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Tag: Universitas Sumatera Utara

USU’s Faculty of Engineering processes palm oil mill waste through pyrolysis technology

Posted on by Editorial Team

Indonesia holds one of the largest palm oil commodities in the world, occupying 12.76 million hectares with a sizable area of oil palm estate in the North Sumatra Province and producing 36.59 million tonnes of Fresh Fruit Bunch (FFB) in 2018. Effective waste management is crucial for the life cycle of the industry in addition to its environment. Processing 100 tonnes of FFB produces waste in the form of 5 tonnes of Oil Palm Shell (OPS), 22 tonnes of Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB), 14 tonnes of Oil Palm Fiber (OPF), and Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME). POME is a highly pollutive liquid waste and accounts for an estimated 60% of the processed FFB produced substantially nationally. The combined amount of pollutants calls for better waste management that can contribute to a circular economy, especially in oil palm estates.

A team of researchers at the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Sumatera Utara, led by Dr. Eng Taufiq Bin Nur, S.T., M.Eng.Sc., have come up with an optimal waste processing technology by using pyrolysis, which can also increase the commercial value of the waste by utilizing its EFB and sludge. Applying this technology supports the realization of food security by producing organic fertilizers and, therefore, new renewable energy derived from biomass.

Pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of biomass into a range of valuable products either in the total absence of oxygen or with limited oxygen. The heat needed by the process is obtained through burning biomass in the form of unused wood and EFB. The process can produce biochar, liquid smoke (bio-oil), and syngas from biomass raw materials in one production by maintaining the working temperature of the reactor constant as needed up to 550°C. The pyrolysis process increases the calorific value of the waste compared to its raw state, rising to 36.5% in the case of EFB and coffee dregs or 65% in coconut shells. When applied to EFB raw materials, at the moment, the test results at the Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute in Medan show that the biochar also had the following composition: Nitrogen (0.82%), P2O5 (0.83%, total), K2O (11.57%), Organic C (35.24%), and 0.80% Organic N.

The research team sees multiple advantages in implementing this innovative smokeless pyrolysis system in oil palm estates. Firstly, it helps minimize the environmental impact of the waste because it is smokeless, and up to 250 kg of EFB can be processed further per 5 hours, producing biochar, bio-oil, and syngas, as shown in Figures 1 – 2. Biochar and bio-oil could be an alternative to organic fertilizer. Furthermore, flue gas from the combustion can be treated further to minimize CO2 emissions in the plantation area. The heat from the system can also dry the POME sludge, allowing easier processing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Biomass Pyrolysis System.

 

This pyrolysis technology innovation from USU Faculty of Engineering researchers can help overcome the Palm Oil Mill (POM) waste problem while increasing the sale value. Their goal is to operate a start-up industry producing organic fertilizer while dealing with POM waste in North Sumatra, building a sustainable industry enriched with better waste management and promoting a circular economy by cooperating with the rural enterprise.

USU as the initiator of the first ocular prosthesis consultation and service center

Posted on by Editorial Team

In accordance with its vision and mission, the Specialist Program in Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, one of the study programs at Universitas Sumatera Utara, participates in developing a knowledge-based economic culture to foster new entrepreneurs by organizing “Program Pengembangan Usaha Produk Intelektual Kampus” (PPUPIK), which is a recent innovation with substantial economic values. The Prosthodontic Specialist Program has developed the Ocular Prosthesis Consultation and Service Center. Producing ocular prosthesis is one of the competencies of a dentist specializing in prosthodontics because a prosthodontist deals not only with dental problems but also with maxillofacial rehabilitation, including the manufacture of ocular prosthesis, ear prosthesis, nose prosthesis, feeding plates, and obturators. The process of creating an ocular prosthesis is conceptually similar to that of making dentures.

Evisceration and enucleation are two possible eye surgery treatments. The surgical procedure, known as evisceration, removes the eyeball but leaves the sclera and connective tissue within the orbital cavity. Installing a stock ocular prosthesis is a recommended course of treatment for evisceration, while there are some circumstances where a custom ocular prosthesis can be fitted. A surgical operation, known as enucleation, removes the entire eyeball by removing and severing the tissue that holds it in the orbital cavity. In 2019, this program conducted a community service project for ocular prosthetic treatments in association with the Sumatra Eye Center. The project has served 78 patients (2017-2019) for surgery but has not got their prosthetic eyes fitted.

Figure 1. Before and after the insertion of the ocular prosthesis at The Ocular Prosthesis Consultation and Service Center

Sometimes, an ophthalmologist at an eye hospital or eye clinic suggests that the patients should find a dentist specializing in prosthodontics regarding their postoperative care with the creation of artificial eyes. This is not efficient in terms of time and money. The problem may arise if the eye surgery patients cannot find a service center facilitating synergy between ophthalmologists and prosthodontic specialists. It will undoubtedly be more straightforward for patients if they can find a place offering services ranging from consultation to producing artificial eyes. The Specialist Program in Prosthodontics considered “Program Pengembangan Usaha Produk Intelektual Kampus” (PPUPIK) as a medium to establish an ocular prosthesis consultation and service center, which has not been found in Indonesia. This consultation and service center was established in response to some of the abovementioned issues.

There are three product specifications available at the Ocular Prosthesis Consultation and Service Center, namely:

  1. The Ocular Prosthesis Consultation Center – Consultation Center – On their first appointment, patients who come to the artificial eye consultation and service facility will meet an ophthalmologist. The condition of the patient’s eye socket will determine whether they require different therapy before the artificial eye is manufactured, whether they can only receive a factory artificial eye, or whether they are prepared to move forward with the artificial eye service method.
  2. The Ocular Prosthesis Consultation Services – Production Center – Patients who have gone through the ophthalmologist’s screening process and have been given the all-clear to proceed with the ocular prosthesis service procedure will be transferred to a team of prosthodontists, who will then perform the ocular services. Anatomical impression, wax try-in, individual impression, scleral wax try-in, produced sclera, produced iris button, layered sclera acrylic with clear scleral, insertion of ocular prosthesis, and periodic control are the first steps in the imitation process.

Figure 2. Ocular Prosthesis Services and Production Room

3. Ocular Prosthesis Training Center – Training Center – A team from the Specialist Program in Prosthodontics or a unit from another university that has worked with the Faculty of Dentistry of USU gives ocular prosthesis training. Hands-on instruction in the “Simple Laboratory Procedure in Fabricating Esthetic Ocular Prosthesis” has been provided by Rosli bin Bidin from the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Malaya.

Program Pengembangan Usaha Produk lntelektual Kampus. The Ocular Prosthesis Consultation and Service Center aims to apply and commercialize ocular prosthesis services that have been carried out so far. In 2019, the Specialist Program in Prosthodontics utilized the most up-to-date technology and methodology, adopted from numerous international journals, resource people from universities in other countries who give training, and the experience when making ocular prosthesis in the community service program to provide ocular prosthesis training and services regarding consultation centers and ocular prosthesis services. This initiative has been implemented annually for three years: in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The Ocular Prosthesis Consultation and Service Center has obtained a copyright in the form of a video about making artificial eyes.

The students of the Specialist Program in Prosthodontics who have created ocular prosthesis at the consultation center and services successfully presented 20 case reports at the Maxillofacial Virtual Online Scientific Competition during The 12th Biennial Congress of the Asian Academy of Prosthodontics and took home the first and second place in IPROSI in the second year program.

The management team for this Ocular Prosthesis Consultation and Service Center includes the General Manager (Putri Welda Utami Ritonga, DDS., MDSc., Sp.Pros(K)), the Manager of Production (Prof. Haslinda Z. Tannin, DDS., M.Kes., Sp.Pros(K)), the Manager of Administration/Finance (Veronica Angelic, DDS., MDSc., Sp.Pros), and the Manager of Marketing (dr. Aryani Atiyatul Amra, M.Ked(Oph)., Sp.M(K)). Consultation activities, training, and artificial eye services are carried out at The Specialist Program in Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, located on Jalan Alumni, No. 02, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Sumatera Utara.

Universitas Sumatera Utara Medical Studies on “One Health” approach to deal with Knowlesi Malaria and Other Emerging Infectious Diseases

Posted on by Editorial Team

The emergence of new diseases calls for new preparations. While viral diseases like avian flu, zika, and Ebola have not reached the pandemic status of Covid-19, records of their epidemic have been numerous. Covid-19 proves that no viral diseases should be underestimated; new strains could emerge almost without warning and the best vigilance is always understanding what to expect and how to respond. As a major university in North Sumatra, Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) needs to contribute medical studies to look for ways to improving human well-being and quality of life through disease prevention.

Many emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic: deriving from pathogens present in animals through changes in the ecosystems and land use, intensification of agriculture, urbanization, international travel, and trade. A collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach, cutting across boundaries of animal, human, and environmental health, is needed to understand the ecology of each emerging zoonotic diseases to undertake risk assessment and develop response strategies. Recognizing this scope, USU has adopted a “One Health” approach in medical studies by building a multidisciplinary collaboration to achieve optimal health outcomes by recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. Currently, USU is undertaking medical research on Knowlesi malaria directed by Dr. Inke Nadia D. Lubis, Ph.D, a medical specialist and researcher from USU and is conducted in USU Medical Research Facility Center.

Knowlesi malaria is a novel emerging disease in Southeast Asia. It is a malaria parasite of the long-tailed (Macaca fasicularis) and pig-tailed (M. nemestrina) macaque monkeys and is transmitted by the Anopheles leucosphyrus group of mosquitoes. First identified as an emergent public health threat in 2004, human malaria from P. knowlesi has now been reported throughout the region in countries where the macaque hosts and mosquito vectors are found. Dr. Inke has confirmed the presence of this malaria in North Sumatera, where it has contributed to 32% of malaria cause in studied areas. She and her team has been developing a rigorous molecular detection tool that targets the schizont-infected cell agglutination variant antigens (SICAvar) as a unique gene to P. knowlesi. This increases its recognition and identification in humans, enabling quicker response and more detailed monitoring.

USU is collaborating with the Indonesia Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, and Australia Menzies School of Health Research as part of its “One Health” approach to strengthen the surveillance of zoonotic malaria in Indonesia. North Sumatra is home to two national parks in which some forests had been impacted by changes in land use to plantations and farming, making it one of the places best suited to this study. This international collaboration evaluates the disease burden, agricultural practices, and mosquito vectors associated with knowlesi transmission. The study would help identify the type of intervention measures needed to control knowlesi malaria, prevent the introduction of other zoonotic diseases to the population while ensuring that agricultural development remains sustainable.