Three students of  Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Islam University (Unisma) conducted research on the use of rice straw as an alternative to drink preservative. The researh team are Ria Rismawati, Immega Adelia Nurdin and Muhammad Nizham Pradiptha. They were supervised by Dr. Nurul Jadid Mubarokati S.Si M.Si.
“The initial idea was when I saw a lot of dry rice straw which were not fully utilized and just burned in my village in Jombang ,” explained Ria Rismawati, Thursday (6/27/2019).
Rice plants contain lignin which can be used for drink bio-preservatives. Nurul Jadid, the lecturer of Unisma, added that the drink preservative usually contain chemicals.
“This research is an initial stage before it is later applied as an alternative to drink preservative. We hope that it will be patented later, “explained Nurul.
To make the preservative, rice straw is firstly made into ashes by burning it, then homogenized with water. After that, it is filtered and mixed with the bulgaricus Lactobacillus bacteria whose function is to break down the compound.
