Semarang, March 9, 2023 – Five Chemistry students from Diponegoro University won a silver medal in an essay competition with the main idea of creating an environmentally friendly copper (Cu) metal adsorbent. They used cellulose from banana stem waste (Musa paradisiaca sp) as the main material for TiO2 composite adsorbent.
The five students are Riski Aprianto, Muhammad Farkhad Al-farizi, Fadia Nurshafiya, Najwa Gizka Angelina, and Yossy Yudhia Nila Faiz (Chemistry 2020). They were selected as finalists from 1,200 registered teams and represented Undip in the technology, energy, and environment essay competition held in Lombok on March 5-7, 2023.
According to Riski Aprianto, as one of the team members, banana stems are often produced as waste that is frequently discarded. However, cellulose contained in the waste can be utilized as the main material to create copper metal adsorbent.
“In this essay, we successfully outlined the benefits of an environmentally friendly copper metal adsorbent with relatively low production costs. Additionally, this scientific study also aimed to reduce environmental pollution as the adsorbent we created can absorb copper metal in water,” said Riski Aprianto in his statement received on Tuesday (9/3/2023).
Essay competition attended by 1,200 teams from various universities in Indonesia. The Chemistry Diponegoro team succeeded in winning second place. They hope that this essay can be further developed to provide broader benefits and information for society and the environment.
