NEWS & EVENTS ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

From water treatment plant residue to clay bricks

Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP) has developed the technology to recycle and reuse water treatment plant (WTP) residue as raw materials for construction and is now looking for proposals to commercialise its award-winning research and development project.

The research has shown that the WTP residue can be reused as a value-added material to manufacture clay bricks for the construction industry.

“However, we do not have the relevant expertise, experience and resources to successfully commercialise it,” PBAPP CEO Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa said in a statement. “As such, we are seeking proposals from companies who are interested to take on the challenge of commercialising our R&D project.”

Interested parties, he added, should have established credentials in industrial-scale manufacturing of construction materials, as well as the relevant capabilities in sales, marketing and logistics.

WTP residue is classified as a scheduled waste that must be disposed of safely, in accordance with the Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations 2005.

Jaseni, who is also the chief executive officer of PBA Holdings Bhd (PBAHB), PBAPP’s parent company, said the conversion of WTP residue into clay bricks enables scheduled waste to be recycled in a smart and ‘green’ manner on an industrial scale. This will also reduce scheduled waste disposal costs for all water supply operators in Malaysia.

The R&D project has won three awards, namely the Malaysia Productivity Corporation’s Gold Award at the Regional Convention on Team Excellence (Rtex) Northern Region 2019, Champion of the Penang State Innovation Award 2016 for non-ICT category, and International Greentech & EcoProducts Exhibition & Conference Malaysia (IGEM) Innovation Award Runner-Up 2017. — Construction+ Online