USU PR - The Gantari Engineering Research Club Team of the Chemical Engineering Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) won 1st place in a scientific article in the 2021 Tokyo Tech Indonesian Commitment Award (TICA).

Gantari Engineering Research Club is a research and research organization under the Chemical Engineering Student Association of USU Faculty of Engineering which has won various awards, both national and international.

In the competition, Team Gantari brought the research title "Biobattery from Polymer Electrolyte Orange Peel-PVA with Addition of Glycerol". The idea of ​​the title is motivated by environmental problems and Indonesia's potential.

"We searched for ideas by looking at the problems and potentials of local fruits, then we prepared the data we needed and looked for raw materials," said Team Leader Jhon Ferisal Tamba when interviewed on Monday (12/20/2021).

Jhon said his team saw the potential for optimizing Indonesian fruits, namely citrus fruits. "In optimizing citrus fruits, we use orange peel as an electrolyte from our research, namely biobatteries from orange peel electrolyte polymer and also peel-PVA," said the Chemical Engineering student.

According to John, their product has the advantage that it does not cause a bad effect on the environment. His team reviewed conventional batteries which when disposed of will become B3 waste.

"We use a solid polymer electrolyte made from organic orange peel, so the negative environmental effects are no longer there. This solid solid electrolyte is also stable when subjected to heat."

Jhon added that in the future they will carry out several more developments so that the use of this bio battery can create an environmentally friendly life.

"Currently we will continue to look for experimental variations in terms of developing this bio battery," he said.

John hopes that in the future more and more USU students will participate in this event. "We hope that there will be greater opportunities to become winners and produce research that is beneficial to the community," he said.

The members of the Gantari Team are Aravi Zalsa Ramadhan, Daniel Reymondo Manurung, Jhon Ferisal Tamba, Muhammad Rafli Derriansyah, Fortuna Khalda Daulay, and Josua Fransiskus Manurung.

For information, the annual TICA is held by PPI Tokodai (Indonesian Student Association) in Japan. TICA provides facilities for Indonesian undergraduate students and fresh graduates to present their work and exchange insights. This year's TICA theme is Impactful Science Towards Sustainable Development Goals. (©ULC)

Author: Bambang Riyanto - Humas

Interviewee: - - -

Photographer: Humas - Humas