The Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) will open the Oil Palm Research Grant (GRS) program again in 2023. This program is organized to increase the productivity, sustainability, and added value of oil palm through oil palm research and development, whose results can be utilized by the coconut industry, the government, and oil palm farmers and communities.
Of the 779 proposals received by BPDPKS, two of the 49 researchers who passed were lecturers at the Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia (FTUI), namely Adam Febriyanto Nugraha, S.T., Ph.D., from the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, and Prof. Dr. Ir. Bambang Sugiarto, M.Eng., from the Mechanical Engineering Department. Adam brought a research topic entitled “Development and Production of Wood Plastic Composite (WPC) Made from Empty Palm Oil Bunches (EFB) for the Application of Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Construction Materials” and Prof. Bambang brought a research topic entitled “Improving the Quality of Biodiesel Product Fuel in the Republic of Indonesia Warship Engines (KRI) with Filtration System Technology Methods”.
The research and development program for oil palm plantations from upstream to downstream is one of BPDPKS’ efforts to strengthen, develop, and increase the empowerment of national palm oil plantations and industries. In the palm oil industry, Indonesia still has a big task to catch up when compared to Malaysia, which has been a benchmark in terms of developing the palm oil industry and CPO downstream technology.
Therefore, the large amount of research related to the palm oil industry will positively impact Indonesia and the global market. The 7 areas of research that are prioritized for the 2023 Palm Research Grant are Cultivation/land/soil, Post-harvest/processing, Biomaterials/oleochemicals, Food/health, Bioenergy, Environment/Waste management, and Social economy/markets/ICT.
“Research and development activities are the foundation of the downstream industry, which is needed as the spearhead of industrial progress. The Palm Oil Research Grant Program is an opportunity for FTUI researchers to make a real contribution to the development of the palm oil industry. Thus, a research culture will grow in the Indonesian industrial world, and industrial culture will also grow in universities in Indonesia,” said the Dean of FTUI, Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah, ST., M.Eng., IPU.
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Bureau of Public Communications
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia