Surabaya UM Community Service Students Turn Waste into Environmentally Friendly Liquid Fertilizer

Utilization of household waste is encouraged to reduce waste. Starting from re-processing the creation of useful and economical goods until they are fit for sale. University of Muhammadiyah (UM) Surabaya Real Work Lecture (KKN) students process waste into basic materials for environmentally friendly fertilizers through combustion engines. The incendiary engine which is made takes two months to work on and has been tested in Bulak Banteng District, Surabaya.

Dikki Yostiano Ferhansyah, a KKN member in Bulak District, explained that the reason for this device, which is called a low-emission waste burner, is due to the large amount of household waste that continues to accumulate. Moreover, people prefer to burn in the open which causes disturbances around the environment rather than burying garbage.

“In the Bulak Banteng Urban Village, there is still a lot of rubbish lying around. This is our reference for making appropriate technological innovations," he said at the KKN innovation exhibition, Tuesday (30/8/22).

Dikki explained how the tool works quite easily, household waste such as paper and dry leaves are put in the drum first to be burned. The smoke generated from burning waste will be sucked up by the blower fan inside the machine. Then the smoke will rise and be sprayed using a sprayer. At this stage the smoke will become liquid dew, this liquid will become fertilizer.

"Fertilizer is good to use if the color of the liquid is yellow or black, but the process takes longer," said Dikky again.

The tool, which was made by 19 inter-faculty Community Service Students, spent around IDR 1 million, with a capacity of 25 milliliters of liquid fertilizer and 20 kg of waste. While the components used in making this tool are drums, sprayers, hoses, blowers and water pumps.

Dikki added that although using all types of waste, each type of waste has a different duration. Like the use of dry garbage about 2 hours. Meanwhile, plastic waste and bottles take about 1 day longer to turn into liquid smoke.

"The advantage of this tool is that it is environmentally friendly, when compared to fertilizers from manufacturers that damage the soil. Another advantage is that the ashes from the waste can be reprocessed into paving," he said.

Meanwhile, the low-emission waste incinerator is one of the 45 Innovation Products for Serving Villages with Innovation through KKN UM Surabaya.

UM Surabaya Chancellor Sukadiono stated that the innovative products exhibited by Um Surabaya students would be assisted in obtaining Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).