Project

Benzyl alcohol (C₆H₅CH₂OH) is an important chemical widely used in the perfume, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and solvent industries. The fact that domestic demand is still largely fulfilled through imports indicates a significant opportunity to establish a benzyl alcohol plant in Indonesia and reduce dependence on the global market. According to Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS) 2024 data, benzyl alcohol imports reached 1,661.777 tons per year, reflecting considerable market potential. Supported by the availability of benzyl chloride as a raw material and the advancement of process technology, the preliminary design of a 30,000 tons/year benzyl alcohol plant is considered feasible.

The production process is carried out through the hydrolysis of benzyl chloride with water in a Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) operating at 130°C and 3 atm, with a residence time of 7 minutes and a 1:40 molar ratio of benzyl chloride to water. The reaction product is subsequently depressurized and cooled before being separated in a decanter. The heavy phase is purified in a distillation column to obtain benzyl alcohol with a purity of 99.95%.

The economic evaluation indicates a Return on Investment (ROI) of 46.27%, Pay Out Time (POT) of 1.78 years, Break Even Point (BEP) of 40%, Shut Down Point (SDP) of 19%, and Discounted Cash Flow Rate of Return (DCFRR) of 53.50% at a 6% bank interest rate. Based on the criteria proposed by Aries & Newton (1955), these values satisfy the feasibility requirements for a high-risk chemical industry, indicating that the proposed plant is economically viable for construction and further development. 

 Biodiesel innovation by utilizing an ultrasonicator and a natural zeolite catalyst that has been modified through Al2O3 impregnation. The use of natural zeolites as heterogeneous catalysts is expected to reduce production costs and facilitate the reduction of catalysts from the final product compared to homogeneous catalysts. The transesterification process with an ultrasonicator speeds up the reaction, increases biodiesel yield, and reduces the time and energy required. This research will examine the effect of ultrasonic frequency, processing time, and catalyst impregnation conditions to produce biodiesel that meets SNI quality standards. It is hoped that the research results can provide alternative solutions for biodiesel production that are more economical, efficient and environmentally friendly. 

 Innovation in making brickets from plastic waste and paper waste is a solution for reducing the volume of waste that can be implemented in daily life by finding out the calorific value produced from the innovation of plastic waste and paper waste briquettes through a burn test. The heat obtained is 78oC with a plastic weight of 200 grams and the heat is 102oC with a plastic waste weight of 300 grams. The use of waste paper is proportional to 2: 1, where 2 plastic waste and 1 paper waste in all plastic waste briquette mixtures. The research that has been carried out provides an overview regarding the manufacture of briquettes from plastic waste with the addition of paper waste as an innovative alternative fuel source in the hope of reducing pollution due to waste, replacing coal as an alternative fuel source, and improving the community's economy. 

Prototype car with an electrical system can give an example of the reduction in the use of this fossil fuel uses the concept of electrochemical, which is to convert heat energy into electrical energy, to convert it to electricity we need TEG. The thermoelectric generator is a device that converts heat energy into electrical energy with temperature differences. Moreover, this TEG is relatively environmentally friendly, this technology is efficient and produces the most optimal voltage.

Energy to propel the car is taken from the conversion of different temperatures between the hot and cold sources. The material used for the chassis is made of acrylic that is light and strong for the material construction. The material used for the chamber is made of light steel that is strong for corrosive materials and temperature resistance, the hot source is obtained from lubricant oil. The cold source comes from a mixture of sodium bicarbonate, acetic acid, and ice cube. The reaction of the cold source will also produce a stable temperature. All the materials used in the power source are put into the chamber so the TEGs convert the temperature difference into electricity energy then flows to the stopping mechanism and the electric current that comes out from stopping will activate the motor and the car will move. At the same time, HCl injected in the injector to break the Mg Ribbon which is connected to the motor then the car will stop. 

Sanggar Tani Muda program is to create young farmers who are IT literate, superior, innovative and entrepreneurial in order to improve food security and community welfare through the sustainable cultivation and processing of citronella using modern technology and as a superior regional product.

Implementation of the program begins with outreach to the local community, formation of the school curriculum and the Sanggar Tani Muda institution, training and regular field schools, designing of LoT (Internet of Things) based fertigation system tools, assistance in the production of citronella derivative products and marketing, and regular monitoring and evaluation with the community, HMTK, support system, accompanying lecturers, internal universities and village officials to determine the sustainability of the program. The expected output of this program is the mandatory output in the form of a book reflecting on ormawa in community empowerment, publication in the media electronics, and posters resulting from program implementation. Meanwhile, additional outputs include real products from the distillation of citronella such as bioadditives, antibacterial soap, organic pesticides and animal feed, scientific articles submitted to Community Service Journals, printed mass media publications, non-formal learning modules, national seminars, prototypes of LoT (Internet of Things) based fertigation system tools and MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) for cooperation through strategic partnerships with various institutions.