We are pleased to invite you to attend the dissertation thesis defence of Lydia Mawar Ningsih with the title “Agro-industrial waste revalorization for bioenergy purposes in developing world” (Department of Sustainable Technologies, Sustainable Rural Development). Thesis defence will take place on 25th September 2025, 09:00 a.m., meeting room 313 (building FTZ).
This study highlights the potential of agro-industrial wastewater, especially from tofu production, for renewable energy and resource recovery using anaerobic digestion and biofilter-assisted ABR systems. These technologies generate biogas, volatile fatty acids, and acetic acid while producing nutrient-rich effluent that can be applied as organic fertilizer. The ABR biofilter system yields 310.49 L/day of biogas at an OLR of 2 kgCOD/m3·day, substituting 2.82% of firewood, 11.86% of LPG, and 33.39% of biopellets. On a national scale, with tofu and tempeh production of 400,000 tons, this substitution could reduce approximately 448,000 tons of CO2e emissions, demonstrating significant environmental benefits. Furthermore, the effluent meets the Indonesian organic fertilizer standard with nutrient concentrations of total N, P, Ca, Mg, Cu, and Fe. The findings show that this low-cost, durable technology supports small enterprises and provides scalable solutions for policymakers and industries to promote sustainable, circular economy practices in wastewater management.
We warmly invite faculty members, students, and the public to join this defence.