Prof. Dr. Hendro Juwono, M.Si., the 212th Professor of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), has successfully developed a method to convert plastic waste into biofuel using biomass. This innovation addresses two critical issues at once: reducing dependence on fossil fuels and mitigating the escalating environmental threat posed by plastic pollution.
Prof. Hendro Juwono from the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Data Analytics (FSAD) at ITS, classifies polymers into two categories: natural and synthetic polymers. Natural polymers, such as rubber, protein, starch and collagen, are naturally biodegradable. In contrast, synthetic polymers - such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene (the main components of plastic) - are resistant to degradation.
Derived from non-renewable resources, plastics have a chemical structure similar to fossil fuels.
To address this problem, Prof. Hendro conducted research using the pyrolysis method to process degradable plastics. The result? A fuel with a Research Octane Number (RON) of 98-102, comparable to premium gasoline.
"The RON number indicates that this fuel is of higher quality than most fuels currently available to the public," he explained.
Affordable Biofuel from Plastic and Biomass
Although the resulting Research Octane Number (RON) is relatively high, converting plastic waste into fuel requires extreme temperatures (400°C) that consume a significant amount of electricity. In contrast, biomass sources such as nyamplung oil, crude palm oil (CPO) and waste cooking oil (WCO) only require a temperature of 250°C.
To improve cost efficiency, Prof. Hendro combined biomass with plastic waste, lowering the process temperature to 300°C. This blend not only reduces operating costs, but also uses more affordable and readily available feedstocks.
This research, presented as part of Prof. Hendro's inaugural lecture as ITS professor, is said to contribute to the achievement of SDG 7 (clean energy) and SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production).
Prof. Hendro emphasized that this research requires perseverance and long-term commitment in order to develop a viable solution to the environmental and energy crisis.
