After almost two years of construction, the Sarawak government-funded RM50 million Bio Valley Park pilot plant at Curtin University Malaysia, Sarawak Campus (Curtin Malaysia Sarawak), is now operational, as reported by The Borneo Post.
Located on a 10-acre site, this pilot plant is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, including a more than RM4 million pilot scale carbon dioxide extraction system manufactured in Austria.
Managed by Curtin Malaysia Sarawak, the plant is expected to boost R&D and the development of bio-economy in the state. The facility will support the development of new bio-products and processes and provide pilot plant facilities to assist industries in phytochemical and bioprocesses; high quality testing and development facilities for bio-industries in product analysis, product enhancement and quality assurance; and incubator facilities for emerging enterprises in the bio-economy. It will also conduct research and training for the industry and research agencies.
In November 2017, the university and the Malaysian Pepper Board (MPB) signed a memorandum of understanding to initiate collaborative high-impact research and development relating to the pepper industry and its potential commercial opportunities.
According to Curtin Malaysia Pro Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Mienczakowski, the university’s research expertise could be leveraged to commercialise research findings for the benefit of the industry, especially in scaling up MPB’s lab findings and in the pilot plant scale production of black pepper extracts. — Construction+ Online
