Eugenio, Francis Darwin T.

PChE500-K
Industry Immersion Formal Report
I.

Company Profile
Clean Air Asia is a non-stock non-profit non-government organization (NGO) established in 2001by the
Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID). Its mission is to promote better air quality and livable cities by translating knowledge to policies
and actions that reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from transport, energy and other
sectors. In 2007, it was recognized by the United Nations as an international NGO. It was given a Type II
partnership with the United Nations in 2008.

It has a partnership with more than 250 organizations in thirty-one (31) countries in Asia and worldwide
and eight (8) Country Networks, and is supervised by a Partnership Council. This non-government
organization receives funding from over twenty development agencies, foundations, and from the private
sector, allowing it to maintaining its independence from political blocs and countries.

Figure 1. A Flowchart of the organizations goals and programs

Clean Air Asia is headquartered in ADB Avenue, Pasig City, Metro Manila. It has branch offices in Beijing
and Delhi. It continues to be a close affiliate of the Asian Development Bank.

II.

Job Assignment

Since Clean Air Asia is research-oriented, staffers with the rank of Environmental Researchers primarily
asses the air quality of various Asian cities and metropolitan areas. Environmental researchers provide a
comprehensive and comparative assessment of the status and challenges of air quality and air quality
management among cities in Asia.

After being accepted to the company, I was designated as an Air Quality Research Intern. Although due to
my extra-curricular background in which I was then the Managing Editor of The Reaction The Official
Newsletter of the Chemical Engineering Society), I was given to sideline tasks writing an article on the
7th Annual Clean Air Forum (where Prof. Evelyn Laurito, UST ChE Department Chair was also present)
and assisting some staff in checking the layout of their newsletter. Air Quality Interns mainly assist Clean
Air Asia in consolidating air quality values.

Figure 2. A Sample Screenshot of the Consolidated Database Spreadsheet (all units for pollutants are in
microgram per cubic meter)

In consolidating air quality values, we are assigned various tasks. Since I was the only Chemical
Engineering student among the interns, many tasks involving computations and basic stoichiometry were

assigned to me. Some of these tasks involve converting units of concentration, calculating moles of
combustion products formed, computing the volumes of gasses (sometimes in normal cubic meter), and
analyzing data and looking for trends.

III.

Experience and Learnings

During my eight-week internship in the said non-government organization, I was able to learn a lot of
things about air quality and the parameters used to judge it. I also learned how a Light Scattering or
Optical Method Pollutant Measuring Device operates. My awareness and knowledge about crucial
environmental issues such as climate change and air pollution was also increased. I also got to relate
what Ive learned in Environmental Engineering class since we are currently dealing with particulate
matter, SO2, NOx, and O3 readings from various Asian cities. I also learned the various plans of nongovernment and government sectors to address air pollution issues.

I also learned the value of teamwork and cooperation. My

research partner was also cooperative, and we easily
collaborated in finishing the much larger database which was
entrusted to us. I had foreign interns (one Korean, one
Malaysian)

whom

befriended

easily

because

of

my

gregariousness. I had previous exposure to Malay culture, and I

used this a leverage to befriend the female Malay intern. I also
learned that a healthy office environment (somehow egalitarian

Figure 3 - The Staff Members I Befriended

During my Stay

in approach) is conducive to productivity and employee morale.

Environmental issues are indeed complex, but I truly believe that there is still hope as long as committed
individuals continue to pursue viable solutions to environmental problems.