Unand Researcher Develops Wastewater Treatment Research

Researcher and lecturer Zulkarnaini from the Environmental Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Andalas (Unand), West Sumatra, has successfully developed research on wastewater treatment using a technology called anammox. “This research focuses on anaerobic ammonium oxidation technology, also known as anammox,” Zulkarnaini said in Padang on Monday. He explained that anammox technology is a biological process that utilises special bacteria to remove nitrogen compounds from wastewater with lower energy requirements compared to conventional technologies. The research developed at Unand explores various sources of local Indonesian microorganisms that potentially contain anammox bacteria. Through continuous research, his team successfully enriched and cultivated anammox bacteria from various natural environments across the country. This achievement is significant because anammox bacteria are known to have a very slow growth rate and are difficult to cultivate. Various innovations emerged from this research, ranging from the use of local materials as biofilm-forming media to the development of anammox reactors suitable for Indonesia’s tropical conditions. “This is an important opportunity to demonstrate that research developed at Universitas Andalas can contribute to global scientific discussions on the future of more sustainable wastewater treatment,” he said. Concurrently, Unand and the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) are developing a wastewater treatment system based on a combination of anammox technology and struvite recovery for tofu industry waste in Sumedang Regency, West Java. In addition to reducing environmental pollution, this technology enables nutrient recovery into struvite, which can be used as raw material for fertiliser. This approach is considered aligned with global trends that encourage wastewater treatment not only to remove pollutants but also to recover economically valuable resources.