Collaboration of students from the Faculty of Agricultural Technology (FTP), Faculty of Engineering (FT), Faculty of Agriculture (FP), and Faculty of Administrative Sciences (FIA) created a tool used to reduce porang flour and calcium oxalate crystals with a filtration system using mesh and vibrating screen) at a certain speed to filter calcium oxalate crystals using the Mechanical Separation method.
Team leader Azra Syaura Azzafira said that this activity was motivated by the condition of partners who needed a tool to reduce calcium oxalate in porang flour so that it could improve the quality of the flour.
Porang flour is flour that comes from porang chips that have been cut and dried. Porang flour contains impurities, namely starch and calcium oxalate. Flour containing calcium oxalate, if consumed over a long period of time, will cause accumulation of calcium oxalate and cause kidney stones.
“Partners say that calcium oxalate levels that are too high reduce the quality of porang flour, thereby reducing the selling price and of course this affects partner profits,” said Azra after conducting a partner survey in February 2023.
In its use, porang plant contains glucomannan which is found in all parts of the tuber. Glucomannan is a hydrocolloid that has the ability to thicken and form a gel so it is widely used in various processed food industries such as shirataki noodles, konjac flour, cake mixes and porang chips. Glucomannan has several benefits such as lowering blood sugar levels and inhibiting glucose absorption. Glucomannan is the main ingredient in porang flour. Porang flour can be used as a binder, thickener and jelly mixture.
The working principle of this tool is to use a vibrating motor on the body of the tool which is connected to a mesh. The vibrating motor produces horizontal vibrations during the sieving process. The mesh used has three different levels to filter calcium oxalate particles, namely sizes 30, 40, and 50. In mesh sizes 30 and 40 there is an output pipe on the side so that the calcium oxalate particles can be immediately separated according to their density. In addition, the mesh on the tool can be removed as needed so it can be cleaned easily.
This program was guided by lecturer Joko Prasetyo, S.TP, M.Si, they succeeded in getting funding in the 2023 Student Creativity Program (PKM) in the field of Application of Science and Technology organized by the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education (Kemenristek Dikti) of the Republic Indonesia
“This program has great potential for the future, and it is better to collaborate with local governments, especially the local Environmental and Agricultural Services, so that this program can continue successfully. “This will enable local communities to take an active and empowered role in implementing it, so that we can achieve our goals more effectively,” said Supervisor Joko
Azra Syaura Azzafira (FTP), Ahmad Shobri Ardiana (FT), Ikhlas Muhammad Sabilly (FT), Alifian Santosa Putra (FIA), and Farhan Adli Prayata (FP) in implementing this tool in partnership with CV. Wikonjac Kepuharjo, Kepuharjo, Karangploso District, Malang Regency, East Java. [UB PR/ Trans. Iir]
