VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Various innovations related to the Covid-19 pandemic were carried out by Indonesian students. Hand Sanitizer made from stale rice by students of Airlangga University -Unair is the theme of today’s Miscellany. Rice waste that has become stale can actually be used, which is used as a formula for making hand sanitizers. This was done by five students of the Unair Vocational Faculty. According to Yasmin Auliya Hylmi as the team leader, the bioethanol formula in the stale rice with the addition of basil leaf extract is effective at killing various microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, including the coronavirus.

This hand sanitizer has various advantages over the existing ones. The formula does not contain methanol so that it does not cause toxicity effects. The basic ingredients used are natural so they are easy to obtain and cheap because they are made from waste. In addition, the formula is efficient in use. This content acts not only as an antibacterial, but also as an antiviral and anti-fungal. In fact, the idea of utilizing rice waste arose because a lot of rice was wasted for free from food stalls. In addition, hand washing facilities in the pandemic era are still minimal.

For the extraction of basil leaves, according to Yasmin, it is carried out by using a maceration method. Maceration is the process of immersing a sample using organic solvents at room temperature. This hand sanitizer is called ‘Nasi Wangi Gel’. Even though it is made from stale rice, of course this formula has a fresh smell and has been proven to be effective at eliminating microbes.