Judul: Analisis Pemanfaatan Limbah Kulit Singkong sebagai Bahan Bakar Alternatif Biobriket
Abstrak: Cassava skin is by-product of cassava processing such tapioca starch. In tapioca processing the skin waste accounts for approximately 15% of the total production input. The skin waste has a potential to be processed as biobriket in order to increase its added value. This study analyze the technical and economical dimension of the production. The research tests six combinations of material composition and pre-treatment of the biobriket. The production cost of each combination is also calculated. The results show that the highest calorific value is resulted from the composition of 100 percent charcoal and material sortation before combustion. The calorific value is 6.117 cal/gram. Although this composition and treatment has the highest production cost, but its cost per calory is the lowest. The performance of the biobricket produced s also tested and it is proved fulfilling the quality requirements of a briket product.
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Judul: Pengaruh Jenis dan Kadar Bahan Perekat pada Pembuatan Briket blotong  sebagai bahan Bakar Alternatif
Abstrak: Briquette is one alternative fuel that is simple and has great potential to be developed. This study aims to determine the appropriate adhesive material in the manufacture of briquettes from filter cake, and to know the effect of adding tapioca adhesive or molasses adhesive in the making of filter cake briquettes. Preliminary studies conducted to find out that blotong can be utilized into briquettes. In the main study conducted by making briquettes using different adhesive materials, using adhesives molasses and tapioca adhesive with adhesive levels respectively 10%, 15%, and 20%. Preliminary research results indicate that filter cake waste into raw materials can be used briquettes. The results of descriptive analysis of this study was the addition of adhesive in the making of filter cake briquettes will cause the density becomes high, the firing rate becomes small and can increase the calorific value of briquettes from 1026 cal /gram to reach 1995 cal /gram. The resulting coal filter cake briquettes good enough, that is by generating a temperature coal between 357.22 to 496.11 ° C. In addition, this filter cake briquettes produce low ash content and levels of substances to fly higher than wood charcoal briquettes on the market. Briquette with the best quality based on the calculation method Composite Performance Index (CPI) is the briquettes with an adhesive mixture of 15% molasses. These briquettes have a calorific value and the highest temperature of the coals so much faster in boiling 300 ml of water, is for 17 minutes.
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Judul: Exchange Market Pressure and Central Bank Intervention for Three ASEAN Countries
Abstrak: Two of the exchange rate systems which are adopted by many countries are the floating and the fixed exchange rate system. Both the exchange rate systems have different characteristics. Countries that implement fixed exchange rates system tend to set their domestic currency exchange rate at a certain point. On the contrary, countries which implement floating exchange rate system tend to let their domestic currency exchange rate to move flexibly and thus their value will always change according to the demand and supply of the currency in the foreign exchange market. Countries which implement floating exchange rate system are facing the risk of fluctuation in the exchange rate of their domestic currency against foreign currencies. The currency exchange rate fluctuation may be caused by economic problems such as a financial crisis. A country can also be potentially affected by other countries’ earlier financial crisis. This effect could potentially happen if these countries are in the same region, such as ASEAN. The 1997 ASEAN economic crisis was an example of a country’s financial crisis could affect other countries. At that time, some countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand had to change their currency exchange rate system from the fixed exchange rate system to the floating exchange rate system due to the high costs which has to be incurred if they were to enforce the fixed exchange rate system. During 2002 until 2012, the domestic exchange rate of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand against the U.S. dollar had tended to fluctuate. If the domestic currency exchange rate fluctuated excessively then the central bank would intervene to stabilize the exchange rate in the foreign exchange market. The pressure on domestic currency exchange rate pressures has forced the central bank to intervene. The amount of those pressures can be analyzed by calculating the Exchange Market Pressure (EMP) index. Apart from that, the time when interventions are done by the central bank can be known based on EMP by calculating the Exchange Market Intervention (EMI) index. The purposes of this study were to determine the level of international pressure on the currency exchange market and monetary authorities intervene in three ASEAN countries, as well as to determine the effect of the monetary authorities intervene on the exchange rate of the domestic currency against the U.S. dollar in those three ASEAN countries. Based on the EMP index calculation results which are obtained during 2002 to 2012 period, the exchange rate of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand’s domestic currency had always fluctuated and the results of the EMP index indicated that each country were under diverse level of currency exchange rate appreciation and depreciation pressures. Thailand was the country with the highest currency exchange rate pressure compared to Indonesia and Malaysia. The results on the intervention index calculation showed that Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have intervention index between zero and one and more than one. We can also see from the intervention index that Indonesia and Thailand implement the controlled floating currency exchange rate instead of the freely floating one. Based on the calculation of the currency exchange rate by comparing
Keyword: exchange rate, exchange market pressure, intervention