TWO MALAYSIAN STUDENTS WIN TOP SCIENCE CREATION AWARD IN CHINA

BUKIT MERTAJAM (Malaysia), April 13 (Bernama) -- Two students of Sekolah
Menengah Sains Tun Syed Sheh Shahabudin (SMSTSSS), a boarding school here who
represented the country at the Beijing Youth Science Creation Competition in
China recently placed the country on a pedestal when they took first place.

Mas Aidil Mas Rosemal Hakim, 18, and Nurein Ardini Samsuri, 16, scored the
success through their creation called 'MoBanT Fibre' which is fibre from banana
tree trunks that can absorb oil on water and therefore prevent environmental
damage at sea.

According to Nurein they got the idea to develop the product after a visit
to Mas Aidil's home where his parents were just throwing away fibre after
plucking the bananas.

"So we made a study and took a year and a half to to research with the aid
of various quarters including University Science of Malaysia (USM) as well as
our teacher advisor, Go Seow Ann," she said at a news conference at SMSTSSS here
Monday.

Besides first place, the duo also garnered a special prize from Semia
Company, a firm in China, in the competition that saw 1,268 projects being
displayed.


The competition that was organised by the Beijing Association for Science
and Technology was participated in by teams from the United States, Japan,
Germany, New Zealand and Australia and was from March 17-23.

Elaborating on the fibre process, Nurein said the process began by cutting
down the tree trunks to be smaller to remove micro-organisms like germs.

"The fibre would then be recycled and after being recycled again it would be
mixed with stearic acid and calcium bicarbonate.

"Its easy to use, that is by placing the fibre on the surface of the water
and it will absorb all the oil there. Although it would contain oil, the fibre
will not sink," she said.

Nurein said the product could be used by shipping operators whose vessels
frequently left traces of oil on water that posed a danger to marine life.

"They need not spend a lot of money as the cost the product is rather low
and uses natural materials," she said.

Nurein said the school with the aid of USM will patent the product as soon
as possible.

-- BERNAMA



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