Jeanny Wijaya and Jolanda Pretty Punyanan, students of the Chemical Engineering Study Program of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), succeeded in winning the first place in the Chemical Engineering to Atmosphere (CHEETAH) Essay Competition held by the Chemical Engineering Student Association of the University of Muhammadiyah Jakarta (UMJ) on Saturday (UMJ) 08/24/2019). This team is under the guidance of Dr. Ir. Melia Laniwati Gunawan, M.S.

This essay contest is a competition in the field of Chemical Engineering science on a national scale that is held every year. This year, the theme raised was “Industrial Transformation Strategy to Deal with Industry 4.0.

“Jeanny and Jolanda took the sub-theme of renewable energy innovation and made an essay entitled “Utilization of Microalgae Biomass as a Source of Biodiesel Raw Materials in the Face of the Industrial Revolution 4.0.” The idea arose because of the abundant amount of microalgae in Indonesia, its ability to rapidly breed, its cultivation only requires water, CO2, and sunlight, and high lipid content. These things make microalgae potential as biodiesel raw material.

The application of biodiesel based on microalgae has been done commercially in several factories in America. However, the use of microalgae as biodiesel has not been done on a factory scale in Indonesia due to technological limitations. This is a challenge for students to continue to innovate for the betterment of the Indonesian nation.