TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Bali students awarded in US for mangrove-based solution to biofouling
I Made Wiratathya Putramas and Caroline Mathilda Nggebu from SMUN Denpasar 3 state high school have come up with a potential long-term solution to biofouling.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Carolline Mathilda Nggebu and I Made Wiratathya Putramas show off their awards. The high school students received the fourth Grand Award at Intel ISEF 2019 for developing antifouling paint out of mangrove plants. (kompas.com/-)
T
wo high school students from Denpasar, Bali, have received an award at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) for developing antifouling paint out of mangrove plants to prevent biofouling.
Biofouling occurs when marine organisms such as barnacles and algae accumulate on pipes and other underwater or wetted surfaces. This often damages ships as the layers formed by the organisms add weight to vessels, decreasing their speed.
I Made Wiratathya Putramas and Caroline Mathilda Nggebu from SMUN Denpasar 3 state high school came up with a solution to biofouling, using leaf extracts from two mangrove species, namely Rhizophora apiculata and Sonneratia alba, to develop antifouling paint. The two species can easily be found along Bali's coasts.
“We choose mangroves because we know that the problem stems from the ocean, so the solution must come from the ocean as well,” Wiratathya said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday, adding that the mangrove species also contained particles that could help prevent biofouling.
Read also: Four Indonesian students win gold in China for therapeutic tea for diabetics
Their research study, titled Potential Identification and Application of Rhizophora apiculata and Sonneratia alba as Bio Antifouling Agent for Antifoulant Paints, led them to receive the fourth Grand Award for Earth and Environmental: Life Sciences at the Intel ISEF 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona, the United States.
“There are many things that we still need to fix before putting this antifouling paint in the market, such as modifying its extraction method with different dissolving agents,” he said.
Wiratathya added that the paint still needed to undergo field testing to see if it could last in the long run.
"We still have to test this paint's endurance to see how long its active chemicals can protect the vessels, and this test could take a long time, probably about two to five years,” he said. (dpk/kes)
