Ohau product presentation at ITB represented by the Head of the ITS Industrial Product Design Department, Bambang Tristiyono ST MSi

ITS Campus, ITS News — Lecturers and students from the Department of Industrial Product Design (Despro) Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) succeeded in creating a natural water purifier that uses microalgae as the primary filter called Ohau. This product was successfully created with direct support from ITS and company partners, namely Panasonic.

Head of the ITS Despro Department, Bambang Tristiyono ST MSi, stated that this air purifier product was born as ITS’s effort to reduce the potential for indoor air pollution. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every year, around 3.2 million people experience premature death caused by diseases related to indoor air pollution. “This can happen because nowadays productivity indoors is greater than outdoors,” he said.

Furthermore, Bambang explained that the solution to this problem is to provide an indoor air purifier. However, he added that microalgae is one aspect that can improve the air filtration performance of air purifiers on the market. “In one study, microalgae can absorb 10 to 15 times more carbon dioxide (CO2) than land plants,” he explained.

Illustration of a microalgae-based air purifier called Ohau, created by ITS academics, placed indoors

Diving into the details, this air purifier by Despro ITS consists of two main modules, namely the air purification module and microalgae. The air purifier module was made from Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic, and the microalgae module was made from a clear acrylic tube. In the future, Ohau can be operated via an application currently being developed by ITS. “This application is expected to be able to control temperature, filtering intensity, and even check the condition of the equipment,” explained Bambang.

Collaborating with the ITS Department of Biology and Electrical Engineering, this product is aimed at users who live in polluted areas with hot climates. Apart from that, Bambang advises room environments with poor air circulation and air conditioning users to have this product.

Illustration of a microalgae-based air purifier product and Ohau water purifier control application developed by the ITS Industrial Product Design Department team

Recently, this creation initiated by Despro ITS achieved an extraordinary award: The best winner in the Design Solution with Advanced Technology category at the 4th Indonesia Industrial Design Student Award (IIDSA). The competition was organized by the Indonesian Industrial Product Design Alliance (ADPII).

Bambang hopes that this useful product can be developed further in terms of function and aesthetics. He also hopes to get strong support from all ITS academics and other company partners, especially Panasonic. “Hopefully, works like this can be developed better and mass-produced,” he hoped. (ITS Public Relations)

Reporter: Bima Surya Samudra

Translator: Hanifah Inayah