Judul: Peningkatan Kualitas Biopelet Bungkil Jarak Pagar sebagai Bahan Bakar melalui Teknik Karbonisasi
Abstrak: Salah satu limbah pertanian yang potensial untuk dijadikan sebagai energi alternatif adalah bungkil jarak pagar. Bungkil jarak merupakan sisa pengepresan biji jarak pagar hingga menjadi minyak. Jumlah bungkil jarak yang dihasilkan cukup banyak, yaitu 70% dari jumlah biji jarak yang diproses. Bungkil jarak juga memiliki nilai kalori yang cukup tinggi, yaitu 4473 kkal/kg sehingga bisa bersaing dengan limbah pertanian lainnya dan batubara. Nilai kalori yang cukup tinggi yang dihasilkan oleh bungkil jarak pagar membuka peluang pemanfaatan bungkil jarak tersebut sebagai bahan bakar alternatif. Pemanfaatan bungkil jarak pagar sebagai bahan bakar dapat dalam bentuk biopelet. Biopelet bungkil jarak pagar yang sudah diteliti ternyata memiliki kelemahan tersendiri, yaitu banyaknya asap yang dikeluarkan pada saat pembakaran. Asap yang dihasilkan tentu saja dapat mengganggu kesehatan pengguna biopelet tersebut. Salah satu cara yang dapat dilakukan untuk mengurangi asap adalah menambahkan bungkil jarak terkarbonisasi (arang bungkil jarak) dalam jumlah tertentu ke dalam campuran bahan baku biopelet. Karbonisasi diduga dapat membantu pengurangan asap yang dihasilkan dari pembakaran biopelet bungkil jarak pagar. Pada saat karbonisasi, komponen zat terbang penyebab asap akan terurai sehingga dengan sendirinya akan menurunkan jumlah asap yang dihasilkan. Hal lain yang juga dikaji dalam pembuatan biopelet bungkil jarak pagar adalah ukuran diameter biopelet tersebut. Ukuran diameter berhubungan dengan kecepatan dan lama pembakaran biopelet. Semakin kecil ukuran diameter biopelet, maka biopelet semakin cepat terbakar namun waktu pembakaran tidak terlalu lama. Sebaliknya, semakin besar ukuran diameter biopelet, maka biopelet semakin lama terbakar dan waktu pembakaran juga berlangsung lebih lama. Hal ini berkaitan dengan luasan biopelet yang kontak langsung dengan sumber panas (api). Ukuran diameter biopelet yang sesuai juga tergantung pada jenis alat pembakaran yang akan digunakan untuk biopelet tersebut. Pada penelitian ini akan diketahui ukuran diameter biopelet yang paling sesuai dengan kompor biopelet skala rumah tangga. Karbonisasi pada suhu 300, 400, dan 500 °C dapat memperbaiki kualitas bungkil jarak pagar dengan meningkatkan nilai kalori, kadar karbon terikat dan kadar karbon (C) dalam arang bungkil jarak. Pada α = 0,05, suhu karbonisasi memberikan pengaruh yang nyata pada semua parameter yang diuji. Arang bungkil jarak terbaik diperoleh dari proses karbonisasi pada suhu 500 °C dengan karakteristik kadar air 6,67±0,09% bb, nilai kalori 5978,67±32,75 kkal/kg, kadar zat terbang 17,44±0,44% bb, kadar abu 15,20±0,24% bb, kadar karbon terikat 67,35±0.40% bb, kadar C 70,00% b/b, kadar H 2,78% b/b, kadar N 4,83% b/b, dan kadar S 0,02% b/b....dst
Keyword: biopellet, burning characteristic, calorific value, jatropha, seedcake

Judul: Pembuatan Biopelet Dari Bungkil Jarak Pagar (Jathropa Curcas L.) Dengan Penambahan Sludge Dan Perekat Tapioka
Abstrak: Seed of jatropha (Jatropha curcas L) contains 60 % kernel (weight) and 40 % husk (weight). Its nucleus’s seeds contain 40 – 45 % oils that can be separated into jatropha oil either with mechanical or extraction way (Hambali et al. 2006). More than its 60 % component is an oil cake. The huge amount of oil cake can be used as a solid fuel such as Biomass Pellets (Biopelet). Biopelet has diameters 3 – 12 mm and 6 – 25 mm long. Biopelet is produced by continuous inlet dry materials that is pushed and pressed through steel ring that has particular holes. The pressing process produces solid materials that will be broken into specific size (Ramsay (ed) 1982). Jatropha oil cakes have a weakness as a solid fuel. It has no high heating value and its physic characteristic that has low binder. The addition of sludge in this research are expected to increase the heating value. Sludge can be used as an alternative heating resource. Binding problems can be solved by adding tapioca. Tapioca is used because the price is cheap. But it has a weakness, tapioca will decrease heating value on the product. Binding agents also produce smoke. Optimum adding of tapioca is not more than 5% (Sudrajat and Soleh, 1994). The most important parameter of Biomass fuel is heating value (Grover et al, (eds) 2002). Heating values implies energy that is binded on the fuel with standard from environment. The standard are temperature, water (liquid or vapor), CO2, O2, etc (Palz, 1985). This research starts with physic and burning characterizations of jatropha oil cakes. Biopelet produce in the pellets mill that has capacity 350 kg/ hour. Production held in PT Indofeed Bogor. Biopelet parameters test conducted at Laboratories of Biomass Energy and Chemistry, Forest Product Research and Development Center. The final step of this research is found the comparison of quality between biopelet jatropha oil cake with adding sludge and tapioca and biopelet jatropha oil cake without adding sludge and tapioca. Experimental design used in this research is using Random Complete Design with two factors (RAL factorial). The first is the addition of sludge treatment with three levels, which is, 2%, 4% and 6%, while the second factor is the addition of tapioca adhesive that also has three levels of treatment, which is 1%, 3% and 5%. From the results of the research obtained, although the results of interaction from two factors of treatment, the sludge and tapioca adhesive does not produce real difference, but with the combination can further improve value of the some expected parameters. Combination of sludge 6% and 3% tapioca, can increase heating value to 4914 Kcal / kg, meaning that the combination treatment can increase the heating value 5.62% of the value content from biopelet (control ). So also for bound carbon, a combination of sludge 6% and 1% tapioca can increase the level of bound carbon of 24.41% of the value content of carbon bound control, the combination treatment has value of carbon content of 20.59%. v The addition of sludge and tapioca
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Judul: Posisi Filogenetik Kura-Kura Carettochelys Insculpta  (Reptillia: Testudinata)
Abstrak: Carettochelys insculpta is an endemic freshwater turtle of southern Papua and northern Australia. Phylogenetic position of this turtle is remain unresolved until now. Most of the research conducted show close relationships of C. insculpta and members of Trionychidae family. However, some of the research show distance between C. insculpta and members of Trionychidae family. This research is conducted to analyze phylogenetic relationship between C. insculpta and other members of Testudinata using 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and both gene as markers. DNA samples were obtained from three different organisms of C. insculpta. Two species used as outgroups were Alligator mississippiensis and Iguana iguana. Phylogenetic analysis was carried out using Neighbor-Joining method with Felsenstein 1981 (F81) modeltest. A polytomy tree of Testudinata was produced by using 12S rRNA gene. However, analysis using 16S rRNA and both genes as markers confirmed that C. insculpta was located between the Chelonidae and the Trionychidae family.
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