Indonesian High School Students Turn Cow Dung into the Sweet Smell of Success
Rintya Miki Aprianti and Dwi Nailul Izzah are the proud recipients of gold medals in the Indonesian Science Project Olympiad (ISPO) held last February in Jakarta. It’s no surprise, though, as these two high school students have achieved a marvel of fragrance engineering: they turned a pile of cow crap into a “pleasant smelling” air freshener.
This alchemy of aroma was surprisingly simple: they gathered the necessary amount of dung from a nearby ranch and fermented it for three days. Apparently fermentation, the chemical reaction often responsible for making delicious things smell horrible, can also work both ways.
Coconut water is added and the mixture is distilled. What’s left is an environmentally-friendly and harsh-chemical-free alternative to commercial air fresheners.
They also claim that a 225 g can costs about US$2, but I’m wondering if they are factoring in the expenses that would be involved in a large scale cow manure collection and fermentation operation.
The jury was, however, blown away by the smell (in a good way). Those who smelled it reported it as having a pleasant herbal aroma.
Following their ISPO win, the ladies are going to take their line of BS air-fresheners to the International Environmental Project Olympiad (INEPO). They’re also getting ready to file for a patent.
Perhaps in the not too distant future, when people do a number on their toilets they can reach for a can of cow dung spray to fresh things up. Good work, ladies!
Rintya Miki Aprianti and Dwi Nailul Izzah are the proud recipients of gold medals in the Indonesian Science Project Olympiad (ISPO) held last February in Jakarta. It’s no surprise, though, as these two high school students have achieved a marvel of fragrance engineering: they turned a pile of cow crap into a “pleasant smelling” air freshener.
This alchemy of aroma was surprisingly simple: they gathered the necessary amount of dung from a nearby ranch and fermented it for three days. Apparently fermentation, the chemical reaction often responsible for making delicious things smell horrible, can also work both ways.
Coconut water is added and the mixture is distilled. What’s left is an environmentally-friendly and harsh-chemical-free alternative to commercial air fresheners.
They also claim that a 225 g can costs about US$2, but I’m wondering if they are factoring in the expenses that would be involved in a large scale cow manure collection and fermentation operation.
The jury was, however, blown away by the smell (in a good way). Those who smelled it reported it as having a pleasant herbal aroma.
Following their ISPO win, the ladies are going to take their line of BS air-fresheners to the International Environmental Project Olympiad (INEPO). They’re also getting ready to file for a patent.
Perhaps in the not too distant future, when people do a number on their toilets they can reach for a can of cow dung spray to fresh things up. Good work, ladies!
