviate global environmental catastrophes,” he added.

The two other teams were composed of Kerguelen Mae Nodora, Jade Dhalle Encarnacion and Joshia Uzziel Plandes, and Franz Joseph Ryle del Valle and Rodel Christian Tuppal. They presented studies on materials science and nanotechnology clusters, respectively.

PACCON is an 11-year-old annual event in which students, industry experts and scientists discuss their research findings to promote “sustainable development through green chemistry.”

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