Turning Waste into a Sustainable Future

About the Project

This research is an integrated Project-Based Learning (PBL) project incorporating the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) approach. It falls under the environmental science competency category and addresses two major issues: limited access to electrical energy in oil palm plantations and the environmental challenges associated with palm oil mill effluent (POME). The proposed solution is based on the concept of the Voltaic cell, integrating electricity, environmental science, linear programming, and battery technology to develop a POME battery as an alternative source of electrical energy. By utilizing POME as a raw material, this project aims to address electricity shortages through the application of Voltaic cell principles, electrical concepts, environmental science, linear programming, and battery technology using a simple circuit assembly. The resulting POME battery is expected to provide practical benefits to local communities. The scientific principles applied in developing the POME battery prototype include the concept of the Voltaic cell, which uses copper (Cu) as the cathode at the positive terminal and magnesium (Mg) ribbon as the anode at the negative terminal. A piece of wet tissue serves as a salt bridge, while POME functions as the electrolyte solution. This configuration is also related to the principles of electric circuits, particularly direct current (DC) electricity, which involves electric current, voltage, electrical resistance, and the electrical power generated by the bio-battery prototype. The electrical potential generated by the cell can be measured using a multimeter to evaluate its voltage and assess its electrical performance.