The Journeying Chemist in Singapore

A dream come true. I celebrated my 26th birthday outside the country. It was actually for work but of course, I took the opportunity to visit some of Singapore's tourist destinations.

Day 1. Singapore Zoo.

We arrived at the hotel before lunch time. We took a short rest and then prepared for our first gala. I was really excited because it is the first time I get to visit a zoo. There are a lot of animals (obviously, haha). I really enjoyed it but I think my colleague enjoyed it more.

Hi there Sir Giraffe!

Hi there Polar Bear!

DZMM's Radyo Negosyo: 3 Sisters' Banana Chips

Last August 12, 2014, my mother was guest in DZMM's Radio Program "Radyo Negosyo" hosted by Dr. Carl Balita.

Mrs. Adela in DZMM

Here are some of the points I got from watching the interview:

1. The business started with only P200.00 as capital and a quarter of it was used to purchase raw bananas. 

2. The closure of Marcopper Mining Corporation led to the idea of putting up the business.

3. Mrs Adela's children (us) started selling the product when they were still in grade school.

4. The business was able to send all four children to college. All of them are now graduates.

5. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has been very instrumental for the improvement of the product's quality.

6. The business helped the family in financing the construction of a house and acquisition of a car. 

7. The business was able to provide local employment.

If you want to watch the full interview, please watch the video below. 

Steam Explosion Device: The First in the Philippines

Steam Explosion is a technology that is used for treatments involving high pressure and temperature. It is seen as the one with potential to reduce costs and is the most commonly used pretreatment method for celllulosic ethanol production from lignocellulosic feedstocks (McMillan, 1994). It uses both physical and chemical methods to break the structure of lignocellulosic material through a hydrothermal treatment. In the said method, treating the lignocellulosic material with high pressure steam at high temperature for a short time, then rapidly depressurizing destroys the fibrils structure. United States and Canada have already been doing demonstrations on this technology (Jorgensen, et al., 2007).

The FIRST Steam Explosion Device in the Philippines is housed at the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH), University of the Philippines Los Banos. This equipment, which is acquired through the DOST-PCIEERD-funded project on "Fuel Ethanol Production from Lignocellusic Feedstocks" headed by Dr. Fidel Rey P. Nayve, Jr., is being used for the pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials such as agricultural residues, grasses, and forest products.

Steam Explosion Device. 

A portion of my Master's thesis involved the use of this technology and results showed that steam explosion effectively destroyed the lignocellulosic structure of Cogon (substrate used).

The following video shows the operation of BIOTECH's Steam Explosion Device.

References:

JORGENSEN, H., KRISTENSEN, J.B., FELBY, C. 2007. Enzymatic conversion of lignocelluloses into fermentable sugars: challenges and opportunities. Society of Chemical Industry.

MCMILLAN, J.D. 1994. Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass. In: Himmel, M.E., Baker, J.O.,     Overend, R.P. (Eds.), Enzymatic Conversion of Biomass for Fuels Production, ACS Symposium Series, vol. 566. ACS, Washington, DC

Mt. Batulao of Nasugbu, Batangas

Mount Batulao of Nasugbu, Batangas is one of the best hiking destinations we have visited. The view along the whole trail offers remarkable landscapes. The summit also gives you a 360-degree view of Nasugbu, Batangas.

I would like to share our pictures during the climb.

Group Picture before the Climb.

View of Mt. Batulao.