IPB Student Research Conclude that Meniran Can Absorb Metal Elements on Mining Land
Indonesia is one of the countries with the largest potential and production of nickel in the world. Nickel is a mineral mining with considerable prospects. High nickel production is sometimes unbalanced with environmental damage conditions occurring in mining areas and post-mining areas. Waste from nickel mine production can pollute the environment that can extend to community settlements and other biological creatures.
Metal mining is generally performed on soils with high metal content. Selection of technology in the mining process becomes important so that environmental pollution can be minimized. Concerned about the current condition and the serious problems caused by nickel mining, three Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) students offer solutions with environmentally friendly mining concept and minimize environmental hazard effects. They call it phytomining. Phytomining is a technology that utilizes plants as an agent to accumulate heavy metals causing environmental pollution. The concept of phytomining is very potential to be applied in Indonesia. Because it is using plant agents to accumulate metals, of course this technology is more efficient in economic terms.
The innovation offered is to determine which plants are suitable to accumulate nickel. Luthfiani Maulidya Rahmah, Robby Firdaus, and Indah Prima Desi under the supervision of Dr. Hamim analyzed how potential plant ability to accumulate metals such as nickel. Plants that can grow quickly and produce high biomass to reduce the effects of heavy metals from mining results.
This idea succeeded in getting funding from the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education in Student Creativity Program (PKM) 2018 in the field of research.
"We examine and see how the potential of red and green meniran plants in accumulating nickel. The goal is to reduce the harmful metal that is present on the ground in the mining area. Utilization of meniran plants is very suitable and potential because now meniran not widely known and utilized by the community, "said Luthfiani.
Meniran is a weed plant that can grow in the lowlands and high. This plant is not a seasonal crop, growing widely throughout Asia. Usually, this plant grows in damp places, rice fields, and yard of the house.
PKM in this field of research shows that meniran plants have a high potential to be utilized in phytomining mine technology. Meniran classified as hyperaccumulator plants are plants that have the ability to accumulate metals from the soil and distribute it to a special part of the plant.
"Meniran applied suitably to the concept of phytomining in environmentally friendly mining technology that can minimize the impact of environmental pollution significantly," he said. (flw)
