Undip TRKI Students Win 2nd Place & Favorite Award, Transform Rice Bran into Healthy Cooking Oil

Students from the Vocational School of Diponegoro University have once again achieved commendable success. A team from the Chemical Engineering Technology (TRKI) program secured 2nd place and the Favorite Business Plan award in a competition titled Agricultural Day Competition 2024. The Agricultural Day Competition 2024 was organized by HIMAVO IPB University, themed “Fields of Growth: Encouraging Agricultural Innovation and Sustainability,” in celebration of National Farmers’ Day. The competition consisted of five categories: Infographic Competition, Scientific Writing Competition, Debate Competition, Business Plan Competition, and Creative Video Competition.

Shervaya Latiffa, along with team members Nadia Khaliza Putri and Diana Mufiidah, developed an innovative project for the Business Plan Competition titled FLARISO (Flavored Rice Bran Oil). FLARISO is an innovative cooking oil made from rice bran, rich in calcium, iron, antioxidants, as well as vitamins E and K. Shervaya explained that this cooking oil offers better nutrition with the addition of essential oils from garlic, ginger, and black pepper for natural flavor and aroma. This product delivers a delicious taste while supporting a healthy lifestyle, making it ideal for those who want to enjoy quality dishes with more complete and balanced nutritional content. “The motivation behind our project is rice bran, which is often discarded or used only as animal feed. In fact, rice bran contains high-value components, one of which is rice bran oil, which has great potential to be processed into value-added products,” Shervaya stated as the team leader.

Nadia Khaliza Putri, commonly called Nadia, added that the concept involves placing subcritical water extractors in each district to bring the rice bran oil extraction process closer to the rice milling process. This aims to prevent the rapid increase of free fatty acid content in rice bran after milling due to the presence of lipase enzymes. Meanwhile, Diana explained that the lipase enzymes in rice bran after milling have the potential to catalyze enzymatic hydrolysis of oil into free fatty acids. This hydrolysis process is undesirable because it affects oil quality and reduces yield.

Mohamad Endy Yulianto, the Head of the Chemical Engineering Technology Program at Vocational Undip, expressed gratitude and pride in the achievements of TRKI students at UNDIP. He noted that the students have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments that positively impact the broader community, Endy concluded.