Kuala Lumpur (30/05/2022). The pandemic condition forces people to live a new lifestyle which includes measures to maintain personal hygiene and health, one of which is washing hands. Hand sanitizer is the most practical product to make it easier to clean hands, but it is usually made of alcohol which can cause irritation. It is necessary to have alternative materials that are safe for the skin, namely liquid smoke from peanut shells because they contain phenolic, carbonyl, and acid compounds that can act as antimicrobials and antioxidants.
On the one hand, peanut shell waste is quite abundant. This was realized by the student team of UNDIP inventors consisting of Zullaekah (Agroecotechnology), Idhiyani Murounaky (Physics), Lutfi Lubihanto (Chemical Engineering), Nova Elisa (Communication Science) and Berlian Harry Saputra (Mathematics) under the guidance of Dr. T. Ir. Indro Sumantri, M.Eng succeeded in finding environmentally friendly antiseptic technology from peanut shells waste using the pyrolysis method. The results of the discovery won an award in the form of a silver medal at the 2022 World Young Inventors Exhibition (WYIE) event in Malaysia. The event is routinely carried out and has succeeded in gathering inventors from all over the world, both from among students, college students, researchers and practitioners.
The research that has been carried out aimed to test the effectiveness of peanut shells liquid smoke on the growth of bacteria on the hands. Zullaekah as the team leader explained that the liquid smoke from peanut shells was made using the pyrolysis method while the purification was carried out with activated charcoal.
The results showed that peanut shells’ liquid smoke had antiseptic activity, as evidenced by a decrease in the number of bacterial colonies that grew when compared to the negative control (aquadest). Therefore, liquid smoke from peanut shells has the potential to be used as an antibacterial agent in hand sanitizers.
Undip is committed to continuing to support student mobility activities on an international scale. In addition to competition activities, FPP Undip regularly sends students to participate in exchanges abroad, including America, Taiwan, Japan and China.
