The Faculty of Biology organized the 4th biotalk on Thursday, 23 July 2020. The guest speakers were Dr. Eko Agus Suyono, M.App. Sc. (Lecturer at the Faculty of Biology UGM / Microalgae Biorefinery Researcher), Drs. Ali Dikri, M.M. (Senior Manager HSSE & Sustainability, Inpex Masela Ltd./Alumni Biologi UGM 1984), Devrita Saka Rani, M. Biores. Eng. (Research and Development Center for Oil and Gas Technology of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources / UGM Biology Alumni 1996), and Yu Inaba (Senior Researcher Euglena Co. Ltd./Japan).
Biofuel is a promising candidate in solving energy problems in the world. Indonesia, with its large biodiversity of plants and microorganisms, is rich in biofuel material sources. The first speaker, Yu Inaba, presented about Euglena Company (Japan), which produces euglena as a food product, supplements, and cosmetics. The second speaker, Dr. Eko Agus Suyono, M.App. Sc. delivered a presentation on Microalga Biofuel & Biorefinery. As Nogotirto Algae Park’s owner, he explained that energy demand would increase in line with the population. Microalgae is a promising material that can be developed as biofuel. However, efficient harvesting methods to increase the product and biomass needs to be developed. Drs. Ali Dikri, M.M., the third speaker, discussed about “Bioenergy Challenges & Opportunities in New and Renewable Energy (EBT)”. He emphasized the importance of exploring recent technology for biomass development. Lastly, the fourth speaker Devrita Saka Rani, M. Biores. Eng. presented on Biofuel Development in Indonesia. As a researcher who works at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, she also highlighted the advantages, disadvantages, and opportunities for biofuel research.
