Essential Oil Extraction Tool of the Creation of the Student of IPB Passed PIMNAS 2017
Innovation developed by a group of students of Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) consisting of Angga Khalifah Tsauqi, Sri Nurjanah, Soffi Lutfia Dewi Trizana, and Ilham Maulidin got away the National Student Science Week (PIMNAS), August 2017 in Universitas Muslim Indonesia Makassar. They were one of 31 groups coming from IPB who qualified the 30th PIMNAS held by the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education.
With the guidance from Dr. Heriyanto Syafutra, this team developed the tool that could extract the essential oil. The innovation of the Student Creativity Program of Technology Application (PKM-T) was titled “OHMIC1.6”: Alat Ekstraksi Minyak Serai Wangi Tepat Guna dan Efisien / OHMIC1.6”: Appropriate and Efficient Lemon Grass Oil Extraction Tool”.
OHMIC1.6 was an extract of the essential oil of the lemon grass which utilized the concept of Ohmic heating or Joule heating. The ohmic heating was a heating food product by using the flow of electricity that flew through the product. This extraction tool was tubular given a stainless steel plate on both sides to conduct heat generated from electricity.
“OHMIC1.6 is a new innovation in the field of extracting essential oils, especially essential oils from the lemon grass plants. This tool utilizes the movement of electrons that flow on the plate mounted on the opposite side of the tube. AC current is flowing through the control, so that the extraction processs can be set automatically. The selection of the raw material is stainless steel, because it is easier to find on the Island of Java.” said Angga Khalifah Tsauqi.
By utilizing the garden lemon grass (Cymbopogon Nardus L.) owned by PT. MB Plus Agro which had been a partner during the testing of this tool, they sought to develop an extraction tool that had previously used only the conventional methods. Namely in the form of tubes that were heated with the firewood.
“The conventional method utilizes the fuel in the form of the firewood, the kerosene, or the diesel to heat the stove, so that it can evaporate the hot water that can finally open the pores of the lemon grass fragrance. After that, the essential oil floating on the water is taken manually. The process with this traditional method takes a long time, as well as the manual oil removal can reduce the quality of oil.” he added.
Angga added that this OHMIC1.6 was environmentally friendly, because it did not cause the pollution as it occurred when heating using the diesel or the firewood. OHMIC1.6 was easy to use, as it was equipped with an automated system to keep the extraction temperature not exceeding the pre-set limits, thereby reducing the risk of the low yield quality.
The method applied by PKM-T OHMIC1.6 could also be applied not only to the extraction of the lemon grass oil, but also it could be used for the extraction of the essential oil from other plants.
“They expect that the tool of OHMIC 1.6 that is in the process of filing this patent can be one of the new breakthroughs in the field of essential oil extraction that can maintain the quality as well as increase the production of the essential oil,” he said. (GG/Zul)
