The creative skill and innovation of the academic community and researchers can solve challenges faced by the community and make Indonesia a developed country. As performed by the lecturer of the Mechanical Design Engineering (RPM) Study Program of UNDIP Vocational School, Sri Utami Handayani, S.T., M.T. A lecturer with an expert in Energy Audit, usually called Utami, had developed a microwave thermochemical process to produce Functional Fine Powder Green Tea.
Utami stated that this research alongside a green tea expert, Mohamad Endy Yulianto, Rizka Amalia, Sutrisno, and Didik Ariwibowo, with a green tea industry partner, PPTK Gambung and PT. Rumpun Sari Medini’s was the Superior Applied Research in Higher Education scheme (PTUPT). DRTPM accommodated this PTUPT activity with a study of “The Production of Functional Fine Powder Green Tea Through Microwave Thermochemical Process by Utilizing Agitated Cylindrical Rotary Inactivator.” The research innovation was developing an enzymatic inactivation process to increase green tea’s catechin level. Thus, the actual efficacy of green tea will be feasible in terminating deadly diseases.
Utami is an energy auditor for geothermal power plants (PLTP), fuel terminals, nickel mines, and petrochemical industries at PT. TPPI Tuban. She revealed that the main problem in the green tea industry currently is the relatively low quality of tea and the significant need for electricity and fuel during the withering process, which amounts to 0.48 kWh/kg of dry tea or equivalent to 50.1% of the total energy requirement. Therefore, there is a need to develop the withering process through a high-efficiency system called the agitated cylindrical rotary inactivator with microwaves to produce green tea as a functional fine powder.
However, according to Utami, the development of this technology is still hindered by the integration of energy from upstream to downstream processes, in addition to thermal degradation of the product caused by ionic conduction heat penetrating the tonoplast membrane. This results in a small portion of catechins in the vacuole transforming into theaflavin and thearubigin.
Utami added that the tea leaf withering process aims to inactivate the cytoplasm’s polyphenol oxidase and hydroperoxide enzymes, producing high-catechin green tea products. Withering using the thermochemical process of microwaves based on ionic conduction heat transfer causes these enzymes to become inactive.
Microwave radiation occurs evenly due to the drum’s rotation, which can reduce the oxygen diffusivity into the tea leaf cytoplasm. This reduces the enzymatic oxidation of catechin compounds into theaflavin and thearubigin when the tonoplast membrane is ruptured. The phenomenon of microwave dipole rotation also helps maintain constant tea leaf temperature operating conditions, as stated by Utami.
Utami explained that through the highly efficient agitated cylindrical rotary inactivator system, it is possible to reduce energy consumption and increase the quality and productivity of fine powder green tea to reach 13,750 Rupiahs/kg of green tea. Therefore, the world-class functional fine powder green tea, rich in polyphenols from research results, is declared to have anti-cancer activity, maintain heart health, act as antioxidants and antimicrobials, extend menopause, and prevent cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and other degenerative diseases.
Hopefully, in the future, all green tea industries in Indonesia and around the world will implement this Well-Proven technology, certified with patents granted under Numbers IDS000005673, IDS000004245, and IDS000002697, so that productivity and quality (catechins) increase and become healthier. “The team hopes that the research results can benefit the green tea industry, the pharmaceutical industry as raw material for catechin preparations, tea farmers, and the community healthy green tea as a popular functional food nowadays,” concluded Utami.
