On November 21, 2024, JICA HQ Global Environment Department Director Dr. Asaoka and Technical Advisor, Ms. Yoshimura visited the SATREPS OPT Research Lab at USM and held a preparatory meeting to discuss the progress and results of the project and the direction of post-SATREPS in preparation for the SATREPS seminar and 6thJCC meeting, as well as meetings with various related organizations to be held from tomorrow onwards.
The Leader of the Japan and Malaysia sides of the SATREPS OPT project, Prof. Kosugi, Prof. Sudesh, and Dr. Uke paid a courtesy call on USM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dato’ Seri Ir. Dr. Abdul Rahman to provide details about the schedule of ISBP2024 (The International Symposium on Biopolymers) to be held from October 20th to 23rd at Penang, as well as the JCC meeting and seminar to be held at the same venue on October 22nd.
SATREPS OPT Project Mini-Symposium is scheduled to be held in Penang, Malaysia on October 22, 2024. This will be held as a special event of the International Symposium on Biopolymers (ISBP2024). Those who have registered for ISBP2024 can freely participate. We look forward to your participation (https://isbp2024.com/project-session/)
The SATREPS OPT Project (JIRCAS) exhibited at the Japan Pavilion of MAHA 2024, one of Malaysia’s largest agricultural exhibitions, for four (4) days from September 19 to 22. Many people from the agriculture and food industry and general visitors visited our booth, and we had the opportunity to explain the project to them. On the first day, the 19th, former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad also visited the Japan Pavilion and drawing many visitors to the venue.
Our Kluang Pilot Plant continuously Procure oil palm trunk (OPT) from surrounding plantations. In photos of OPT loaded onto a truck, look like ordinary logs, but they contain 70-80% moisture. OPT is chipped, soaked and washed, crushed, dried and molded to produce fuel pellets, raw material pellets for boards, and other multi-purpose OPT samples.
On August 21, 2024, a discussion was held regarding the post-SATREPS OPT project with Prof. Datuk Dr. Raha (Chief Executive Officer) of the National Biotechnology Institute (NIBM), Dr. Seetha (Director) of the Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (ABI), and related researchers. The possibility of a project that incorporates ideas for the effective use of palm biomass in various ways, as well as utilizing the results of the SATREPS OPT project, was discussed, and the future direction was confirmed.
A research progress meeting was held with Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) ahead of the 6th JCC meeting scheduled to be held in Penang in October. The possibility of future collaborative research utilizing existing JIRCAS facilities at FRIM was also discussed.
The Leader of the Japan and Malaysia sides of the SATREPS OPT project, Prof. Kosugi, Prof. Sudesh, and Dr. Uke paid a courtesy call on USM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dato’ Seri Ir. Dr. Abdul Rahman to report on the Project progress and explain about the final JCC meeting and seminar scheduled in October. Also explained the international symposium ISBP2024 (https://isbp2024.com/) to be held at the same time, and requested VC’s participation.
The Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), the project representative organization, has announced in a press release the results of a joint research project with Universiti Science Malaysia (USM) titled “Uncovering the starch accumulation mechanism in oil palm trunk (OPT) – Toward the realization of a sustainable palm industry that contributes to reducing the environmental impact.” Please see below for details.
Published paper（https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2024.118863 ）
The National Bioeconomy Showcase 2024 was held at the World Trade Center Kuala Lumpur on July 17-18, 2024. With the cooperation of OPTERAZ Sdn Bhd, the SATREPS OPT Project introduced the project through panels at the exhibition booth, and exhibited fuel pellets, raw material pellets and fiber samples, various boards etc, that made from palm biomass, mainly OPT. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the Minister and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) also visited the venue, and many biomass business-related people visited the booth.