From Waste to Smart Technology

The fieldwork this time was carried out in coal mines and several PLTU locations around Tanjung Enim. This activity aims to review the potential of Rare Earth Element and Yttrium in coal and fly ash-bottom ash (FABA).

Photograph of the team conducting research in Tanjung Enim area (Photo: F. Anggara/UGM)

The field activities this time were quite different from the field activities that had been carried out before, from the number of team members who were more than usual, the field destinations visited were also more, and the time of the visit also coincided with the month of Ramadan, but this actually made the activities in the field to be more interesting and challenging. This research aims to explore the potential of Rare Earth Element and Yttrium (REY) in coal and ash from coal combustion, commonly known as fly ash and bottom ash (FABA).

Coal sampling was carried out in several fields belonging to one of the coal companies, while the FABA samples were taken at several PLTU around the Muara Enim. This research activity involves researchers from the geological engineering and chemical engineering of Universitas Gadjah Mada.

The three appointed teams then carried out the field activities according to their respective duties. As usual, the activities begin with safety induction by the company. The hot weather in the coal mines does not discourage the team spirit.

After completing the field activities at UPTE, we also had the opportunity to visit Palembang before returning to Yogyakarta. After arriving in Yogyakarta, we immediately conducted sample preparation for further analysis. The output of this research activity is to discuss the potential of REY on coal and its extraction from FABA, as well as other derivative products of cenosphere and geopolymer. Some research related to this activity and the results can be seen in the publication menu of UGRG team.

Figure 1. Photo of ash stack (FABA) from coal burning in PLTU
Freshgraduate at UGM | aulia.agus.patria@mail.ugm.ac.id

Freshgraduate student of Geological Engineering Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada.

Tags: coal FABA Ree Sumatra