Three alumni of Faculty of Engineering UGM have won awards from the Mayor of Bontang, dr. Hj. Neni Moernieni, Sp.OG, in the Si Peena competition, an appreciation for innovation, research, and appropriate technology organized by Bontang City Government along with PT Badak LNG on September 27.
The three alumni were Nosal Nugroho Pratama, Bangkit Widayat, and Reno Imam Arthapersada, who scored in top 5 of appropriate technology development category.
"This is a form of Bontang City Government's appreciation for residents who actively generate practical ideas to be applied in the city," stated Bangkit.
The technology they designed is thermal catalytic cracking with extruder and plastic shredding. He explained the liquid fuels that are produced have the same quality as diesel oil and gasoline, while the fuel fraction is around 70 percent of the total mass of waste plastic as raw materials.
The idea stemmed from waste problems which led to environmental pollution. Utilization of this waste, Bangkit continued, can set Bontang as a pilot city for the development of waste plastic into the first liquid hydrocarbon fuel in East Kalimantan Province.
He added that his team had proposed a Process Flow Diagram (PFD) to turn waste plastic into useful products in the form of liquid fuel. The PFD is designed to create a waste plastic processing system that is commercially profitable, easy to operate, eco-friendly, and sustainable with easy maintenance.
“The focus is on the abundance of unutilized waste which tends to accumulate and cause environmental pollution. It is one of Bontang’s biggest challenges in maintaining its title as a Green City.”
Based on the research results, the portion of pyrolysis mixture in fuel is considered acceptable at around 10 percent of the total fuel mixture.
According to Nosal, if the estimated efficiency in a year is 90 percent of the production capacity, pyrolysis fuel with a selling price of Rp5.500 is equal to gasoline with a lower price than Pertamina’s Premium at Rp6.500. Meanwhile, with a selling price of Rp4.000 equal to diesel, the price is still lower than Pertamina’s Solar which costs Rp5.000. This gives an estimated annual profit of Rp370.945.464.
"Hopefully, this effort can resonate with the government policy that plans to support programs related to utilization of waste plastic for energy, especially electricity, as part of the renewable energy mix for the 2016-2025 development period," he explained.