“Sustainability challenges cannot be solved within disciplinary silos, and they require expertise from around the world with their unique perspectives and technologies. The Musim Mas Workshop in Biomass and Sustainability creates a valuable platform for researchers to exchange ideas across fields and borders, and to explore how biomass, waste valorisation and resource recovery can contribute to a more circular and low-carbon future,” said Prof Tong Yen Wah (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering), recipient of the Musim Mas Professorship, at the second Musim Mas Workshop in Biomass and Sustainability.
Organised under the Musim Mas Professorship in Sustainability, the workshop reflects the Professorship's wider mission: to contribute positively to emerging sustainability topics through a broad range of cross-disciplinary lessons and research. Supported by Musim Mas, the Professorship enables CDE to bring together expertise across disciplines and to strengthen Singapore’s role as a regional hub for sustainability research. Awarded to Prof Tong, the Professorship also supports research that can advance sustainability efforts in the palm oil industry and related sectors.
The programme opened with an overview of CDE research in biomass and sustainability, featuring presentations by Assoc Prof David Leong, Assoc Prof Yang Kun-Lin, Assoc Prof Lanry Yung, and Asst Prof Zhang Yamin from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
The workshop also featured presentations by delegates from overseas universities — including Australia, Hong Kong and Malaysia — on topics including microalgae-based carbon capture, biochar production, food waste biorefinery, wastewater treatment, and sludge management. Together, these discussions highlighted the growing role of biomass in advancing circular and low-carbon solutions for a more sustainable future.
“At Musim Mas, we believe sustainability progress depends on bringing science, industry, and practical implementation closer together. Through the Musim Mas Professorship in Sustainability, we want to support research that translates into solutions which improve resource efficiency, reduce waste, and result in increased sustainability of processes and products. This workshop has provided a platform for collaboration on how biomass and circular economy approaches can contribute to a lower-carbon future,” said Olivier Tichit, Director of Communications and Sustainability, Musim Mas.
