Volcanic ash, sarong patterns inspire award-winning inventions
They are bright high school students with ideas about solving problems in their communities. Little did they know that their local-based innovations would take them to a global science fair.
Three teams of Indonesian high school students won awards and recognition at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in the US early May, which was participated in by 1,700 young scientists from 75 countries.
One of the team was Luca Cada Lora and Galih Ramadhan from SMA 1 high school in Surakarta, Central Java. They won fourth place for their research on a volcanic ash-based heavy metal absorbent called packed VolcASH.
Their inspiration came from the ash plumes ejected by Mount Kelud in East Java, which drifted more than 100 kilometers to their neighborhood area.
“At first, we noticed that the wastewater in the ditch looked clearer than before. It turns out that there was a sediment of volcanic ash in the ditch. From that, we had the hypothesis that volcanic ash could be used as water purifying material,” Galih said.
The pair started research in their humble school laboratory with a Rp 2 million (US$151.51) grant from the school.
“Before we were able to complete it, the grant ran out. Thankfully, seven donors were willing to back the research, which in total cost Rp 5.7 million,” said Luca, whose father works in a factory in Cikarang, West Java.
The specially designed canister of volcanic ash they developed was able to absorb heavy metals from the synthetic dyes used by many batik-makers in Laweyan. According to Luca, many batik-makers have stopped using natural dyes.
“The city has an integrated water treatment facility. Each batik firm must pay a monthly fee for it. But unfortunately, some irresponsible batik-makers chose to dispose of the wastewater in the nearby river,” Galih said.
One of the team was Luca Cada Lora and Galih Ramadhan from SMA 1 high school in Surakarta, Central Java. They won fourth place for their research on a volcanic ash-based heavy metal absorbent called packed VolcASH.
Their inspiration came from the ash plumes ejected by Mount Kelud in East Java, which drifted more than 100 kilometers to their neighborhood area.
“At first, we noticed that the wastewater in the ditch looked clearer than before. It turns out that there was a sediment of volcanic ash in the ditch. From that, we had the hypothesis that volcanic ash could be used as water purifying material,” Galih said.
The pair started research in their humble school laboratory with a Rp 2 million (US$151.51) grant from the school.
“Before we were able to complete it, the grant ran out. Thankfully, seven donors were willing to back the research, which in total cost Rp 5.7 million,” said Luca, whose father works in a factory in Cikarang, West Java.
The specially designed canister of volcanic ash they developed was able to absorb heavy metals from the synthetic dyes used by many batik-makers in Laweyan. According to Luca, many batik-makers have stopped using natural dyes.
“The city has an integrated water treatment facility. Each batik firm must pay a monthly fee for it. But unfortunately, some irresponsible batik-makers chose to dispose of the wastewater in the nearby river,” Galih said.
Luca hoped that their innovation would help reduce pollution in the river and become a low-cost alternative for batik firms to treat their waste. Moreover, VolcASH’s main material, volcanic ash, can be easily found in Indonesia, home to 130 active volcanoes.
Initially, Luca and Galih submitted their research to the 2014 Youth Science Competition held by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and won gold medals in the natural science category. Later, Intel Indonesia chose them to represent Indonesia, along with five other teams, at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair from May 10 to 15 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Initially, Luca and Galih submitted their research to the 2014 Youth Science Competition held by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and won gold medals in the natural science category. Later, Intel Indonesia chose them to represent Indonesia, along with five other teams, at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair from May 10 to 15 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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