Syiah Kuala University (Indonesian: Universitas Syiah Kuala), abbreviated as USK (formerly: Unsyiah), founded on 2 September 1961, is the largest and the oldest national university in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The name of the university is taken from the prominent theologian, Tengku Abdur Rauf As Singkili, who lived in the 16th century.USK has twelve faculties, providing Associate, Bachelor, and master's degrees. USK has 131 laboratories for student lab work, student and lecturer experiments, and community service. The laboratories are spread across departments and faculties as follows: economics 2, veterinary science 11, law 1 engineering 29, agriculture 17, medical 27, mathematics and natural sciences 26, and one integrated laboratory.
Deploying sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) requires feedstock–pathway combinations that are technically credible, operationally realistic, and compatible with fuel qualification. This review evaluates oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) through a constraint-to-deployment framework linking mill-state properties, conditioning needs, thermochemical pathway fit, intermediate quality, upgrading burden, and deployment architecture. The evidence base comprised 59 retained sources, 171 coded evidence relationships, and 568 quantitative observations. Indonesian OPEFB availability is estimated at 45.86 Mt yr−1, with generation of about 230 kg per tonne of fresh fruit bunches, but fresh OPEFB commonly contains >60 wt% moisture and has fibrous, low-density, alkali- and alkaline-earth-metal-rich characteristics. Gasification–Fischer–Tropsch offers the clearest certification bridge but requires intensive preprocessing, gas cleaning, and syngas conditioning. Pyrolysis is credible as a bio-oil platform but is constrained by drying, mineral sensitivity, unstable oxygen-rich bio-oil, and severe hydrodeoxygenation. Hydrothermal liquefaction provides the strongest front-end wet-feedstock compatibility, but solvent/process-water management, phase separation, aqueous-phase treatment, hydrogen demand, and hydrotreating remain critical. With Indonesia's SAF demand projected to rise from 60 million L yr−1 in 2027 to 7880 million L yr−1 in 2060, OPEFB is most defensible through mill-centered conditioning or near-mill conversion followed by hub-based upgrading.
Indonesia possesses abundant biomass resources with great potential for value-added applications. Siam weed (Chromolaena odorata L.), an invasive plant species, is widely distributed and underutilized. In this study, nitrogen self-doped hydrochar (NSD-HC) was synthesized from Siam weed leaves via hydrothermal carbonization, followed by KOH treatment, producing a pore-like structure with abundant surface functionalities. The NSD-HC was analyzed using FTIR, SEM, EDS, XRD, Raman, XPS, and UV-vis spectrometry to elucidate its characteristics. Its adsorption performance was evaluated against various synthetic dyes, including crystal violet (CV), under different adsorption conditions (contact time, CV concentration, and NSD-HC weight). The data indicated that the adsorption kinetics fitted with the PSO model, while the equilibrium data followed the Langmuir isotherm model. The NSD-HC exhibited rapid adsorption kinetics with a maximum adsorption capacity of 37.47 mg g-1. The adsorption efficiency was associated with electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonding, and pi-pi interactions between NSD-HC's active sites and CV molecules. This study demonstrates a sustainable and cost-effective method for valorizing invasive biomass into a good adsorbent, enabling efficient treatment of dye-laden wastewater while mitigating the ecological impact of invasive species.
The southern coast of Java, Indonesia, is a high-risk region characterized by intense seismic activity where the 17 July 2006 Mw 7.7 Java tsunami earthquake occurred and generated devastating tsunami. This study investigates the prolonged crustal deformation following this event by analyzing over a decade (2010-2022) of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data from stations along the southern coast of West Java. We quantify the contributions of two primary postseismic mechanisms-viscoelastic relaxation and afterslip-alongside ongoing interseismic coupling on the megathrust. Our results indicate that surface deformation was dominated by postseismic processes in the immediate years after the earthquake, with velocities of 2-3 mm/yr directed southward. Over time, the influence of postseismic deformation decayed significantly; viscoelastic relaxation diminished by 79% by 2019-2022. Afterslip distribution and moment release increased then decreased over the studied periods, releasing seismic moments equivalent to Mw 6.4-6.6. Concurrently, the deformation pattern gradually transitioned, revealing the increasing dominance of interseismic coupling as postseismic deformation progressively diminishes. The study highlights a transitional phase between postseismic and interseismic deformation along the Java subduction zone. These findings underscore the critical importance of long-term geodetic monitoring for refining seismic hazard assessments in subduction zones.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Heavy metal contamination from industrial wastewater remains a global concern. Biomass waste still contains active compounds that can be processed into useful materials. The study aimed to resolve both challenges by synthesizing composite hydrogels derived from pineapple crowns and avocado peels, facilitating the concurrent adsorption of lead, cadmium, and copperfrom aqueous solutions. METHODS: Composite hydrogels were synthesized using free radical polymerization using pineapple crown biochar and avocado peel biochar as grafting substrates. The material was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, and hardness testing to determine its physicochemical properties. The process of adsorption utilizes a batch system in a solution that contains lead, cadmium, and copper ions at the same time, with a potential of 4 to 6 and a temperature set at 26 degrees Celsius, operating at a speed of 125 revolutions per minute for a total time of 300 minutes. The adsorption kinetics were assessed utilizing both the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models, with the model fit determined by the coefficient of determination value and the correlation. FINDINGS: Both hydrogels demonstrated mesoporous structures with high specific surface areas (square meters per gram) of 767.61 for pineapple crown composite hydrogel and 802.41 for avocado peel composite hydrogel, along with rich functional groups such as hydroxyl, carboxyl, alkyl, nitrile, and carbonyl groups that facilitate chemisorption. The composite hydrogel made from avocado peel demonstrated the greatest adsorption capacity (measured in milligrams per gram), recording values of 0.56 for lead, 0.43 for cadmium, and 0.41 for copper. These results were better than the performance of the pineapple crown composite hydrogel. Adsorption kinetics were well described by the pseudo-second-order model, with coefficient of determination values from 0.91 to 0.98 for composite hydrogel. CONCLUSION: The performance of avocado peel composite hydrogels has improved compared to that of pineapple crown composite hydrogels, which is due to better porous accessibility and the presence of functional groups. These outcomes validate the significance of selecting biomass and the parameters of synthesis. Although the resulting adsorption capacity is lower than developed adsorbents, this study offers benefits related to sustainability, affordability, and the availability of local raw materials, rendering it very promising for sustainable wastewater treatment.
Biofortification of rice with iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) offers a promising strategy to combat micronutrient deficiencies, particularly in developing countries, and selecting early-maturing rice cultivars is essential for maximizing the efficiency of multiple plantings per year. This study assessed 40 Indonesian local rice genotypes from three agroecological zones, upland (Aceh), swampy lowland (Riau), and irrigated lowland (Java), to evaluate their genetic diversity, population structure, and marker-trait associations for days to heading (DTH), grain Fe, and Zn content. Phenotypic data were collected for these traits, and genotyping was performed using 14 polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. STRUCTURE analysis, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), and phylogenetic clustering consistently grouped the genotypes into two main clusters. Molecular diversity analysis revealed moderate to high polymorphism (average PIC = 0.57), with substantial genetic variation within populations. Marker-trait association analysis identified SSR markers RM12276 as significantly linked to high Fe content, collectively explaining 33.45% of phenotypic variation. Favorable alleles associated with this trait was also identified, offering valuable tools for marker-assisted selection. The integration of phenotypic and molecular data in this study supports the breeding of early-maturing, micronutrient-rich rice varieties suitable for diverse growing environments.
