RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has developed a new method for producing mullite ceramics using aluminum dross waste and local kaolin. This innovation aims to reduce Indonesia's dependence on imported raw materials for the refractory or refractory brick industry.

A researcher at BRIN's Nanotechnology Systems Research Center, Agus Sukarto Wismogroho, stated that mullite is a key component of refractory bricks used in various high-temperature industrial processes. He noted that national refractory demand reaches around 200,000 tons per year, but mullite, one of the raw materials, is still entirely imported.

According to him, the method his team developed combines aluminum dross, a waste product from the aluminum smelting process, with local kaolin to produce mullite. This approach simultaneously addresses two issues: the suboptimal utilization of industrial waste and the opening of domestic raw material sources.

Agus affirme that the mullite product resulting from BRIN's research is designed to withstand high temperatures to meet the needs of the refractory industry, while also providing added environmental value because it is waste-based. However, he acknowledged that the development of this technology is still at the laboratory stage and has not yet been tested on an industrial scale.

Interest has also emerged from industry, such as, Head of Research and Technology Development at PT MIND ID which inquired about the potential for utilizing used refractory waste and other aluminous materials as additional raw materials. Agus explained that aluminum dross, which has had its aluminum content removed, has the potential to be reused, although further development, such as the preparation of ready-mix materials, is still needed before industrial application.

BRIN (National Agency for Research and Innovation) is also open to collaboration with business actors to scale up mullite production from the laboratory to commercial scale. Agus stated that research and industry collaboration is key to application testing, performance validation, and strengthening the national refractory raw material supply chain going forward.