They are Mariana Ramelan (Mathematics Education), Rizal Burhanudin (Physics Education), and Muhammad Wahyu Arif (Chemistry).
Together, the three students have won the second prize of the national research paper competition held on April 28th to 30th, 2015 at the Engineering Faculty of Universitas Hasanuddin Makassar, Sulawesi. The theme for this year’s competition was Indonesian Energy Innovation Challenge (IEIC).
Rizal said that the IEIC consisted of three event namely a national research paper competition for undergraduate students, a national seminar on renewable energy presenting Thareq Khemal Habibie as the keynote speaker, and a techonology exhibition.
The team presented their paper on processing the liquid waste of tofu through microbial fuel cell (MFC) as a solution for alternative energy in Bantul, Yogyakarta. This idea of processing the liquid waste came from observing the waste disposal in a river called Kali Progo. The waste is disposed without being processed that it causes unpleasant smell and polluting the environment. A proper technology and installation is needed to process the waste.
“Through this MFC technology, the liquid waste is stored in a container and then fermented and the electrons in the waste are taken to an anode tube. From the anode tube, the electrons are transferred through salt bridge to generate the electricity,” he explained.
“The generated electricity is then transferred to the home industry producing the waste. The electricity is used to provide part of the energy needed by the households. We are continuously improving our technology so that we can replace energy from fossil fuels by energy from the processed waste,” Rizal added.
In this competition, the delegates of Universitas Andalas, West Sumatra won the first prize while the team of Universitas Gadjah Mada won the third prize.