Oceanography ITB Lecturer’s Effort to Optimize Salt Production House in South Alor District
ALOR, itb.ac.id — Oceanography Study Program Lecturer from the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Dr. Susanna Nurdjaman, S.Si., M.T., in collaboration with local residents and students conducted a trial to accelerate seawater evaporation in a salt evaporation pond located in Kiraman Village, South Alor District, Alor Regency, by making a salt production house equipped with a UV plastic roof.
This trial was conducted on account of the Head of Kiraman Village request of assistance from ITB regarding salt evaporation ponds that had not been operating for a long time through the Desanesha application. The application allows village officials to convey real problems related to the Growing Village Indicator (IDM) directly to ITB experts. This community service activity is fully supported by the Directorate of Research and Community Development (DRPM) ITB as well as the ITB Research and Industry Affiliated Institution (LAPI).
"Evaporated seawater will be trapped in the UV plastic roof that will then flow through the paralon. The end result will not only be salt but also fresh water. Electricity has not reached the region yet. The community relies on generators to supply electricity at night. Therefore, we also brought solar panels as electricity generators to power submersible pumps. This pump is able to produce a strong upward pull of water because the salt pond is built on a cliff, reaching a height of 30 meters above sea level," said M. Apdillah Akbar (Master’s Program in Earth Sciences, 2022).
The pump was tested on August 12-19 2024 and has successfully drained seawater into the pond. Achmad Nagi (Master’s Program in Earth Sciences, 2022) said that the salt production after the installation of the new pump reached 200 kg within two weeks. Typically, the production of the same amount of salt takes up to three weeks.
"We hope that the production of salt ponds in Kiraman Village can continue to become the village’s main commodity. With faster production, it can increase the selling point in the market so that the salt pond’s existence can increase the independence and economic state of the people living in Kiraman Village," said Nagi.
Reporter: Maharani Rachmawati Purnomo (Oceanography, 2020)
Translator: Kezia Hosana (Chemical Engineering, 2022)
Editor: Anggi Nurdiani (Management, 2024)
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