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The Business Case Competition (BCC) of MetalFest 2024 was a national-level event organized by the ITB Metallurgical Engineering Study Program. Designed to sharpen critical thinking skills, the competition challenged participants to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems. By tackling cases provided by mining and metallurgical companies, the competition aimed to drive innovation in sustainable downstream practices.

The competition was divided into three rounds: preliminary, semifinal, and final. The preliminary and semifinal rounds were held online, while the final round took place offline at the ITB Ganesha Campus.

BCC MetalFest 2024 carried the theme "The Transformation of Indonesia's Metallurgical Industry Towards Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities in Implementing CSR, ESG, and SDGs."

Three ITB students—Hayfa Felicia Taqia Wijaya and Dewa Nanda Putu from Industrial Engineering, as well as Salsa Zahrani from Engineering Management—joined the competition under the Meng-Go Team. Their proposal focused on optimizing flue gas management and enhancing CSR initiatives to realize a sustainable copper smelting process at PT Smelting.

The main problem at PT Smelting was the electrostatic precipitator (ESP). "PT Smelting's ESP is prone to corrosion and is ineffective for thermal insulation," stated Dewa.

Based on the given problem, the solution had to deal with air leakage control, thermal insulation, anti-corrosion coatings, and temperature monitoring. "We explored several methods to tackle this problem, such as the BCG Matrix, which analyzes the company's current market, business, and technological conditions," shared Salsa.

^{Meng-Go Team's problem identification in Business Case Competition MetalFest 2024. (Photo courtesy of Meng-Go Team)}

Their analysis showed three promising alternative solutions: anodic protection, ceramic coating, and impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP). Ultimately, the team chose nano-nickel composite coating as their final solution.

"The nano-nickel composite coating has already been used in foreign countries under concentrated acid conditions. It is durable and can withstand temperatures up to 500°C, thereby protecting the stainless steel from acid contact," stated Dewa.

Salsa also highlighted other advantages of their solution: compact form factor and low oxidation rate at high temperatures.

^{Meng-Go Team's solution to corrosion susceptibility in Business Case Competition MetalFest 2024. (Photo courtesy of Meng-Go Team)}

In addition to tackling the corrosion issue, the team also addressed a case regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR). For this, they proposed community empowerment programs to PT Smelting. "Our solution aims to reduce the gap between the ideal and actual conditions of the community in Gresik surrounding PT Smelting," explained Hayfa. The Meng-Go Team recommended several programs, including forest rehabilitation, aquatic ecosystem restoration, and partnership with various industries to promote green technology.

Although the competition overlapped with holidays, the team remained steadfast in facing all of the challenges. "I was relieved that the given timeline was relatively loose, but we were understandably exhausted due to the highly technical nature of this research," revealed Salsa.

Limited access to journals at ITB was actually one of the biggest challenges the team faced. Moreover, Dewa mentioned that coating was a new field for industrial engineering students, so they had to devote a lot of time researching it.

This victory left them with a lasting memory. They gained valuable new knowledge by exploring topics beyond their specialty. Recognizing this, they shared a message to fellow students: do not focus solely on competitions related to one's major—instead, expand the comfort zone by taking on new challenges. Dedication is also key in everything. "Never do competitions half-heartedly," concluded Salsa.

Reporter: Raja Parmonang Manurung (Mining Engineering, Class of 2021)
Indonesian Editor: Anggun Nindita
Translator: Ariq Ramadhan Teruna (Chemical Engineering, Class of 2021)

Documentation courtesy of Meng-Go Team