Utilizing Nyamplung Fruit Seeds As BioDiesel, IPB Lecturer Wins Award from the President of France

The development of renewable energy is currently an important issue in the world. Along with increasing pollution and global warming, developed countries are competing to create environmentally friendly energy. Environmental regulations were also made so that industrial countries participate in reducing global warming. Not only industrial countries, developing countries are also affected by these regulations.

For that, Dr. Ika Amalia Kartika, lecturer in Agricultural Industry Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) developed renewable energy in the form of biodiesel from nyamplung fruit seeds. Nyamplung fruit seeds are seeds produced from nyamplung plants. This plant is commonly found in coastal areas and on the banks of rivers. Until now, many nyamplung fruit seeds have not been used to meet their daily needs. This motivates Dr. Ika to utilize nyamplung fruit seeds as biodiesel ingredients.

Dr. Ika is currently developing research on biodiesel from nyamplung fruit seeds. The research development included refining nyunglung oil from resin, increasing the yield of in situ transesterification, and the byproducts from nyamplung fruit seeds. For that, Dr. Ika participated in the Make Our Planet Great Again activities in 2018, a program initiated by the French government in an effort to tackle global warming. The program is intended for researchers, doctoral students, and international students. In the program that was followed from various countries in the world, Dr. Ika was awarded the Laureate in the 2018 Make Our Planet Great Agian program from the President of France last October.

Before using nyamplung fruit seeds, initially, Dr. Ika uses jatropha as raw material for biodiesel, but it turns out that the distance of fruit oil is too low (only 37 percent can be even lower at 20 percent). So Dr. Ika decided to look for a substitute for castor fruit and found nyamplung fruit seeds. According to Dr. Ika , the oil content produced from nyamplung fruit seeds can reach 50 percent.

"In addition to the high yield, the productivity of nyamplung fruit is also high. The productivity of nyamplung fruit can reach 20 tons per hectare, "said Dr. Ika.

Dr. Ika admitted, there are several regulations that must be met in the development of biodiesel. Some of them are biodiesel raw materials not derived from food, cheaper prices and of course environmentally friendly, both from the manufacturing process and the end result. Dr. Ika  considered, by using nyamplung fruit seeds, the process of making biodiesel is more environmentally friendly. Because the process of making biodiesel from nyamplung fruit seeds does not need to make oil and refining first, but enough with in situ transesterification technology.

"By using in situ transesterification technology, the process of making oil and refining oil can be eliminated so that the price of biodiesel from nyamplung fruit seeds is cheaper. On the other hand, the yield produced is also increasing, "said Dr. Ika.

Although nyamplung fruit seeds have great potential as biodiesel’s material, there are still some problems in the manufacturing process. According to Dr. Ika, the process of making nyamplung oil requires extrusion technology that can operate quickly and continuously. On the other hand, the resin content found in nyamplung oil is also a problem that must be resolved immediately. In the future, Dr. Ika will try to make resin a high-value product. (jhn)