RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is developing technology to convert natural asphalt production waste into premium-quality precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC). This research product has a purity level above 99 percent and has the potential to become a high-value raw material for various industrial sectors.

In a press release received on July 29, 2026, a researcher at BRIN's Mineral Technology Research Center, Retno Wijayanti, stated that this research stems from Indonesia's vast natural asphalt potential, which has not been optimally utilized. Meanwhile, the refining process leaves behind large amounts of calcium carbonate-rich mineral waste.

Retno revealed that Indonesia still relies on asphalt oil imports for 80-90 percent, despite the government's commitment to national asphalt self-sufficiency. Ironically, around 70-80 percent of the natural asphalt refining product is actually mineral waste with a high calcium carbonate content, which has been wasted.

This situation prompted the BRIN research team to develop waste processing technology into PCC, which has a much higher economic value. According to her, the high calcium carbonate content in post-extraction rock residues offers significant potential for use as a raw material for PCC.

PCC itself is known as a versatile material widely used by the food, pharmaceutical, paper, paint, toothpaste, tire, rubber, and adhesive industries. Retno added that PCC for food-grade and pharmaceutical-grade needs has a sales value up to ten times higher than PCC for non-food needs, although this demand is still largely met through imports.

Technically, the PCC production process involves calcination, dissolution, and precipitation of asphalt refining waste. Laboratory testing results indicate that the resulting product not only achieves purity above 99 percent but is also free of heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium.

Currently, this technology is still in the laboratory stage, so BRIN is open to collaboration with industry players to scale up production. Retno emphasized that co-creation with the business world is necessary so that this innovation can scale up to industrial scale and produce samples capable of being tested and validated by industrial users.