Judul: Pemanfaatan limbah Tebu menjadi briket dan biopelet
Abstrak: Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) is one of Indonesia's main commodities that provide benefits for life. Sugarcane bagasse and leaves are major waste of sugar mills. Both of waste have not been optimally used. This research conduct a briquette procesing used bagasse and biopellet processing used sugarcane leaves. The aims of this study was to determine concentration of adhesive of briquette and to optimize biopellet process at compression temperature and time. Briquette was made by the addition of tapioca adhesive with concentration of 5, 10 and 15%. Biopellet made used compression temperature and compression time with compression temperature were varied iii from 130 - 270oC and compression time consisted of 8 - 22 minutes. The best briquettes treatment obtained at a concentration of 5% adhesive, with value of 3.87% moisture content, 3.35% ash content, 76.35% volatile matter, 20.29 fixed carbon and heat level 4155 kcal/kg. Sugarcane leaves biopellet has optimal at compression temperature of 250oC for 20 minutes. Compression with these conditions produced moisture content of 3.41%, ash content of 12.19%, compressive strength of 119.22 kgf/cm2 and heat level of 4490 kcal/kg.
Keyword: Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), bagasse, sugarcane waste, bioenergy, briquette, biopellet

Judul: Biopelet: Energi Terbarukan dari Batang Kelapa Sawit
Abstrak: Oil palm trunk (OPT) is a potentional source of biomass for the production of biopellet. In the present research, biopellets were prepared from 25 years old OPT. It was prepared by mixing the meristem part with various percentages of its bark (0, 10, dan 30% bark content). The properties of the resulting biopellet were statistical examined. The durability of biopellet was measured according to ASABE standard procedures and its combustion behavior was examined by thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG–DTA). The highest biopellet durability was found for biopellet produced at 130 oC pressing temperature with 30% bark content. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of pellet of OPT showed the weak of particle bonding due to low of pelletizing pressure. The moisture content, unit density, ash content, and caloric value of pellets were 3.55–5.35%, 525.56–855.23 kg/m3, 2.76–3.44%, dan 17.89–19.14 MJ/kg, respectively. The combustion profiles of biopellet seemed to be unaffected by the bark content on TGA curve. Thermogravimetric analysis on DTA curve indicated that hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin retained a different pyrolysis characteristic
Keyword: Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), pyrolysis, durability, pellet, Oil palm trunk

Judul: Daily Behavior of Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) in Aquarium Maintenance
Abstrak: Ambystoma mexicanum atau axolotl adalah salamander yang termasuk jenis eksotis dari Meksiko. Salamander ini potensial dipelihara sebagai hewan eksotis didukung insang eksternal dan warna kulit yang bervariasi. Pemeliharaan axolotl masih menjadi masalah utama, karena dapat menurunkan kesejahteraan hidup axolotl apabila informasi terbatas bagi pemelihara. Kesejahteraan hidup dipengaruhi oleh kondisi hewan dan kondisi lingkungan. Penelitian bertujuan mempelajari perilaku harian axolotl berdasarkan warna kulit, jumlah individu di akuarium, dan periode waktu. Pemeliharaan axolotl dilakukan di akuarium dengan suhu 22,3–23,0 °C serta pencahayaan (12/12 jam). Objek penelitian terdiri dari axolotl dengan warna kulit merah muda (leucistic), kuning (golden), dan kecoklatan berbintik hitam (marble). Observasi perilaku harian axolotl menggunakan metode focal animal sampling dengan total 264 jam pengamatan. Perilaku harian yang diamati meliputi sosial, agonistik, dan lokomosi. Data dianalisis menggunakan uji ANOVA. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan interaksi antara warna kulit, jumlah individu, dan periode waktu tidak memengaruhi perilaku harian axolotl. Masingmasing faktor periode waktu dan jumlah individu mempengaruhi perilaku harian axolotl. Faktor warna kulit hanya memengaruhi perilaku sosial. Axolotl golden paling banyak melakukan aktivitas sosial. Axolotl lebih banyak beraktivitas pada siang hari daripada malam hari. Populasi tiga individu di akuarium meningkatkan perilaku sosial dan agonistik, namun menurunkan lokomosi, Ambystoma mexicanum or axolotl is an exotic type of salamander from Mexico. Axolotl has the potential as an exotic animal because of its external gills and varied skin color. Axolotl maintenance is still a major problem, which could reduce the welfare if the information is limited for keepers. The animal and environmental conditions influence welfare. The research aims to study the daily behaviour of axolotls based on skin color, number of individuals, and time period. Axolotl was maintained in an aquarium with temperature (22.3–23.0 °C) and lighting (12/12 hours). The objects consisted of axolotls in pink (leucistic), yellow (golden) and brownish skin with black spots (marble). Daily behaviour were observed by focal animal sampling (total of 264 hours). Daily behaviours included social, agonistic, and locomotion. Data were analyzed with an ANOVA test. The results showed that interaction between skin color, number of individuals and time period didn’t affect the daily behaviour of axolotls. The time period and the number of individuals influenced daily behaviour. The skin color only influenced social behaviour. Golden axolotl carried the most social activities. Axolotls were more active during the day than at night. Populations of three individuals in an aquarium increased social and agonistic, but decreased locomotion.
Keyword: aggressiveness, external gills, leucistic, solitary