• News Archive
  • Simaster
  • Webmail
  • Directory
  • Crisis Center
  •  English
    • Indonesia
Universitas Gadjah Mada Universitas Gadjah Mada Universitas Gadjah Mada Universitas Gadjah Mada
  • Education
    • Doctoral dissertation
    • Inauguration of Professor
    • Graduation
  • Achievement
  • Research and Innovation
    • Research
    • Innovation
  • Campus Info
    • Cooperation
    • Seminar and Workshop
    • Student Community Service Program
    • Other
  • News Report
  • Home
  • News Report
  • UGM Students Make Biodegradable Plastic from Fish Scales

UGM Students Make Biodegradable Plastic from Fish Scales

  • 22 February 2016, 08:52 WIB
  • By: Marwati
  • 3817
Limbah sisik ikan gurami dan ikan kakap berpotensi dibuat menjadi plastik biodegradable.(foto: wikipedia)
Limbah sisik ikan gurami dan ikan kakap berpotensi dibuat menjadi plastik biodegradable.(foto: wikipedia)
Plastik yang dihasilkan dari kitosan sisik ikan gurami yang dicampur dengan kitosan komersial. (foto: dok.pribadi)
Plastik yang dihasilkan dari kitosan sisik ikan gurami yang dicampur dengan kitosan komersial. (foto: dok.pribadi)
Tim peneliti sisik ikan kakap dan gurami sebagai plastik biodegradable. (foto: dok.pribadi)
Tim peneliti sisik ikan kakap dan gurami sebagai plastik biodegradable. (foto: dok.pribadi)
Limbah sisik ikan gurami dan ikan kakap berpotensi dibuat menjadi plastik biodegradable.(foto: wikipedia)
Plastik yang dihasilkan dari kitosan sisik ikan gurami yang dicampur dengan kitosan komersial. (foto: dok.pribadi)
Tim peneliti sisik ikan kakap dan gurami sebagai plastik biodegradable. (foto: dok.pribadi)

Plastic is one product of that is highly used in modern life for its durability and affordability. On the other hand, plastic poses a threat to the environment due to is non-renewable nature, making it difficult to decompose.

This condition triggered five Chemical Engineering students of Universitas Gadjah Mada: Ivone Marselina Nugraha, Cesaria Riza Asyifa, Machlery Agung Pangestu, Palupi Hanggarani, and Rifani Amanda, to make a biodegradable plastic from renewable materials. They make use of fish scales.

Materials that are mostly used for biodegradable plastic currently are compounds contained in plants such as starch and cellulose, or in animals such as chitin, casein, and chitosan.

“Fish scales have not been much used recently, only ending up in the bin. Actually, in the fish scales there are chitin and chitosan potential to be made into plastic,” said Ivone on Friday (19/2) at Faculty of Engineering UGM.

Ivone said currently there were already biodigredable plastic types in the market that use renewable materials from chitosan, shrimps, crabs and cassava starch.

“We use chitosan from giant gourami and snapper scales that can be made into biodegradable plastic in our research,” she said.

The scales of giant gourami and snappers they gathered from a number of restaurants in Yogyakarta were then studied. This waste products were cleansed and dried. Elimination of the protein from the chitosan (deproteination) was later done, followed by demineralisation to separate the minerals from the scales, resulting in chitin compound. The chitosan was dissolved in acetate acid solution, added with glycerol. This was then baked in the oven to get the type of plastic they want.

“Our research found out that the scale waste of giant gourami and snapper are potential to be made into plastic,” she said.

Ivone added, however, that in the future more researches need to be done as the chitin and chitosan from the extraction of both the scales have not met the standard of commercial chitin and chitosan as the plastic they produce is still brittle and dull.

“The ash content in the chitin is still high so further researches are needed to reduce the ash level in the chitin and chitosan extract of the fish scales to get a better quality of plastic,” she concluded.

Related News

  • Gourami Scale Makes UGM Dentistry Students Winners of ASEAN Championship

    Monday,23 January 2017 - 10:49
  • UGM Students Make Sound-Producing Scales

    Tuesday,12 August 2014 - 14:33
  • UGM Students Utilize Fish Skin Waste in Tannery Business

    Monday,15 August 2011 - 12:16
  • UGM Students Develop Automatic Fish Grading Machine

    Thursday,06 July 2017 - 11:35
  • Thanks to Fish Waste, UGM Students Win National Business Competition

    Thursday,22 December 2011 - 8:57

News Releases

  • UGM Students Create Mobile App to Inform Location Accessibility 07 February 2023
    UGM students have developed a mobile application that can
    Salma
  • Geography Alumna’s Aromatic Telon Oil Habbie Named 2023 Indonesia Brand Champion 03 February 2023
    Novita Anggraeni, an alumna of the UGM Faculty of Ge
    Salma
  • Bimasakti UGM Kicks Off Hybrid Technology Research 03 February 2023
    Bimasakti UGM has started researching hybrid technol
    Salma
  • 18,964 UGM Students Receive Scholarships, Director of Student Affairs Says 20 January 2023
    Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) annually allocates hundreds
    Salma
  • Prof. Budi Setiadi Daryono Recounts Origin of His Apple Melon Cultivar 'Hikapel' 16 January 2023
    In 2012, a team of researchers from the UGM Facult
    Salma

Event

No latest event at this time

Universitas Gadjah Mada
UNIVERSITAS GADJAH MADA
Bulaksumur Yogyakarta 55281
   info@ugm.ac.id
   +62 (274) 588688
   +62 (274) 565223
   +62 811 2869 988

PARTNERSHIP

  • Alumni
  • International Affairs

ABOUT UGM

  • Rector's Welcome
  • History
  • Vission and Mission
  • The Board of Executive
  • Management

VISIT UGM

  • Campus Map
  • Event

REGISTRATION

  • Undergraduate
  • Graduate
  • Vocational School
  • Professional Program
  • International Program

© 2023 Universitas Gadjah Mada

PRIVACY POLICYCONTACT