Jakarta – Rare ground metals the so-called ‘treasure’ of the Lapindo mud, was not only found there. This type of mineral also has great benefits as well as an expensive price.
Ganden Supriyanto, an expert in analytical chemistry and environmental chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Airlangga University (Unair), revealed that the entire surface of the earth actually contains rare earth metals.
However, the levels of these rare earth elements or rare earth elements differ from place to place. The factor that determines the presence of rare earth metals is the process of rock formation, because each area has a different concentration.
“We cannot determine in certain areas the content of rare earth metals is high or low, so to find out the content is through analysis of the elements in the soil,” said Ganden as quoted from the Unair website, Sunday (30/01/2022). .
He explained that the rare earth metal content in the Lapindo mud may be because the scandium and lithium content there is higher than in other areas. If 1 kilogram of soil in the Lapindo mud is taken, it contains more than 100 grams of rare earth metals.
In addition, the content rare earth metals in the Lapindo mud it is possible because the metal below the earth’s surface rises up through the center of the eruption.
Ganden said, meaning that this rare earth metal did not form suddenly, but was already there. “Well, coincidentally with the Lapindo mudflow incident, he rose to the top, so it is possible that he rose to the top from the depths of the ground below the surface of the land,” he added.
Therefore, not all of Lapindo’s mud is discharged into the Porong River. There is a lot of mud stored, because there is potential for rare earth elements in it.
“So the disposal of Lapindo mud in the Porong river is actually quite small, and sometimes there are obstacles in its operation because they know that Lapindo mud contains rare earth metals of high value,” said Ganden.
The benefits and prices of ground metals are rare
Still from the same source, Ganden explained that rare earth elements have a significant role for high technology. No wonder the price can be very expensive than precious metals.
Types of rare earth metals in the chemical periodic system are in the lanthanide and actanide groups. Besides belonging to both, rare earth metals are also called transition metals.
“This rare earth metal is very important in relation to certain fields such as meteorology for the manufacture of spacecraft, high energy lamps, and semiconductors. So these metals are very expensive, even much more expensive than gold and platinum,” said Ganden.
Rare earth metals also include lithium and scandium. Lithium is widely used in the manufacture of batteries, especially electric car batteries. With the big role of electric cars for emission reduction, the presence of lithium becomes very important.
While scandium is widely used in the manufacture of high-tech lamps because of its strong durability. This type of metal does not melt even though the lamps produced have very high wattage. Scandium is also often used for semiconductors.
“Invention rare earth metals The Lapindo Sidoarjo mud area has huge potential for utilization because it has high value and is very important for high technology going forward,” concluded Ganden.
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