ARAU, Three Form Three students have built a biomass battery using sugarcane waste (bagasse) as the energy source.
Aulia Farhana Amran, Nur Damia Saffiya Shamrezal, and Mahirah Aziz are students of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Guar Nangka near here.
Speaking to Bernama when met at the Perlis-level National Science Week Carnival 2024, Aulia Farhana said their experiments found that sugarcane bagasse has a higher voltage than other familiar sources, such as coconut husks.
The two-day carnival kicked off on Sunday at the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Arau campus here. On the last day of the carnival, yesterday, the three students won gold for their innovation.
Elaborating on the battery-making process, Aulia Farhana said they smoked and cooked the bagasse until it became a black powder (carbon).
She said the carbon was mixed with sodium hydroxide, distilled water, and manganese dioxide before the solution was placed in a container.
‘The biomass battery has been tested and could reach 1.87 volts. It
has successfully powered bulbs and LED lights. This innovation is not only cost-effective but also supports recycling efforts.
‘Sugarcane bagasse, which is usually discarded after the sugar extraction process, now can be repurposed in a more effective and environmentally friendly way. My friends and I hope that this project can serve as an example for the broader use of recycled resources in the future,’ she added.
Meanwhile, the project’s advisor and science teacher at the school, Izwan Azura Mat Dai, said they intend to patent this innovative battery product in the Copyright Registry as part of the efforts to commercialise it after enhancing the durability.
Izwan Azura expressed hope that the innovation can be widely applied as the material used to produce it is from a renewable source, which aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable Clean Energy.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
