VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A team of students from the Sumatra Institute of Technology (ITERA) initiated a detergent reactor as a way to prevent environmental pollution. This idea succeeded in bringing them a gold medal in the international invention and innovation festival which was announced on January 31, 2022. The international competition was organized by the Indonesian Young Scientist Association (IYSA) through the Khayyam International Invention & Innovation Festival (KIIIF) 2022. This competition was attended by student participants, and general researchers from various countries, such as Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, China, Philippines, Poland, Kazakhstan, USA, Canada, Turkey, Qatar, Croatia, and Vietnam.

Guided by an Environmental Engineering lecturer, Andika Munandar, the student team put these ideas into a work entitled Detergent Reactor Integrated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) as Detergent Waste Treatment to Create Eco Laundry. Team leader, Radisya Ikhsan said that the discoveries and innovations initiated by his team emerged from concerns about detergent waste produced by the laundry industry. He revealed that there has been no significant processing related to detergent waste so that he and his team took the initiative to create technology capable of processing detergent waste so that it is environmentally friendly.

Radisya also explained that the detergent reactor that has been designed has several advantages, including being economical and efficient because it is integrated with an artificial intelligence (AI) system. The detergent reactor technology works by reacting the detergent waste flowing from the washing machine. Then, the output from the detergent reactor is a compound of carbon dioxide and water with a relatively small pH of 9 chemical oxygen demand (COD), and a relatively small surfactant content so that it is safe for the environment. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) systems play a role in opening the valves of the input and output pipes, as well as processing.