Find Freon Replacement on AC, IPB Student become Best Presenters in MARSS 2018

Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) showed another achievement through their students in the national arena. This time, two students won Best Presentation at MARSS Scientific Writing Competition 2018. This prestigious event was held on 19-22 May 2018 at Yogyakarta State University.

They are Yeyen Laorenza and Ani Nuraeni. Both are students from the Department of Aquatic Product Technology, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science IPB. Both students conducted research on building energy-efficient building system based on phase change material (PCM) from fish oil.

According to Yeyen, the initial idea of ??this paper stems from the danger of using freon cooling in air conditioner (AC). She explained that Freon has Global Warming Potential index (GWP) 510 times larger than carbon dioxide, which is 1 kilogram of freon released into the air equivalent to the wastage of 4,800 kilograms of carbon dioxide gas.

"Freon also has a very high Atmospheric Life Time (ALT). Freon gas can even last for 15 years in the atmosphere before it breaks down. The danger from the freon triggered us to examine what cooling agent could replace the freon ", he said.

Yeyen and Ani use phase-change material derived from fatty acid-based fish oil. This material is called Marine Fish Oil Phase Change Material (MFO PCM). According to him, fatty acids can be heat storage because they have the thermodynamic and kinetic properties suitable for latent low temperature latent storage. Fish oil is used because it includes a potential source of fatty acids.

"We get the raw materials from waste of fishery companies that produce lot of waste offal and head part that can be used as source of fish oil. Excess fatty acid compared to other PCM materials is because it has good chemical stability, non-toxic and is a renewable material ", she explained.

Under the guidance of Bambang Riyanto, SPi MSi, lecturer in the Department of Aquatic Product Technology, FPIK IPB, the two students conducted the research entitled as "Future Energy Saving Building with Thermal Insulator Structure Based Marine Fish Oil Phase Change Material".

Preparation of PCM MFO from fish oil is done by epoxidation of oil first to break the double bond contained in fish oil. The results showed MFO PCM able to absorb more heat than crude fish oil. MFO PCM can be integrated in buildings especially on walls and ceilings. The PCM MFO application on the wall uses a form of fins that is filled with PCM while on the ceiling using a cylindrical shape.

Yeyen and Ani admitted happy to do this research and become Best Presentation in MARSS 2018. They hope that the system they have designed can be realized in Indonesia, because some countries already use this material as cooler material in room (DMR).