Curtin Malaysia chemical engineering students visit polysilicon manufacturing plant in Bintulu

Miri – 23 September 2022 – 28 undergraduate chemical engineering students of Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) recently made a site visit to the OCIM Polycrystalline Silicon Plant located at Samalaju Industrial Park near Bintulu.

The purpose of the site visit was to give the students a first-hand look into the operations of a large manufacturing plant and the process of producing polysilicon. OCIM, which is part of the OCI global green energy and chemical company of South Korea, manufactures high purity grade 10-Nine polysilicon, a basic core material for solar power generation systems, at the plant.

Joining the students on the visit were lecturers Dr. Lau Shiew Wei and Dr. Jibrail Kansedo.

Hosting the visit were a team of OCIM professionals and engineers, including Deputy Plant Manager Kim Ki Sub and TCS Production Department Manager Mohammad Fairol Bin Mohd Hirman Ritom, who is a chemical engineering graduate of Curtin Malaysia with over 10 years’ experience working at the plant.

In his briefing to the students and lecturers, Kim commended Mohammad Fairol for his leading role in the plant’s recent expansion project, successfully increasing the plant’s annual capacity from 30,000 to 35,000 tonnes.

This is testimony of the calibre of Curtin Malaysia’s graduates who are equipped with the necessary practical knowledge and skills to be job-ready when they graduate and are highly sought after by industry.

“It was good that the students could tour the plant control facilities and visualise the scale of the operations and process equipment such as the distillation columns and forced draft cooling towers,” she said.

Associate Professor Stephanie Chan, Head of Curtin Malaysia’s Chemical Engineering Department, meanwhile commented that site visits are vital for effective learning and providing students industry exposure to ensure they attain Curtin’s graduate attributes and are prepared for their future careers.

She said that there has always been a high demand from industry, both in Malaysia and abroad, for Curtin Malaysia’s chemical engineering graduates due to these attributes and the fact that Curtin’s chemical engineering degree is triple accredited by Engineers Australia, Board of Engineers Malaysia, and IChemE, United Kingdom. Curtin is also ranked in the world’s top 150 universities for chemical engineering in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021.

Assoc. Prof. Chan added that Curtin Malaysia is helping to meet the high demand for chemical engineering graduates in Sarawak as the state expands its petrochemicals and biotechnological sectors.

Curtin Malaysia offers Curtin’s four-year Bachelor of Engineering (Hons.) in Chemical Engineering, which covers the development, design and operation of chemical processes and plants for the extraction, conversion and recovery of materials based on both chemical and biological systems.

The course prepares students for jobs in a wide range of industries, including petroleum refining, gas processing, petrochemical and polymer production, bio-processing and bio-production, bio pharmaceutics and food processing, minerals and metals extraction, and the production of industrial and fine chemicals.

Information on Curtin Malaysia can be found on its website at www.curtin.edu.my, or look for Curtin Malaysia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn or Tik-Tok.

Group photo of the students, lecturers and OCIM staff during the site visit (photo credit: OCIM).

Dr. Lau presenting a souvenir to Deputy Plant Manager Kim Ki Sub (photo credit: OCIM).