The government has said that the removal of coal ash from the category of hazardous waste is based on scientific testing by experts. The waste can be used as a construction material and in other applications.
By
PRADIPTA PANDU
·4 minutes read
Kompas/Priyombodo
Barges loaded with coal cross the Mahakam river, Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Monday (8/3/2021).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The government has said that a regulation related to the removal of coal ash from the category of toxic and hazardous (B3) waste has gone through a series of tests by experts. Even though it is no longer classified as B3 waste, the management and utilization of coal ash for a number of activities will still be closely monitored.
The director general for garbage, waste and B3 management at the Environment and Forestry Ministry, Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, said that according to the study, fly ash and bottom ash (FABA) from Steam-fired Power Plant (PLTU) activities was nonflammable at temperatures above 140 degrees Fahrenheit and non-explosive. The results of a heavy metal concentration test with 16 parameters also showed that the FABA met the quality standard according to a regulation in an attachment to Environment and Forestry Ministerial Regulation No. 10/2020 on procedures for characteristics testing and the determination of the status of hazardous waste.
"The hazardous waste category has the characteristics of being flammable, explosive, reactive, corrosive and a series of heavy metal concentration tests. We conducted tests on coal waste originating from the PLTU, and the result was that FABA did not meet the category of B3 waste," she said Monday (15/3/2021).
We took the sample to an independent laboratory, and it was analyzed by friends from several well-known universities and also the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
In a press conference involving the Environment and Forestry Ministry and the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry it was disclosed that experts were involved in the study from sampling to laboratory analysis. "We took the sample to an independent laboratory, and it was analyzed by friends from several well-known universities and also the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)," she said.
Vivien also noted that overall, FABA was not entirely excluded from the category of B3 waste. The FABA that was included in the non-B3 waste category came from PLTU activities and through complete combustion. Meanwhile, FABA originating from other industrial activities and using stoker boiler technology or combustion furnaces was still classified as B3 waste.
Even though it is no longer strictly classified as B3 waste, Vivien said, the management and utilization of coal ash for a number of activities would still be closely monitored. If under the status of B3 waste, the utilization of FABA requires a management permit. Currently, the permit for the use of FABA is included in environmental approval and business licensing.
"For non-B3 waste, the Environment and Forestry Ministry is currently compiling standards, such as storage, collection and landfill disposal. This will be controlled in an Environment and Forestry Minister regulation and will be included in an environmental approval document. From this document, supervision will be carried out, and if there is a crime it will be prosecuted by civil servant investigators," she said.
Separately, LIPI Geotechnology Research Center researcher Iwan Setiawan said he did not have enough information on the study of coal utilization involving the LIPI and the Environment and Forestry Ministry. The LIPI has been conducting studies on the use of coal for a long time.
He also cited a number of possibilities for the utilization of FABA, especially related to rare earth elements (REE), which can be used for various materials in the technology and defense industries. A number of studies show that FABA has a REE content that is 10 times richer than REE found in intact coal.
KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI
Heavy equipment operates to transport coal at Muarajati Pier, Cirebon Port, West Java, Monday (9/11/2019).
FABA production
The director general of electricity at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Rida Mulyana, said the total FABA production in 2019 had only reached 9.7 million tons, or 10 percent of the total 97 million tons of coal used. The country’s use of FABA is not considered optimal compared to other countries.
Rida said well-managed FABA would provide benefits. From the records of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the use of FABA as an admixture for raw materials for concrete has the potential to create efficiency in the infrastructure development budget of Rp 4.3 trillion until 2028.
So, FABA, which we consider to be a burden, can be transformed and utilized by all parties.
FABA can be used in such mixtures because it has a very fine structure, can react to produce a denser concrete and is resistant to acid and salt. In addition, fly ash is able to repair its own structure when cracks appear.
From the So, FABA, which we consider to be a burden, can be transformed and utilized by all parties the use of fly ash can improve soil fertility and texture, optimize acidity and provide micro and macro nutrients. Moreover, FABA as a mining reclamation material can prevent the formation of acidic mine water.
"So, FABA, which we consider to be a burden, can be transformed and utilized by all parties," Rida said.
However, the government\'s decision to no longer categorize FABA as B3 waste in Government Regulation No. 22/2021 was protested by a number of parties. They considered it a danger to public health and the environment.
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