Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Safe toothbrushing

How to safely brush your teeth

In the developed countries it is safe to drink tap water directly. Although the tap water is uncooked it has been processed so that it is considered hygienic, sterile and germ-free. On the other hand, the situation in the developing countries is completely different. The tap water needs to be boiled before being consumed.

Let me propose an idea.For those living in or visiting developing countries) Please use boiled water also for brushing your teeth. Why? Every time you brush your teeth, droplets of the water you are using is retained in the mouth (of course just trace amounts), and some other droplets are unknowingly swallowed. Obviously, boiled water is safer. Read More..

Monday, January 12, 2009

This is the paper that I wrote and submitted to SISEST 2008

Biomass as a source of household energy in developing countries: technology and sustainable development issues
Stefanus Muryanto
Office of Research and Department of Chemical Engineering,
UNTAG University in Semarang
Jalan Pawiyatan Luhur, Bendan Duwur, Semarang, INDONESIA 50233
E-mail: stefanus_muryanto665@yahoo.com


Abstract
Biomass as a source of energy has been used for millennia, long before humankind discovered fossil-based fuels. Biomass particularly wood is the main energy source for cooking and heating in the rural communities of the developing countries. The practice of using biomass as an energy stock in the developing world is expected to continue for many years in the future. It is an added advantage that biomass, unlike other energy resources, can be found in practically every country, and constitutes mainly of agricultural residues, wild vegetation, and purposely-grown crops.As a source of energy, biomass is gaining importance since it is renewable, environment-friendly, and sustainable. Depending on the type of energy services required, the technologies for converting biomass into useful energy can be simple and easy to adopt in the rural areas of the developing countries. However, in most of these countries the use of biomass for energy is inefficient and health-damaging. During cooking, only a small fraction of the heat released by the burnt biomass can be captured by the food being cooked mostly due to the inadequacy of the cookstove design. Additionally, the cookstove gives off a lot of smoke that causes indoor air pollution detrimental to the household members. The biomass projects for energy are in most instances land-intensive and labour-intensive. This situation gives rise to a wide range of positive and negative impacts: socio-economically and environmentally. This paper discusses the biomass conversion technologies suitable for rural regions of the developing countries, and the potential factors that contribute to the aforementioned impacts. These factors include access to energy services, income generating activities, and pattern of land utilization. A typical case of a rural biogas plant is presented to illustrate both the benefits and the drawbacks of bioenergy projects.
Overview of Household Energy in Developing Countries
Biomass as a source of energy has been used worldwide for millennia, long before humankind discovered fossil-based fuels. It is the term used for all material originating from biological or organic sources. These sources include forests and wild vegetation, agriculture and animal farms, wood-based industries, and dairy processing and municipal wastes. Biomass is essentially the product of the endothermic reaction of photosynthesis, and thus collection and storage of the energy generated by the sun [Herzog et al, 2001]. Biomass can then be converted into bioenergy, which is the useful form of energy such as heat and electricity. In the developing countries, especially in rural areas, some 2 to 3 billion people [Kammen, 2006] rely on biomass, comprising of fuelwood, charcoal, agricultural waste and animal dung, to meet their energy needs for cooking, lighting and space heating. In many of these countries, biomass even accounts for over 90% of household energy consumption [Anon, 2006]. The world’s poor rely on biomass since it is generally available for free. The widespread use of biomass energy in poor countries has complex consequences, since its utilization is usually inefficient, health-damaging, unsustainable, and environmentally detrimental. However, biomass utilization is a significant source of jobs and income for developing countries with their various small scale biomass-based industries [Karekezi and Kithyoma, 2006]. Such industries include the processing of bricks and tiles, agricultural (tobacco, tea, etc), smoked fish, pig iron and other metal working and so on.

It is predicted that demand for traditional biomass products like firewood, charcoal, manure and crop residues in developing countries, being the main source of household energy, is likely to increase in the years ahead [Kammen, 2006]. Unless policy intervention was put in place, one estimate shows that due to population growth, until 2030 there would be around three billion people still rely on biomass as the main source of energy [Anon, 2006]. Invariably, wood will be the main type of the biomass used. In several countries of South East Asia such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, fuelwood is obtained from both forest and non-forest resources. The fuelwood originating from the non-forest resources are slabs and sawdust from wood-based industries, lops and tops, dead stumps, twigs and small branches from land clearing, wooden poles from replacement or demolition of old buildings and structures, wooden crates from traditional and supermarkets and so on [Anon, 2001].

Rural communities also exploit residues from agriculture which are usually available in abundance. Such agro-residues consist of rice husk and straw, coconut husks and shells, dried coconut leaves, dried fronds, small branches and twigs, palmoil kernel shells and fibre, and bagasse [Anon, 2001]. These residues are usually not considered as commercial items, and therefore statistical data are not always available.

The use of biomass for energy per se is not a cause for concern. The problems arise since the harvesting of resources is generally unsustainable and the energy conversion technologies are currently inefficient and health-damaging.
Biomass for Household Energy in the Rural Regions of Indonesia
The Indonesian staple food is rice, which is traditionally eaten with vegetables and (dried) fish. In the rural regions, meals are commonly prepared either in large earthenware, a copper, or an aluminum pot over a biomass stove or open wood fires which have no control to adjust the flame.

Most of rural Indonesian communities consume meat, chicken, poultry or dairy products only occasionally, usually during the festive season such as Idul Fitri. Dried fish are pan-fried in vegetable oil, mostly coconut oil, while the fresh fish can be fried or made into a variety of dishes such as soup, thick soup, grilled over burning charcoal or wrapped in leaves and steamed. The cooking stove is of low efficiency (about 10%) and emits a lot of smoke [Smith, 1994; Holdren and Smith, 2005: 67] especially when the fuelwood used is not sufficiently dried.

Agricultural residues are quite popular across all household income levels in rural communities since these residues are available for free. Low income families do not seem to be able to afford buying commercial fuels and therefore rely greatly on gathering and collecting these residues.

Charcoal is in most parts of Indonesian villages a precious and valuable material. Rural population produce charcoal, but seldom use it for themselves since it is normally sold to the urban communities. The most common wood for charcoal is leucena (Leucena sp.), but also from old and unproductive trees like Euphoria longana Lour., Lancium domesticum Corr., Artocarpus heterophyllus, Hibiscus macrophyllus, and Arenga pinnata Merr.. Charcoal emits less smoke than fuelwood and is therefore preferred by urban population since they live in a densely populated area, where smoke can be a nuisance. Some dishes are also preferentially prepared over charcoal fires with the intention to impart certain flavours, whether such flavours are real or merely perceived. It is believed that food cooked with petroleum-derived fuels such as kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) would loose its specific flavour. Smoked fish produced by home industries for example, are prepared by stacking the fish over burning and smoking coconut shells and husks.

Kerosene is still a popular cooking fuel for both rural communities as well as poor urban people. It also serves as a fire starter for wood-fuelled kitchens. However, kerosene is actually impractical since it wets the hands, the cooking utensils, and other equipment, and smells. It is also reported that kerosene gives off more noxious gases than LPG [Samson et al, 2001]. Kerosene stoves are generally quick cooking and the heat output is adjustable, although old kerosene stoves may run the risk of catching fires. LPG is becoming more popular among Indonesian households especially for middle and upper income families. In addition, the government of Indonesia has recently started a household energy program to shift to LPG for low income levels.

Some of the urban poor, however, might not be able to afford purchasing kerosene let alone LPG. Consequently they rely on collecting wood from construction sites, wooden crates from traditional as well as super markets, or wood scraps from demolished buildings. Kerosene and charcoal are only used occasionally. Small scale and home industries (tofu, tempeh, and smoked fish) usually establish links with people on construction sites or traditional markets to secure a constant supply of fuels in the form of wood scraps, scaffoldings, wooden crates and so on. The author argues that the use of biomass for energy should not be discouraged; rather, improvement in its utilization in terms of efficiency and health effect should be encouraged (see the following section).
Biomass Conversion Technologies for the Rural Regions in Developing Countries
Open wood fires, commonly used for cooking in rural communities of the developing countries, have low energy efficiency. A typical wood-fired cookingstove burning one kg of wood imparts only 18% of the heat generated to the cooking pot [Holdren and Smith, 2005: 67]. Most of the heat (74 %) is released to the atmosphere, and further 8% is contained in the PICs (products of incomplete combustion), and thus is lost. The PICs consist of noxious gases: CO, NOx, formaldehyde, benzene, 1-3 butadiene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and particulate matters (calculated as carbon) which are detrimental to health [Holdren and Smith, 2005: 67; Smith, 1994]. In addition, wood has lower heating value of between 15 to 17 MJ/kg, compared to the value for diesel oil and coal which is 43.1 MJ/kg and 26.3 MJ/kg, respectively [Kamarudin Abdullah, 2008]. Furthermore, the heat released by the fuelwood is also wasted during simmering of the food. As is known, some food e.g. steamed rice, needs fires of low heat or simmering (near the end of the cooking period) to obtain desirable taste and appearance. With traditional stoves, however, the flame of the stoves could not be adjusted during cooking, and consequently the fuelwood burns with constant intensity wasting a significant portion of the heat generated.

Since biomass has a lower calorific value than fossil fuels, converting it into more useful and readily forms is considered necessary for energy efficiency purposes. Some conversion technologies are easy and simple to adopt in rural areas of the developing countries [Qurashi and Hussain, 2005]. These technologies are elaborated in the following sections.
Improved Cook Stoves (ICS)
Basically, an improved cookstove (ICS) programme attempts to increase the efficiency of traditional stoves. The efficiency is achieved through improving fuel combustion and heat transfer to the cooking pot. Better combustion would produce less unburnt material and less smoke. If the smoke was channeled outside of the house, by using a chimney or a spacious open window, the problem of indoor air pollution (IAP) is reduced [Anon, 2006: 419; Sarkar, 2006; Bhattacharya 2001]. Hence, an improved cookstove contributes to a healthy household environment. In an improved cookstove, the heat generated is confined within the stove and heat losses through radiation are minimized. Further, increasing heat transfer rate to the cooking pot reduces cooking time, so that more time is available for the women or whoever in charge of the food preparation, to do other household chores or socio-economic activities.

An improved cookstove programme (ICP) has been promoted since 1960s in several developing countries both in Asia and Africa and met with promising success especially in China and India [Bhattacharya, 2001 ]. The author maintains that promotion of ICS programs [Anon, 2006a] in rural Indonesia must be intensified.
Densification
As discussed previously, biomass has a lower calorific value than fossil fuels. Therefore, the technology that can convert solid (yet loose) biomass fuel into a dense form is desirable, since it increases the heating value of the original biomass per unit mass. The densification or compaction process of biomass is well established and is available in two categories: briquetting and pelleting processes which yield fuel briquettes and fuel pellets respectively. Briquettes are normally 5 to 6 cm in diameter and 30 to 40 cm in length. Pellets, on the other hand, are smaller, measuring 1 cm in diameter and 2 cm in length [Bhattacharya, 2001].

Densified biomass is convenient to handle and store, hence, it is expected to gain wide acceptance among the rural people. However, the densification process involves a cost, which makes it rather unappealing in the rural regions where fuelwood or other biomass fuels are available for free. Hence, detailed study of the local fuel supply and demand is required and needs adequate attention [Anon, 2001].

Rice husks and straw which are in abundance in Indonesia could be used as cooking fuel through a densification process should more convenient stoves be available. Recent reports suggest that such stoves are available or at least are in the process of dissemination [Samson et al, 2001]. However, even improved stoves still need kerosene as a starter.

In the developed countries of Europe and the USA pellet fuels are preferred than briquettes. In these countries, pellets are mainly used for space heating [Bhattacharya, 2001]. Bhattacharya [2001] reported, however, that in the developing countries of Asia, briquettes are more popular. In Indonesia, commercial briquettes are largely produced from coal. Thailand, on the other hand, mainly produces rice husk- and sawdust-briquettes. Sawdust may need drying prior to compaction into briquettes, due to its typically higher moisture content [Bhattacharya, 2001]. Densified biomass fuels are potentially promising in the following Asian countries: Indonesia [Anon, 2008], Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand [Bhattacharya, 2001].
Biogas
Biogas, which mainly consists of methane (CH4): 54 – 80% and CO2: 20 – 45% [Pramudono, 2007: 33] is a potential renewable energy source for developing countries [Bhattacharya, 2001; Qurashi and Hussain, 2005; Anon, 2007; Pramudono, 2007]. It has been successfully exploited for energy stock in many developing countries particularly in China and India [Anon, 2007]. The production of biogas involves conversion of organic materials such as animal wastes and manure, watery municipal waste, even human waste, i.e. excrements from family latrines, through anaerobic digestion process. Several benefits can be obtained from a biogas project. Firstly, the digestion process generates heat that kills the pathogens present in the manure so that a biogas project has a positive impact on sanitation [Anon, 2006b]. Secondly, the material left after the digestion is a valuable organic fertilizer [Goldemberg, 2000: 37]. Thirdly, a biogas project does not necessarily require highly skilled technicians. In fact, it can be successfully operated by rural farmers [Goldemberg, 2000: 37]. Fourthly, production of biogas abates the negative effect on climate change, since methane is a greenhouse gas that is 22 to 24 times worse than CO2 [Anon, 2007: 11].
Socio-Economic Issues
Since biomass is a local resource, addressing the reliance of household energy on biomass must consider the real needs of the local people. It is important to note that poor conditions of the rural communities (children malnutrition, underpaid jobs, unrealistically high kerosene prices and so on) are indicative of poor access to energy. Another important point to note is that in most cases, prominent members of a community are easily (yet wrongly) perceived as representative of the whole community, while in reality they are not. The following excerpt shows an unsuccessful rural bioenergy programme caused by such perception.

“....an early initiative to popularize family biogas plants in India targeted only families with enough cattle to support a dung-fuelled digester. Poor families did not own enough cattle, and in fact had previously depended on free dung for fuel and fertilizer. Once the digesters appeared, dung suddenly became valuable and could no longer be collected for free. The poor families ultimately had to rely on inferior, and less sustainable, sources of fuel. Where the poor use residues for fuel, bioenergy projects can make scarce a resource that was previously abundant and free. In contrast, community biogas installations in Karnataka, India, provide digester sludge – a superior fertilizer – to all community members.” [Kartha and Larson, 2000: 53].

It may happen that the seemingly unproductive lands as a common property in rural areas are deliberately misused, for example to be planted with energy-dedicated crops. In reality, there is no unproductive land as far as rural communities common resource is concern. What may be perceived as unproductive land, can be the one for which rural poor rely for their subsistence: free fodder for the cattle, free dead wood for fuel, a spring where water comes up from the ground for the cattle or drinking water and so on. In fact, such a “waste land” may provide rural people, albeit minimally, with food, fodder, fuelwood, construction and artisan materials etc. However, growing energy crops on underutilized lands can reap many benefits (see Environmental Issues).

Unlike the already established commercial energy such as petroleum, an entire flow of biomass resource utilization involves local people in every stage, starting from cultivation, processing, transportation, storage and usage. There is opportunity in each stage for income generation as well as for acquiring certain skills which may be useful for other activities.

Poor rural farmers typically do not have sufficient access to information about market conditions, technical advances, and availability of capital investment. In consequence, they may have weak bargaining power which in turn, results in earning lower profit margins. Therefore, it is imperative for the well-meaning bioenergy project planners that this situation be addressed accordingly. The local institutions and farmers’ cooperatives should be included in the bioenergy project to overcome these shortcomings [Kartha and Larson, 2000: 54].
Environmental Issues
The environmental issues involving biomass production for energy comprise energy and carbon balances, soil quality and fertility, hydrological cycle, and biodiversity [Kartha, 2006].

Although biomass is a source of renewable energy, biomass production sometimes consumes non-renewable energy, usually in the form of fossil fuels. An intensive and large biomass plantation necessitates the use of farm machinery which runs on gasoline or diesel oil. Fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, the production of which consumes fossil fuels, may also be used. In short, the entire cycle of a bioenergy plantation: land preparation, growing, tending, harvesting, processing, storage and transport may require the non-renewable energy input. Therefore, it is necessary to have an energy ratio analysis, i.e. the calculation of the ratio between the energy content of the biomass produced divided by the energy of the fossil fuels consumed to produce the biomass [Kartha, 2006]. Kartha [previous citation] reported that some crops grown in the temperate zones have significantly high energy ratios of 12 to 16, which is obviously favourable. It is expected that similar crops in the tropical regions could achieve even higher energy ratios, since climatic conditions such as rainfall is more abundant resulting in higher yield biomass.

The “self-sufficient energy village” programme (= Desa Mandiri Energi) utilizing Jatropha curcas Linn crops [Hadi, 2008] may well achieve such a high energy ratio since the crops are well suited to grow on degraded lands under harsh conditions [Anon, 2007: 9; Jongschaap et al, 2007: 5-10, 23]. This means that land preparation, cultivating, tending and harvesting need only minimal energy input. However, the energy ratio is lower if the processing of the jatropha seeds for oil is centralized and at a distance from the surrounding plantations, so that collection and delivery of the seeds require significant amount of energy for transport.

The issue of carbon balance is also dependent on the type of the biomass grown and how the energy is generated out of it. Clearly, harvesting energy plant such as fuelwood without replanting is unsustainable and leads to substantial carbon emissions. On the other hand, clearing natural forests, and subsequently replanting them with energy-dedicated plants may result in the net carbon emission equal zero or even positive. The amount of carbon sequestered in the biomass is released during forest clearing, but this deficiency will be compensated (in the long run) by the carbon captured by the new plants. The most favorable condition in terms of carbon balance is when underutilized land is planted with energy crops. In such a case the balance is definitely positive since the land very likely contains less carbon than the planted crops.

The author believes that utilization of biomass for household energy will not threaten either soil quality, soil fertility or hydrological cycle, since the practice is usually less intense compared to land clearing or deforestation for plantation industries. The rural people are essentially wise enough not to completely harvest the whole trees for fuelwood [Sarkar, 2006]. In most cases, they only utilize the branches and twigs, leaving the leaves and other residues littering the ground. In time the leaves and crop residues decompose, hence organic matter and plant nutrients recycle back into the soil. In this case, jatropha is favorable since the leaves, one of the most nutrient-rich of the plant, are not edible and, therefore, avoided by the cattle, thus securing the ground with nutritive materials. Intensive plantation usually needs more water than natural vegetation. Sugarcane for example, although an excellent crop for bioethanol production [Moreira, 2006], is reported to require intensive irrigation, i.e. around 2,200 liters of water for every liter of ethanol produced [Kartha, 2006; de Fraiture, 2008]. The production of ethanol from maize in the US is even water-consuming. For one liter of the ethanol produced, roughly 4,500 liters of water is needed [Orth, 2008: 59]. Therefore, it is important that water requirement of bioenergy crops to be grown be quantified well in advance. Less water-intensive crops are clearly better candidates for bioenergy production. Another potential energy crop is cassava (Mannihot esculenta) [Rosegrant et al, 2006]. Based on his own experience, however, the author of this current paper believes that cassava plantation does not normally generate adequate undergrowth or litter. Hence, such plantation may cause excessive water runoff, with the result that less water will be retained by the soil, upsetting the hydrological cycle.

Biomass energy plantation can have either positive or negative impacts on biodiversity. If the forest or vegetation as a natural habitat is cleared, the ecosystems embedded in it is disrupted or even destroyed. For example, if an underutilized land is planted with jatropha, some species endemic to the land (birds, insects, and other animal varieties) may move to other places, which may not necessarily provide the same ecosystem surroundings. The biodiversity is then disrupted. Furthermore, the jatropha plantation as one energy crop (mono cropping) can act as an incubation area for pests or disease, which can then spread into the surroundings. Bad incidents (uncontrolled growth of destructive trees, extensive spread of fungal disease) caused by such monoculture practice have taken place in several countries: South Africa, Uruguay, and India [Kartha, 2006].

Some parts of the underutilized land dedicated to energy crop should be left in natural vegetation, to serve as “green belts” or sanctuary for the wild species. Further, these parts are essential for rural people subsistence (fuelwood, fruits and tubers, fodder). In this way the biodiversity is preserved, the rural communities still have access to sources of subsistence, all while benefiting for the energy crop.
Concluding Remarks
Biomass is a potential renewable energy source since it is available in nearly every country. It is believed that biomass would still be an important source of household energy, mainly for cooking purposes, in many countries of the developing world in the years ahead. The utilization of biomass for energy purposes is country-specific, or even site-specific, to the extent that it involves the three aspects of sustainable development: economic, social, and environmental.

In view of the conversion technologies available for biomass-based energy, three options are considered most suitable for the rural regions in the developing countries: improved cookstoves, densification, and biogas.

A bioenergy project should be planned and implemented as such that the real needs of the local people are addressed. These needs include access to energy services, income generating activities, and access to rural common properties as sources of subsistence.

An intensive biomass plantation for energy could affect energy and carbon balances, the quality and fertility of soil, as well as the hydrological cycle in a negative manner. Equally, it can also negatively affect the biodiversity, particularly if the plantation is a monoculture.

This paper shows that appropriate management of a bioenergy project can reap many benefits for the rural people in the developing countries, as well as lend support to good sustainable development practices.
Acknowledgements
The socio-economic and environmental issues sections of this paper rely heavily on the work of Kartha and Larson [2000]. Also the author wishes to thank SISEST 2008 committee for accepting this paper.
References
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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year 2009.

May God be with us always and in all ways. Read More..

The place for Green Chemistry in industrial engineering education

That is the title of my latest paper to be presented at ISSTEC 2009 on 24 January 2009 at UII Yogyakarta. Copy of the full paper is available.

The place for Green Chemistry in industrial engineering education

Stefanus Muryanto
Office of Research and Department of Chemical Engineering,
UNTAG University in Semarang
Jalan Pawiyatan Luhur, Bendan Duwur, Semarang, INDONESIA 50233

E-mail: stefanus_muryanto665@yahoo.com


Abstract Green Chemistry is the application of a set of principles that aims to minimize the negative impact of chemical processes and products on human health and environment. It therefore, lends support to the promotion of the philosophy and practice of sustainable development. In this era of “global warming”, the expectation of all sections of society that engineers demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development is increasingly high.Conversely,such an expectation can be seen as an excellent opportunity for the engineering profession to show how vital its role is in curbing the global warming and its associated risks. This paper presents an approach to integrate Green Chemistry into industrial engineering curriculum as one possible way to address the issue of education for sustainable development. The twelve principles of Green Chemistry were selectively inserted into chemistry courses which were taught in semester one and two respectively. These principles were conveyed in line with the existing lecture material of General Chemistry through worked examples, in-class discussions, and homework. It was carefully planned so that the insertion of Green Chemistry topics did not interrupt the core lecture items or place extra burden for the students. Tentative findings of the present work show that the integration approach could help stimulate students’ interest in chemistry, the subject which is generally looked upon as highly demanding. Additionally, it was felt that students’ awareness and sensitivity to societal issues related to sustainable development were enhanced.

Keywords: chemistry teaching, engineering curriculum, Green Chemistry, industrial engineering education, sustainable development.


Introduction
Green Chemistry is the application of a set of principles that aims to minimize the negative impact of chemical processes and products on human health and environment. Simply stated, it is the use of chemistry for pollution prevention in the first place [1]. Green Chemistry is not a new branch of chemistry but a new way of thinking about how to utilize the knowledge of chemistry to reduce or eliminate the generation of hazardous substances in the design, production and application of chemical products [2, 3]. The term “green” implies environment-friendly and sustainable characteristics. Green Chemistry can involve any branch of chemistry: organic, inorganic, analytical, physical, biochemistry and so on. In addition, Green Chemistry actually covers all disciplines that interface with chemistry. In reality, the definition is continuously changing as more and more refined methods for the prevention and elimination of waste are developed [4]. The most advantageous principles of it that are held today may be replaced in the future consistent with the development of the methods. As articulated by Paul Anastas and John Warner [5], Green Chemistry consists of 12 principles (see Appendix) with the underlying concept to solve pollution problems by preventing the generation of waste in the first instance. The concept is prevention and reduction of waste in all its forms [6], thus negating post-processing of wastes [4]. The worsening environmental conditions which are mostly attributable to human activities (ozone layer depletion, global warming, climate change, polluted lands and waters etc.) necessitate urgent actions. Green Chemistry, which by its nature emphasizes waste prevention and elimination in the first place, is a valuable tool for such actions. To save the earth from further destruction, one important way is to instill the attitudes of humankind with values consistent with a sustainable life style through education [7]. This paper discusses an ongoing activity to integrate the principles of Green Chemistry into undergraduate industrial engineering curriculum, through general chemistry course taught by the author. Realizing that Green Chemistry has the potential to solve many environmental problems, the need for such integration has become increasingly important and the integration has been carried out in many higher education institutions around the globe [1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]. The activity proposed in this paper is in line with and in support to the aforementioned practice.
Chemistry Course for Industrial Engineering Curriculum
The general chemistry course for first year industrial engineering students is a two-semester class designed to provide a basic knowledge of chemistry so that students appreciate various chemistry-based industrial situations. The general chemistry course is a logical place to insert concepts of Green Chemistry since after this course, there is no specific chemistry-related subject given. In the industrial engineering curriculum, the chemistry-related course, as far as the author perceives, might be seen as mere “add-on”, the emphasis of which is that students become chemically informed scientists, (and not necessarily become chemists). The level of the chemistry course is introductory, and the content is similar (in some cases it is a repetition) to those given during high schools. The course is not popular among the students. In fact, they have a rather negative view of it – the course is seen as hard and highly demanding. The author argues that the general chemistry class may continue to be a mere add-on subject, unless it considers topics pertinent to real industry situations. Therefore, integrating the principles of Green Chemistry into industrial engineering curriculum can serve two purposes. Firstly, to introduce students to the most recent chemistry topics related to sustainable development issues. Secondly, to teach students topics related to solving problems in real world cases of industry with the intention that they may begin to appreciate the course. At the institution where the author of this paper teaches, the textbook used for the course is the sixth edition of General College Chemistry by Keenan, Kleinfelter and Wood [13], which has been translated into Indonesian [14]. In order to keep abreast of the chemical topics being taught at other universities, the author of this paper relies on on-line sources, such as those provided by Cann [11] and Balko [15].


Green Chemistry Topics for Industrial Engineering Curriculum

The General College Chemistry textbook which has been translated into Indonesian as discussed previously, comes in two volumes. Volume 1 consists of 16 chapters, of which Chapter 1 provides an excellent entry point for the introduction of Green Chemistry. There is in Chapter 1, a subheading titled: Chemistry and Our Way of Life, which relates closely to the way we manage our world and our environment.

“Chemists play an important role in looking for new methods to treat waste so that the waste will not be too detrimental”

[own translation – Chapter 1[14:4].

Perusing the two volumes of the General College Chemistry, the author of this paper identifies many topics which can be good avenues for the introduction of Green Chemistry principles. For example, a particular topic in Chapter 1 reads: Overview of Descriptive and Theoetical Chemistry. This topic discusses the important role of chemistry and how human life and civilization has been influenced by the development in chemistry. The authors of the textbook specifically elaborate the contribution of the knowledge of chemistry to the development in medical and agriculture as well as its impact on the explosion of human population, which eventually leads to environmental degradation and ecological disaster. The connection to Green Chemistry is then obvious: understanding basic chemistry and how human civilization has been influenced by the development in chemistry lays the groundwork for applying the Green Chemistry principles of preventing waste, designing safer chemicals and products, designing less hazardous chemical syntheses, designing for degradation after use, and adopting inherently safer chemistry for accident prevention, respectively. Another example is found in Chapter 2, i.e. in the topics which elaborate chemical equations and stoichiometry. Understanding these two topics lays the foundation for applying Green principles of preventing waste, maximizing atom economy and using catalysts instead of stoichiometric reagents (principles 1, 2 and 9 respectively). Some topics in the textbook are easily related to the Green Chemistry principles. These include aluminum recycling in Chapter 21, and the Special Topic: Economy of Metanol-based Fuel in Chapter 26. Some other topics, however, such as Chemical Kinetics in Chapter 14 may well be related to the Green Chemistry principles of avoiding unnecessary chemical derivatives (principle no 8), but would require a great deal of explanation. The author of this paper prefers not to insert the Green Chemistry concepts into this chapter. It should be noted that not all chapters from the two volumes of the textbook is given throughout the two-semester course, since chemistry is non-major in the industrial engineering curriculum, and that the curriculum is already crowded. In the following section, two examples taken from the Indonesian version of General College Chemistry [14] are presented and discussed in the light of Green Chemistry.

Green Chemistry Problem 1
Theoretical versus True Yields

The discussion on theoretical versus true yields can be connected to several Green principles of preventing waste, using catalysts and not stoichiometric reagents, avoiding chemical derivatives, and maximizing atom economy, respectively. The theoretical yield is defined as the quantities of the product of a reaction assuming that the reaction goes to completion. It is the quantity of yield based on theoretical calculation. In reality, a chemical reaction never proceeds in such a manner that the reactants are fully consumed. This is due to several factors depending on the characteristics of the reaction, such as incomplete mixing [16]. Instead, true yield is obtained which is different from (and always less than) the one theoretically calculated.

Problem Statement

(Taken from Example 2.8 in ref. 14 pp 56-57)

A certain type of coal contains 1.7 percent sulphur. Suppose the burning reaction of the sulphur can be written as follows:

S + O2 SO2

How much air-polluted compound of gaseous SO2 is released to the air from burning one metric tonne of coal, if the efficiency of the reaction is 79 percent?

Problem Solution

The quantity of sulphur in mol per metric tonne of coal can be calculated as follows:

The weight of sulphur:


= 530 mol of S.

The sulphur content of the coal is thus 530 mol. According to the chemical equation above, 530 mol of S will be burned to yield 530 mol of SO2. Since the reaction efficiency is only 79 %, hence the mol of SO2 yielded is
or 27 kg.
The author of this paper has tried to link this with the maximum burning of coal; which in such a case all of the one metric tonne of coal is burned. In our example above, (100 – 79) % of the coal, which equals 210 kg is not burned and thus wasted. Consequently, in terms of atom economy this situation is not preferable, since principle 2 of the Green Chemistry is violated. A more efficient way to burn the coal is governed by the following conditions: ample supply of air, and intimate contact between the coal and the air. Of course these two engineering aspects of combustion are beyond the scope of general chemistry, but as an extra in-class discussion they can be useful information since the students will become engineers at the end of their study. The problem of sulphur burning can also be extended into a class discussion of a major environmental problem, namely the formation of acid rain through the reaction of gaseous SO2 with rain water.

Green Chemistry Problem 2
Limiting versus Excess Reagents

In most chemical reactions, it cannot be expected that the quantities of reactants required are available stoichiometrically, i.e. in the exact proportions as demanded by the reaction equation. Some of the reacting compounds are present in excess of the amount theoretically required for combination with the others. However, the quantities of the products that will be obtained are determined by the limiting reactants, i.e. the compounds which are not present in excess. Discussion about limiting versus excess reagents lends itself to the Green Chemistry principles of preventing waste, maximizing atom economy and the use of catalysts, respectively.

Problem Statement

(Taken from Example 2.9 in ref. 14 pp 58-59)

Gold is essentially chemically unreactive. However, hot chlorine gas can be sufficiently reactive that at 1500C gold reacts with the gaseous chlorine according to the following reaction:

2 Au + 3 Cl2 2 AuCl3

Suppose 10.0 g of gold and 10.0 g Cl2 are placed in a closed container and heated until a complete reaction takes place. Which reagent is the limiting one? What is the quantity of the unreacted component or the excess reagent left?

Problem Solution

The stoichiometric ratio for the reaction:

.

Whereas the available ratio for the reaction:



.

The above calculation shows that 0.67 mol Au is required to react with 1.0 mol Cl2. However, the available Au is only 0.30 mol per 1.0 mol Cl2. Therefore, Au is the limiting reagent. All Au will react and there will be an excess of Cl2. Hence, the quantities of AuCl3 formed = 0.0508 mol. (Students should verify this for themselves!).

Hence, the quantity of Cl2 reacted:







Thus, the excess reagent is Cl2 and it amounts to 10.0 g – 5.4 g = 4.6 g.

The above example can be connected to the Green Chemistry principles of using catalysts to promote a reaction (principle 9). By using catalysts a more efficient reaction can be carried out. Catalysts can be used repeatedly until inactive, at which time they need to be reactivated, for example by heat treatment. A further link to Green Chemistry principles could be provided, for example by referring to principle 6: Design for energy efficiency. The principle states that whenever possible, chemical reactions should be conducted at ambient temperature and pressure. For homework and self-directed learning, it is useful for the students to check the MSDS (= materials safety data sheets) for chlorine, which can be viewed online at . Student will see that chlorine should be handled with great care. This substance is irritating to the eyes, skin and mucous membranes. Moreover, it is corrosive to most metals. When handling chlorine, protection gears such as safety goggles and gloves must be worn. In the industrial engineering curriculum the general chemistry course has no lab practice components, and therefore the MSDS will provide students with proper knowledge about real (chemical) industry practices. It is a bit unfortunate that the above example (Problem 2) is purely an exercise on chemistry, without any point of reference to real world cases of industry. One student commented, “What’s the point of reacting gold with chlorine gas in a sealed container?’ Upon hearing such a comment, the author of this paper was more convinced that it was indeed timely to instill into the students’ mind the importance of Green Chemistry and of integrating it into the industrial engineering curriculum.

Student Feedback
Student feed back via questionnaire was obtained twice, i.e. at the beginning and near the end of the lectures. Overall, students are most positive about Green Chemistry. They stated that the Green Chemistry principles are directly relevant to industry. In addition, they also pointed out that all parties: academics at all levels, industry and the general public should be made aware of the Green Chemistry concepts which can be a valuable tool to deal with environment and sustainable development. Informal feedback indicating acceptance of Green Chemistry concepts was also obtained from students whom the author knows outside of class hours. They pointed out that the Green Chemistry concepts could improve their awareness of the role of chemistry in alleviating the burden on the environment, and could indirectly enhance their interest in chemistry. Most of the students admitted that their understanding about chemistry is still below that required for the environmental protection. The Green Chemistry principles, they stated, were something new to them although on several occasions (mostly during previous pre-university studies) they had been taught topics similar to Green Chemistry. The students are now aware that there is a chemistry philosophy and practice suitable for environmental protection.

Concluding Remarks
The activity of integrating Green Chemistry into the undergraduate industrial engineering curriculum through introductory level chemistry class as reported in this paper indicates that Green Chemistry principles can be well placed within the curriculum. It was found that the integration could be carried out easily without interfering with the core parts of the chemistry subject. Moreover, the integration could enhance students’ interests in chemistry as well as their awareness of environmental issues.

Acknowledgements
The author is indebted to Yuli Rahmawati, a PhD candidate currently working on Green Chemistry education at Curtin University of Technology, Australia, for providing some references. Also, the acceptance of this paper by the ISSTEC 2009 is gratefully acknowledged.

References
1. Hjeresen, D. et al. 2000. Green Chemistry and Education. J. Chem. Education, v.77, n. 12: 1543-1547.

2. Cue, B. 2007. , in: Anastas et al. (Eds.), Exploring Opportunities in Green Chemistry and Engineering Education: A Workshop Summary to the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, National Academies Press, Washington.

3. Hazel, B. 2002. EHSC Note on GREEN CHEMISTRY. Royal Society of Chemistry, London. (www.rsc.org, viewed on 28 Nov.2008).

4. Gron, L.U. 2008. Sustaining the green revolution through education. Suppl. to Chimica Oggi/CHEMISTRY TODAY, v. 25, n. 6: 11-13.

5. Anastas, P. T. and Warner, J. C. 1998. Green Chemistry Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, New York.

6. Clark, J.H. et al. 2005. Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development, in: Alfonso, C.A.M and Crespo, J.G. (Eds.) Green Separation Processes, Wiley-VCH Weinheim, Germany.

7. Karpudewan, M. et al. 2007. Preparing Pre-service Chemistry Teachers for EfSD through Green Chemistry, Proceedings of 11th UNESCO-APEID Int. Conf. Reinventing Higher Education: Toward Participatory and Sustainable Development, 12-14 Dec., Bangkok.

8. Raston, C.L. and Scott, J.L. 2001. Teaching green chemistry. Third-year-level module and beyond. Pure Appl. Chem., v.73, n. 8: 1257-1260.

9. Anastas, P.T. et al. (Eds.) 2007. Exploring Opportunities in Green Chemistry and Engineering Education: A Workshop Summary to the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, National Academies Press, Washington.

10. Liu, K-T. 2005. Implantation of the principles of Green Chemistry in the Teaching of Sophomore Organic Chemistry, 229th ACS National Meetings, Abstr. No. CHED 1334, San Diego, Calif., USA.

11. Cann, M.C. 2006. Syllabus: CHEM. 100 Elements of Chemistry, Univ. Scranton, online:http://academic.scranton.edu/faculty/CANNM1/ch100sy1.doc(12 Nov.2008).
12. Rahmawati, Y. 2008. Green Chemistry in Analytical Chemistry Laboratory: The Reflections on my Teaching (personal communication).

13. Keenan, C.W. et al. 1980. General College Chemistry, 6th ed., Harper and Row, New York.

14. Pudjaatmaka, A.H. 1992. Kimia Untuk Universitas, edisi ke-6, v. 1, Erlangga Publishing, Jakarta.

15. Balko, B. 2007. General Chemistry I, Chemistry 110, Section 01 www.lclark.edu/~balko/chem110, (12 August 2008).

16. Marlin, T.E. 2000. Process Control:Designing Processes and Control Systems for Dynamic Performance, 2nd international edition, McGraw-Hill, Boston etc.
































Appendix. The Twelve Green Chemistry principles as proposed by Anastas and Warner [5]

1 Prevention It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it has been generated.

2 Atom economy Synthetic methods should be designed to maximize the incorporation of all materials used in the process into the final products.

3 Less hazardous chemical syntheses Wherever practicable, synthetic methods should be designed to use and generate substances that possess little or no toxicity to people or the environment.

4 Design for safer chemicals Chemical products should be designed to affect their desired function while minimizing their toxicity.

5 Safer solvents and auxiliaries The use of auxiliary substances (e.g. solvents or separation agents) should be made unnecessary whenever possible and innocuous when used.

6 Design for energy efficiency Energy requirements of chemical processes should be recognized for their environment and economic impacts and should be minimized. If possible, synthetic methods should be conducted at ambient temperature and pressure.

7 Use of renewable feedstock A raw material or feedstock should be renewable rather than depleting whenever technically and economically practicable.

8 Reduce derivatives Unnecessary derivatization (use of blocking groups, protection/deprotection, and temporary modification of physical/chemical processes) should be minimized or avoided if possible, because such steps require additional reagents and can generate waste.

9 Catalysis Catalytic reagents (as selective as possible) are superior to stoichiometric reagents.

10 Design for degradation Chemical products should be designed so that at the end of their function they break down into innocuous degradation products and do not persist in the environment.

11 Real-time analysis for pollution prevention Analytical methodologies need to be further developed to allow for real-time, in-process monitoring and control prior to the formation of hazardous substances.

12 Inherently safer chemistry for accident prevention Substances and the form of a substance used in a chemical process should be chosen to minimize the potential for chemical accidents, including releases, explosions, and fires.



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Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Berikut ini deskripsi kuliah KIMIA DASAR I – FTI UNISBANK Semester Gasal 2008 -2009 yang saya ampu.

Informasi inti:
Kode mata kuliah: D 41 300
Jumlah SKS: 2
Waktu kuliah: semester 1
Jadwal kuliah: Senin , jam 07.50-09.30
Ruang kuliah: T.7.3
Dosen pengampu: Ir. Stefanus Muryanto, M.Eng.Sc, PhD
Email: stefanus_muryanto665@yahoo.com
Mobile: 0813 2650 9398
Urusan administrasi : Bapak Agung, Tata usaha FTI Unisbank, lt. 2,
Jl. Tri Lomba Juang no. 1 Semarang
Telepon: 024 – 8311668 ext – (via operator)

Sarana yang dibutuhkan
Buku teks: Keenan, Kleinfelter, Wood, Kimia Untuk Universitas, jilid 1, edisi 6, Erlangga 1984 (tersedia di perpustakaan)
Respati, Dasar Dasar Ilmu Kimia, Rineka Cipta, 1992 (tersedia di perpustakaan).

Buku catatan: gunakan buku catatan tebal, dengan jumlah halaman 40 lembar atau lebih.
Kertas tugas: gunakan kertas ukuran folio yaitu double folio bergaris.
Calculator: gunakan scientific calculator yang sekurang-kurangnya mempunyai fasilitas log dan exponential.


Informasi umum
Tujuan kuliah. Tujuan utama kuliah ini adalah untuk memperkenalkan dasar-dasar ilmu kimia kepada Saudara. Dasar-dasar itu akan dipergunakan dalam mata kuliah berikutnya, yaitu Kimia Dasar II (di semester 2) dan Pengetahuan Bahan (di semester 3). Setelah menyelesaikan kuliah Kimia Dasar I ini, Saudara diharapkan memahami dasar tersebut da merasa “nyaman” bila mendengar atau berhadapan dengan hal-hal yang berkaitan degnan ilmu kimia.

Di samping tujuan utama, kuliah ini juga diharapkan mampu menimbulkan apresiasi Saudara terhadap ilmu kimia. Kuliah ini tidak bermaksud menjadikan Saudara seorang pakar kimia, tetapi mengajak agar Saudara memahami pentingnya ilmu kimia dalam kehidupan nyata sehari-hari. Di dalam semua bidang pekerjaan, apakah di industri, perdagangan, pemerintahan, perbankan, hubungan luar negeri, pendidikan, ekspor/impor, pertanian, pertanahan dan seterusnya ( jadi baik eksakta maupun sosial) ilmu kimia memegang peranan penting. Oleh sebab itu pemahaman terhadap ilmu kimia adalah keharusan. Ilmu kimia adalah salah satu ilmu pokok.

Strategi belajar
Keberhasilan Saudara dalam kuliah ini ditentukan oleh usaha Saudara sendiri. Oleh karena itu Saudara perlu hadir dan mengikuti seluruh acara perkuliahan dengan baik. Bacalah buku teks yang dianjurkan, kerjakan semua tugas dan serahkan pada waktu yang ditentukan. Saudara juga perlu mengerjakan soal-soal dari buku teks secara mandiri agar pemahaman materi bertambah. Bentuklah kelompok belajar terdiri atas dua sampai empat orang. Dalam perkuliahan Saudara hendaknya aktif bertanya bila ada sesuatu hal yang belum Saudara pahami.
Saya tidak pernah menganggap ada pertanyaan yang bodoh. Mungkin Saudara berpikir bahwa apa yang ingin Saudara tanyakan adalah hal yang akan membuat Saudara malu, karena akan ketahuan bahwa Saudaralah satu-satunya peserta kuliah yang tidak tahu. Kenyataannya sering tidak demikian. Mungkin banyak juga yang belum tahu, dan Saudara satu – satunya yang berani bertanya. Pertanyaan-pertanyaan Saudara juga bermanfaat bagi saya untuk mengetahui, hal-hal apa atau materi-materi yang mana yang sulit Saudara pahami. Jangan ragu-ragu untuk menemui saya bila Saudara mendapat kesulitan dalam kuliah ini.

Aktivitas kuliah
Saudara perlu mempersiapkan kuliah dengan membaca buku teks yang dianjurkan. Bacalah dulu silabus agar Saudara mengetahui materi apa yang akan dibahas dalam kuliah. Juga perlu membaca kembali catatan kuliah yang lalu dan memastikan apakah semua materi telah dipahami. Seharusnya setiap selesai kuliah, Saudara menyediakan waktu minimal sama dengan lamanya waktu kuliah. Jika kuliah berlangsung selama 100 menit, karena 2 SKS, Saudara seharusnya mempelajari kembali catatan kuliah tersebut selama 100 menit juga. Jika selama kuliah diberikan soal-soal, kerjakanlah soal-soal itu kembali setelah kuliah dan sebelum kuliah berikutnya untuk mengetahui apakah Saudara sudah benar-benar memahaminya. Inilah pentingnya ada study groups, seperti yang saya anjurkan sebelumnya. Apabila Saudara menghendaki, saya juga dapat menyediakan kesempatan setelah kuliah atau waktu-waktu lain apbila memang perlu.
Kesempatan tersebut dapat dipergunakan untuk pertanyaan yang tidak sempat dijawab di dalam kuliah, pertanyaan tentang perkuliahan secara umum, pertanyaan tentang kimia pada umumnya, hingga masalah-masalah akademik yang lain.

Diskusi
Selama kuliah KDI ini akan diadakan diskusi kurang lebih 5 kali, dengan pengaturan dua kali kuliah berturut-turut diikuti dengan 1 diskusi. Skemanya sebagai berikut :
Kuliah 1
Kuliah 2
Diskusi 1
Kuliah 3
Kuliah 4
Diskusi 2
.
.
Dstnya
Diskusi ini diadakan agar Saudara memperoleh kesempatan mendalami materi dan memotivasi diri Saudara sendiri untuk memperoleh pengetahuan lebih banyak lagi.
Materi diskusi adalah tugas atau PR yang sudah Saudara kerjakan. Tugas itu dikembalikan kepada Saudara pada awal diskusi, dan bila ada pekerjaan yang belum benar, maka Saudara perlu memperbaikinya. (Itulah sebabnya Saudara perlu membentuk study groups). Apabila tugas Saudara sudah benar, maka kepada Saudara akan diberikan soal-soal atau tugas lain yang lebih menantang untuk diselesaikan. Selama diskusi saya hanya “turun tangan” apabila perlu.

Kejujuran akademik
Kejururan akademik adalah syarat mutlak untuk lulus ujian Kimia Dasar I ini. Hal ini berarti bahwa setiap tugas yang Saudara selesaikan, setiap PR yang Saudara kumpulkan, dan ujian yang Saudara selesaikan harus berasal dari usaha Saudara sendiri. Saudara boleh bekerja sama mengerjakan PR atau tugas, tetapi pekerjaan yang Saudara berikan kepada saya haruslah pekerjaan Saudara sendiri (dengan kalimat-kalimat saudara sendiri dan saudata harus dapat menjelaskannya bila ditanya). Nyontek pada waktu ujian mengakibatkan Saudara tidak lulus. Apabila Saudara mempunyai pertanyaan atau ragu-ragu mengenai ketentuan ini, Saudara dapat menanyakan kepada saya atau kepada dosen wali.

Tata kelola kelas
Saya menghendaki perkuliahan menjadi lingkungan yang nyaman untuk belajar, dan saya mengharuskan setiap individu di dalam ruang kuliah menunjukkan sopan santun dan hormat kepada yang lain. Oleh sebab itu hal-hal yang merusak atau mengganggu ketenangan ruang kuliah (bunyi handphone, bercakap-cakap off topic, kalau masuk ruang kuliah) tidak saya perbolehkan terjadi.
Apabila hal-hal yang mengganggu itu terjadi dan setelah saya peringatkan/ saya minta untuk dilatih tidak juga ada hasilnya, maka kuliah dihentikan dan hal itu saya sampaikan kepada pimpinan fakultas. Mengenai tata kelola kelas ini Saudara dapat menanyakan kepada dosen wali atau kepada saya.
Apabila karena sesuatu hal, Saudara merasa akan tidak mampu perkuliahan KDI ini dengan baik, silakan menghubungi saya untuk membicarakan hal itu. Hal-hal yang dimaksud, misalnya: jadwal kuliah bersamaan dengan kepentingan lain, tidak mungkin mengikuti kuliah secara teratur karena bekerja dsbnya.
Selain memberitahu saya, untuk itu Saudara harus berkonsultasi dengan dosen wali Saudara, dan kalu saya anggp perlu saya akan minta agar ada surat keterangan dari dosen wali atau fakultas.

Penilaian
Telah ditentukan oleh fakultas bahwa penilaian terdiri atas dua bagian yaitu nilai Ujian Tengah Semester (UTS) dan Ujian Akhir Semester (UAS); masing-masing adalah 40% dan 50%.
Di samping itu aktivitas Saudara selama mengikuti kuliah juga menjadi pertimbangan dalam penentuan nilai itu. Aktivitas itu harus Saudara tunjukkan dalam kuliah misalnya dengan mengajukan dan atau menjawab pertanyaan. Juga dalam tugas-tugas yang harus Saudara kerjakan, untuk tugas ini saya akan meminta agar tiap dua minggu Saudara menyerahkan “ringkasan”. Dengan demikian pula dalam diskusi, Saudara perlu berpartisipasi aktif.
Tentang materi kuliah yang sudah dikuliahkan, dalam bentuk tulisan sebanyak satu hingga dua lembar folio.

Materi kuliah/Pokok Bahasan.

Materi kuliah akan disampaikan pada kuliah yang pertama.
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Berikut ini Daftar Karya Ilmiah saya dari tahun 2001 hingga 2006 (tentu sekarang sudah bertambah)

1. S.Muryanto, G.Headley, and H.M.Ang. (2001), “Effects of Additives on the Crystallisation Rate of Calcium Sulphate Dihydrate”, the 6th World Congress of Chemical Engineering, Melbourne, Australia.

2. S.Muryanto, and H.M.Ang. (2001), “A Continuous Laboratory Crystalliser for Final Year Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Projects”, ASEAN Regional Symposium on Chemical Engineering 2001, Bandung, Indonesia.

3. S.Muryanto, H.M.Ang, and G.M.Parkinson. (2002), “Crystallisation Kinetics of Calcium Sulphate Dihydrate in the Presence of Additives”, World Engineering Congress 2002, Sarawak, Malaysia.

4. S.Muryanto, H.M.Ang, E. Santoso, and G.M.Parkinson. (2002) “Gypsum scaling in isothermal flow systems”, ASEAN Regional Symposium on Chemical Engineering 2002, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

5. S.Muryanto, and S.Djatmiko Hadi (2003), “Improving Writing Skills for ChE Students through Unit Operations Laboratory Reports. A Preliminary Study.”, ASEAN Regional Symposium on Chemical Engineering 2003, Manila, Philippines.

6. S.Muryanto, (2004), “Integritas Akademik: Tantangan Bagi Dunia Pendidikan Tinggi”, Orasi Ilmiah Dalam Rangka Wisuda S1, S2, D3, tingkat Universitas, Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Semarang, Semarang, 9 Oktober 2004.

7. S.Muryanto, H.M.Ang, E.Santoso, G.M.Parkinson, and S. Djatmiko Hadi. (2004), “Morphology of Gypsum Scale Formed in Pipes under Isothermal Conditions. A Once-Through Pipe Flow Experiment”, ASEAN Regional Symposium on Chemical Engineering 2004, Bangkok, Thailand.

8. S.Muryanto, (2005), “Pemanfaatan Teknologi Kertas di Era Globalisasi”, Orasi Ilmiah Himpunan Mahasiswa Program Studi Teknik Industri, UNISBANK, Semarang, 13 Mei 2005.

9. S.Muryanto, (2005), “Changes and Challenges in Technology Education”, Diskusi Ilmiah di Jurusan Teknologi Pangan, UNIKA Sugiyapranata Semarang, 10 Maret 2005.


10. S.Muryanto, H. M. Ang (2005), “An Interesting Final Year Undergraduate Laboratory Project: Investigation of Gypsum Scale Formation on Piping Surfaces”, ASEAN Journal of Chemical Engineering, vol. 5, no. 2, December 2005.

11. S.Muryanto, (2006) “Concept Mapping: An Interesting and Useful Learning Tool for Chemical Engineering Laboratories”, special issue 2006: The International Journal of Engineering Education,vol 22, no 5, pp 979-985, Dublin, Ireland.(http://www.ijee.dit.ie/).

12. S.Muryanto, and H.M.Ang. (2005), “Effects of Admixtures on the Crystallisation Rate of Gypsum. A Batch Crystallisation Study”, journal ilmiah terakreditasi: REAKTOR, Jurusan Teknik Kimia, UNDIP.

13. S.Muryanto, and S. Djatmiko Hadi (2005), “Concept mapping: an interesting and useful learning tool for chemical engineering entrepreneurship classes”, 4th Global Colloquium on Engineering Education, Sydney, 26-30 September 2005.

14. S.Muryanto, and H.M. Ang (2006), “Review of Gypsum Scaling Research: Effect of Admixtures on the Crystallisation Kinetics of Gypsum”, abstrak disampaikan ke Seminar Nasional Kimia dan Industri II, Program SP4 Jurusan Kimia, FMIPA, Universitas 11 Maret Surakarta (UNS), September 2006.


Semarang, 31 Juli 2006


(Ir. St. Muryanto, M.Eng.Sc., PhD)
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