Mahasiswa UGM Juara Lomba Rancang Pabrik Tingkat ASEAN
Mahasiswa UGM Juara Lomba Rancang Pabrik Tingkat ASEAN
Students from the Department of Chemical Engineering UGM won Indonesia Chemical Engineering Challenge Competition (IChEC) held by the Institute of Technology Bandung, March 17 to 19. The competition participated by chemical engineering students in ASEAN regional is attended by students from Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Of the four categories competed, namely the the plant design competition, problem solving, debate competition, and a poster competition, UGM students managed to take first place in the category of Plant Design competition and second place for Problem Solving.
Three UGM students who won the plant design competition are Muhamad Hartono, Adimas Prasetyaaji, and Ghazy Ammar Nafis – all from class 2012. They offered MEGATRON Project design, Mono Ethylene Glycol / MEG Plant for ASEAN Textile Industry from Coal Based Syngas.
Hartono said the idea and factory designed by the team aim to maximize the utilization of lignite coal in Indonesia to become chemicals with higher value, such as Monoethylene Glycol (MEG). According to the student, the main raw material of this plant is lignite coal which is abundant in South Sumatra, but is used just as a power generator. "MEG is a raw material for making polyester which has a good market share in Indonesia. Polyester can be an important ingredient for the textile industry, and the industry will be able to provide employment for 10-70% of total employment in the industrial sector," Hartono said to the reporters, Tuesday (22/3).
The industry, said Hartono, is predicted to continue to rise as cotton has been replaced by polyester because it is durable, resistant to bacteria, and also light. Plant design by UGM team is focused on the performance advantages of the synthesis process, the design of a comprehensive process safety, "as well as efforts to minimize the negative environmental impact when the plant was built," he added.
Hartono said that in the plant design competition, UGM team competed with the ITB team and Parahyangan University team. Chemical Engineering UGM team was crowned as the first prize winner, while ITB and Parahyangan University earned second and third place. "In the final round, we competed with two teams from ITB and two teams from the University of Parahyangan," he said.
Meanwhile, for the category of problem solving competition, Hartono said that UGM team consisting of Arfian Fauzi and Irfan Asyam won second place, while the first and third place were achieved by ITB and Chulalongkorn University teams. "The team from UGM presented the optimum process for synthesizing methanol from coal," he said. (UGM / adelily)