InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Faculty of Engineering Research Team of University of Indonesia (UI) introduced environmental innovation in construction sector. It is a concrete from recycling palm oil shell and named as PalmCrete®. The innovation was firstly represented at Semarak Usaha Kecil Mikro dan Koperasi (UKMK) Sawit 2024 that Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (POFMA) conducted by the early of August 2024 in Makassar, South Sulawesi Province.

PalmCrete® was the result research lad by Dr. Sotya Astutiningsih, who was also the chairman of the team research with the members - Dr. Nuraziz Handika, Dr. Bastian B. Sentosa, Dr. Arian Dhini, Dr. Mochamad Adhiraga Pratama, and Dwica Wulandari.

The research was funded by the 2021 Grant Riset Sawit with the goal, to take advantages on palm oil shell as the aggregate substitution in concrete and get environmental and economic materials.

Dr. Sotya said that choosing palm oil shell as the substitution material was from some considerations, such as, concrete performance, environmental impacts, and techno-economic study. Palm oil shell which is the waste of palm oil extraction process, has highly hardiness with the scale 26,9 or hardly equal to pure gold hardiness.

“Palm oil shell is hard and having bio-oil which is also preserve. The termite would be difficult to fall it apart,” Dr. Sotya said, as InfoSAWIT quoted from the official page of UI, Tuesday (20/8/2024).

The team processed palm oil shell to be aggregate to be made as concrete. The concrete itself is weigh at about 1850 – 1900 kg/m³ and the average power would be at about sebesar 19,1 MPa. It is hard enough to be used in simple building for a stay.

PalmCrete® has its superiority in earth quake test. “PalmCrete® was like normal concrete. It has four spot – loading, higher tenacity at semi – cyclic loading that indicated this kind of concrete would be durable to earth quake loading,” he said. Besides, the concrete has pervious characteristic and would be potential to be as block paving in drainage system.

Dean of Faculty of Engineering UI, Prof. Heri Hermansyah appreciated the innovation and said that the products in palm oil – base, such as, PalmCrete® could be produced by micro, small, and medium businesses as the way to deliver palm oil campaigns.

“The participation of Dr. Sotya and his team at Semarak UKMK would be the commitment of Faculty of Engineering of UI to share knowledge and expand its network with palm oil stakeholders and smallholders in Indonesia,” Prof. Heri said. (T2)