Born on January 15, 1964, Prof. Makertihartha earned his bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering in 1988. He pursued a doctoral degree in the same field at Universiteit Geint, Belgium, and graduated from ITB's Engineer Professional Program in Chemical Engineering in 2019. With a passion for jazz and coffee, he has been an academic staff member in Chemical Engineering at ITB since 1988. His research specialties include chemical reaction technology and fuel-based production technology. In both research fields, he has published 2 books, 69 articles in national and international journals/proceedings, as well as 4 national patents.

In his oration, Prof. Makertihartha revealed that fossil-based fuels, especially crude oil and its derivatives, still dominate global energy utilization, a trend predicted to continue for at least the next 30 years. In 2020, new and renewable energy (EBT) only contributed 10% to the world's energy consumption, a figure expected to reach 50% by 2050. In response to this, Indonesia, as one of the world's largest producers of fossil-based fuels, needs to take progressive steps in developing EBT to maintain national energy security and sovereignty.

This target is achievable, given that Indonesia is the world's largest producer of plant-based oils, supported by palm oil and palm kernel oil production of 51.3 million tons and 4,441 million tons in 2022. According to Prof. Makertihartha, this showcases Indonesia's potential to replace fossil-based fuels with plant-based fuels.

"Utilizing plant-based oil resources will make a significant contribution to national energy security, independence, and sovereignty," he stated.

ITB focuses on two aspects of plant-based fuel conversion technology: catalyst technology development and conversion process technology development. The Chemical Reaction and Catalysis Techniques Laboratory (Lab. TRKK) and the Center of Catalysis Engineering (PRK) at ITB collaborate with various research institutions and national industries to develop plant-based fuel from palm oil and palm kernel oil. The technology of the conversion process from plant-based oil to plant-based fuel by ITB includes:

1. Development of biodiesel production through the trans-esterification process
2. Biohydrocarbon diesel and biohydrocarbon avtur production through hydrodeoxygenation and hydrodecarboxylation processes
3. Biohydrocarbon mix fuel production through hydrolysis, saponification, and decarboxylation processes
4. Palm oil cracking process to produce palm gasoline

On the other hand, the catalyst development process starts at the lab scale before being produced on a pilot and commercial scale. Catalyst synthesis begins with an exploratory process in the laboratory to obtain catalysts with desired characteristics and activity tests. If the test results do not meet expectations, the catalyst synthesis process is restarted, either from the formulation process or by correcting the synthesis procedure.

The continuous development is expected to drive the substitution of fossil-based fuel with plant-based fuel, not only from palm oil but also from various plant-based oils and fats. ITB, as an expertise center in science and engineering, can play a significant role in the field of new and renewable energy.

"The development process that has been undertaken and is still ongoing will be a small ripple of the big wave of global change toward a sustainable bioeconomy," said Prof. Makertihartha at the end of his oration.

Reporter: Hanifa Juliana (Urban and Regional Planning, 2020)

Translator: Hanifa Juliana (Urban and Regional Planning, 2020)

Editor: Vera Citra Utami