UNS — The Semar Shakti team from Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta won 3rd place in a national plant design competition. The team consisted of Nikmal Kevin Witjaksono, Dimas Rian Saputra, and Ibnu Tryansar Purba from the Chemical Engineering Study Program, Faculty of Engineering (FT) UNS.

The competition was titled Indonesia Chemical Engineering Challenge 2023 organized by the Chemical Engineering Students Association of Institute Teknologi Bandung (ITB). The final of this competition went on offline at ITB on 25 February 2023. They were directly guided by a UNS Chemical Engineering Lecturer, Dr. Sunu Herwi Pranolo.

 “We don’t expect to win 3rd place because this is the first English competition we have participated in. On the other hand, this plant design competition also takes place concurrently with the lecture period. So we have to manage our time well and drain our sleep. In the end, all the efforts paid off with the 3rd place,” he said to uns.ac.id, Thursday (16/3/2023).

In the competition which was attended by 99 teams from various universities in Indonesia, Kevin and his team brought up the idea of green methanol from palm shell gasification. The final semester student explained that the increase in human population also resulted in an increase in the need for energy. Meanwhile, energy consumption in the industrial sector ranks first in Indonesia, which is dominated by methanol derivatives (MeOH). The Government of Indonesia had to import MeOH in order to cover the shortfall in domestic production which could potentially lead to dependence on outsiders.

“Palm shell waste in Indonesia is very abundant, reaching 3.2 million tonnes. Therefore, we are bringing synthetic methanol technology from palm shell gasification to become a chemical factory that is sustainable, green resource and renewable energy by utilizing palm shells as raw material from the local area, North Sumatra. Green methanol as the main product as well as a core chemical is a potential renewable energy that supports the sustainability of the SDGs,” he concluded. Humas UNS

Reporter: Bayu Aji Prasertya

Editor: Dwi Hastuti

Translator: Mifta Muriska