Three ITB Students Won First Place in a National Academic Competition of Cyvero “Ideastorm”, Proposing Innovation Using Onion Skin Waste for Portable Gas"
By Anggun Nindita
Editor Anggun Nindita
JATINANGOR, itb.ac.id – Three students from Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) formed a team named “Umbrella” had secured the first place in the Academic Competition of Cyvero (Acavero) “Ideastorm” on Saturday (30/9/2023). The three students include Richika Tiara Vega Rahmani (14321002), Reisa Nopianti (14321019), and Nurul Husna (14521031).
The national scale competition is organized annually by the Student Organization of Information System (HMSI) Telkom University. This year’s Acavero theme was “Enterprising Minds, Infinite Possibilities: Innovate for Securing Sustainable Smart Ventures for the Millennial Generation.” Focusing on the sub-theme of the environment, the Umbrella team successfully presented an idea for utilizing onion skin waste to create portable gas.
The inspiration for their idea arose from a personal observation while visiting a fried onion seller in the Cileunyi area of Bandung Regency. Nurul Husna, one of the team members, often referred to as Vina, explained that they were intrigued by the unused onion skin waste and aimed to transform it into a fundamental ingredient for a green energy product, specifically portable gas, using the pyrolysis method.
"The structure of onion skin is similar to plastic, it's dry, etc. Thus, we think that even plastic is possible to turn into gas, so onion skin could too," said Vina.
Richika, the other team member, elaborated on how onion skin waste could be converted into portable gas. The shallot skin is initially cut and placed into a pyrolysis machine, heated at very high temperatures until it condenses and purifies. The team hopes that the results of this process will contribute to the realization of green energy and aid in reducing greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the accumulation of unused organic waste. The three 5th semester students acknowledged gaining plenty of new knowledge during their participation in the competition.
"During the Q&A session with the jury, we learned many new things that we weren't aware of before," said Reisa Nopianti, also known as Eca.
Moreover, they express their hope for a significant development in green energy in Indonesia, aiming for commercialization that benefits both producers and society. They are also determined to take their innovative ideas to the next stage of development.
Reporter: Muh. Umar Thoriq (Food Engineering, 2019)
Translator: Sherina Wijaya (Geological Engineering, 2019)
Editor: Anggi Nurdiani (Manajemen, 2021)
