Students from the Vocational School of Diponegoro University have once again brought home impressive achievements. A team of students from the Industrial Chemical Engineering Technology (TRKI) Study Program won 2nd Place and Favorite Business Plan in the competition titled Agricultural Day Competition 2024. Agricultural Day Competition 2024 is a competition organized by HIMAVO IPB University with the theme “Fields of Growth: Encouraging Agricultural Innovation and Sustainability” in commemoration of National Farmers’ Day. This competition consists of five categories: Infographic Competition, Scientific Paper Competition, Debate Competition, Business Plan Competition, and Creative Video Competition.
Shervaya Latiffa, with a team consisting of Nadia Khaliza Putri and Diana Mufiidah, developed an innovation for the Business Plan Competition titled FLARISO (Flavored Rice Bran Oil). FLARISO is an innovative cooking oil made from rice bran that is rich in calcium, iron, antioxidants, and vitamins E and K. Shervaya stated that this cooking oil offers better nutrition with the addition of essential oils from garlic, ginger, and black pepper as natural flavor and aroma enhancers. This product offers a delicious taste while supporting a healthy lifestyle, making it suitable for those who want to enjoy quality dishes with more complete and balanced nutritional content. “So, the background of our work is rice bran, which is a waste product from rice milling that is often discarded or only used as animal feed. However, rice bran contains high-value components, one of which is rice bran oil, which has great potential to be processed into value-added products,” explained Shervaya, the team leader.
Nadia Khaliza Putri, commonly known as Nadia, added that the concept involves placing subcritical water extractors in each subdistrict to bring the rice bran oil extraction process closer to rice milling. This is to avoid the rapid increase in free fatty acid content in rice bran after the milling process due to the presence of the lipase enzyme. Meanwhile, Diana explained that the lipase enzyme present in rice bran after milling has the potential to catalyze enzymatic reactions thru the hydrolysis of oil into free fatty acids. This hydrolysis process is undesirable because it affects the quality of the oil and reduces its yield.
Mohamad Endy Yulianto, Head of the Chemical Engineering Technology Study Program at Undip Vocational School, expressed gratitude and pride in the achievements of the Undip Vocational Chemical Engineering Technology students. His students have demonstrated their best performance and made an impact on the wider community, concluded Endy.