Muhammad when carrying out the keratin synthesis stage on duck feathers in the laboratory

ITS Campus, ITS News — One of the efforts to achieve the Net Zero Emission target by 2060 is through the transition of conventional electrical energy to Renewable Energy (EBT). Supporting this effort, a team of students from Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) initiated an alternative fuel cell using environmentally friendly duck feather extract membranes.

The head of the research team, Muhammad, said that efforts to reduce carbon emissions in Indonesia are still not optimal. This is evidenced by the achievement of renewable energy use which still reaches 12.7 giga watts (GW) from a total electricity capacity of 84.4 GW in 2023. “This is due to the use of electrical energy in fuel cells which are not environmentally friendly,” said the young man from Bengkulu City.

The ITS Physics Department student added that the components in conventional fuel cells still use Nafion membranes which are not environmentally friendly. Nafion membranes contain materials that are very chemically stable so they are not easily decomposed. “Nafion waste that is not managed properly can pollute the environment,” said the young man who is familiarly called Mamat.

Also accelerating the achievement of renewable energy targets, the team called Quack Cell initiated the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) innovation using keratin extract from duck feathers. Mamat explained that in the process, his team changed the membrane of duck feather keratin extract which is rich in sustain into sulfonic acid. “This can increase the proton conductivity to become an environmentally friendly membrane,” he explained.

Muhammad when doing the membrane fabrication process on duck feathers

The team, which also consists of Oktab Bahar Rahmadani, Diah Suci Lestari, Melyana Putri Tiyarno, and Indah Dwi Sasmitaningrum, began their research with the extraction stage of keratin from finely ground duck feathers. This process involves the wet acid hydrolysis method to obtain more keratin extract.

Furthermore, the alumnus of SMAN 1 Kota Bengkulu explained that a membrane was made from the duck feather extract by adding Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) and glycerol. Furthermore, the membrane must go through a printing and heating stage at a temperature of 90 degrees Celsius for one hour. “This process is to produce an electrical energy transmitter membrane for fuel cells,” he added.

Reviewing various existing studies, the team conducting research at the Material Physics Laboratory of the ITS Physics Department found that the application of membranes from duck feather waste contains more keratin and is easy to find. In addition, this membrane also has hydrophobic properties that do not absorb water. “So that during the heating process it does not require high temperatures,” he said.

The ITS Quack Cell Team when they successfully won a silver medal at the 2024 Pimnas event in the PKM Exact Research (RE) category

To ensure validity, the team guided by Retno Asih MSi PhD went through a material characterization check. Not only that, they also conducted impedance testing to measure resistance in the electrical system. From the test results, it was found that the resulting membrane had higher conductivity compared to dry keratin.

Thanks to the hard work and persistence of all team members, this research has also succeeded in winning a silver medal at the National Student Scientific Week (Pimnas) in the Student Creativity Program – Exact Research (PKM-RE) 2024, some time ago. In the end, the Jakarta-born student hopes that more students will open their eyes to the potential of renewable energy in Indonesia. (ITS PUBLIC RELATIONS)

Reporter: Hani Aqilah Safitri