Designing an Eco-Friendly Air Purifier Innovation, FMIPA UI Student Team Wins National Business Innovation Event

Adnan Hasyim Wibowo (Geophysics 2021), Ratna Ayu Lestari (Biology 2020), and Fathan Mubina (Biology 2020) won 2nd place in the national business innovation competition entitled "Innovative Business Development in the Era of Energy Transition and Mineral Downstreaming", which was organized by PT Cogindo Daya Bersama.

The announcement of the winners and the awarding of prizes to the champions were held live at PT Cogindo Daya Bersama, South Jakarta, on Wednesday (7/6/2023). The team named Kopi Susu competed closely with 49 student teams from other universities.

The team led by Adnan offered an innovation entitled "AGASA (Algae for Sustainable Action): Bisnis Urban air purifier berbasis fotobioreaktor sebagai Advanced Decarbonization Strategy dalam mensinergikan target net zero emission dan transisi energi baru dan terbarukan (EBT)”.

agasa is urban air purifier photobioreactor-based that utilizes the photosynthesis process of algae to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.

"The expected results of this innovation are clean air and algae that can be used as bioenergy. In addition to purifying the air, AGASA is also environmentally friendly and supports the commitment net zero emission and the clean renewable energy transition,” said Adnan explaining his team’s work.

They placed the photobioreactor in an urban area. The background to this idea was the rare blue sky phenomenon in Jakarta during the COVID-19 pandemic. The team captured this phenomenon as an idea to design a photobioreactor, with the aim of decarbonizing or reducing greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas that already have minimal opportunities for planting trees.

"In addition to being useful in reducing pollution, this innovation also aims to provide an oxygen supply to the environment around the installation of the device," said Adnan.

The Kopi Susu team began their journey by collecting business proposals according to the ideas they had proposed. After being announced as having advanced to the semifinals, they made an online presentation. Finally, in the final round, they made a face-to-face presentation by bringing prototype inovasi bisnis urban air purifier based on the photobioreactor they created.

In designing their innovation, the team divided tasks according to their respective fields of expertise. Team members, Ratna Ayu Lestari and Fathan Mubina, from the Department of Biology focused on assisting in the selection of algae species and effective culture methods in decarbonizing urban air. Both also designed a method for utilizing algae biomass to be recycled into various products, especially bioenergy products. Fathan Mubina, who has an entrepreneurial background, also contributed to the financial planning and marketing of this proposal.

"In teamwork, each member contributed well. I am responsible for operations, Fathan for financial projections, and Ratna for marketing. However, the prototype was made collaboratively by all team members," said Adnan to the FMIPA UI Public Relations team.

The Kopi Susu team solves problems that are close to everyday life. This photobioreactor is planned to be placed in a location with high traffic, so that its benefits can be seen directly by the community. In addition, this innovation has the potential to carry out extensive collaboration, both with the government, NGOs, and large companies.

Like most students, the challenges faced by the Kopi Susu team in participating in this competition are the busyness of each member and limited time. In this competition, they were only given one week to create prototype. Busy academic activities, midterm exams, and other activities were challenges in themselves. However, with hard work and good teamwork, they managed to complete the prototype on time before the presentation.

At the end of the interview session with the FMIPA UI Public Relations Team, Adnan represented the Kopi Susu Team to give a message and encouragement to all other FMIPA UI students.

"Our message to other friends, we as young people must continue to be enthusiastic in developing our potential and trying various opportunities that exist in college. As the saying goes, "Nothing is wasted in trying." Keep your spirits up, don't be afraid to fail, and keep learning from every experience. Achievement and success will come with determination and hard work," he said.

The 2023 Business Innovation Competition organized by PT Cogindo Daya Bersama has the theme "Innovative Business Development in the Era of Energy Transition and Mineral Downstreaming". This competition invites active D3, S1, and S2 students to participate in providing their brilliant ideas.

Public Relations Contributor of FMIPA UI: Arrizqy Nadya Khairunissa (Geography 2019)

News source : https://sci.ui.ac.id/