On Tuesday, February 6, 2024, three students from the Faculty of Engineering successfully earned the Silver Prize and a Special Award from the Romanian Inventors Forum at the 2024 Thailand Inventors Day.
Thailand Inventors Day, also known as the International Intellectual Property Invention, Innovation, and Technology Exposition (IPITEx), is an international research competition and innovation exhibition organized by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), a research institution under the Ministry of Research and Technology of Thailand. In this competition, 600 participants from 25 countries showed their innovations to experts, academics, practitioners, investors, and government officials for four days, from February 2 to 6, 2024.
Novi Istiyani, Risala Sujat Swara, and Miftahul Fajri B from the Department of Naval Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University, competed with other Expo participants by presenting an innovation related to the use of an application to control biohydrogen production from food waste.
According to Risala Sujat Swara, the idea originated from their concern about increasing food waste in Indonesia and the world. They viewed the waste issue as a problem that needed immediate attention due to its negative environmental impact.
“We observed the significant amount of food waste in Indonesia and worldwide, which can produce harmful gases impacting climate change and global warming,” he stated.
Risala added that with their BIOHIDROGENO application, individuals could process their food waste into a renewable energy source. The Enhanced Methane Prediction Algorithm (EMPA) technology was incorporated to regulate the biohydrogen gas output, reducing the potential for explosions.
“This innovative product is equipped with an application that utilizes the EMPA algorithm to facilitate user operation. Users can control the biohydrogen gas output and prevent the potential for explosions,” Risala explained.
Novi Istiyani, a team member, expressed surprise that their team’s innovation received two awards simultaneously. She was delighted to achieve recognition at the international level. “Honestly, I did not expect this, especially internationally. It is a source of pride because we dared to try something new and step out of our comfort zone,” said Novi.
She hopes that more students will participate in competitions and explore the opportunities around them in the future. “For other students, give it a try. Success or failure will come later. Keep up the spirit, fellow students! There are still many things you can discover ahead,” Novi encouraged.
Source: Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University.
