Indonesia
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Sy. Indra Septiansyah, S.Si.,M.T, a lecturer in the Diploma III Mining Technology Study Program at Politeknik Negeri Ketapang (Ketapang State Polytechnic), successfully obtained a patent for the invention titled Bauxite Tailing-Based Heavy Metal Adsorbent, which was announced by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia on 22 April 2021 with publication number 2021/PID/03417.
Endang Kusmana, Director of Politap, in his office on Thursday, 22 April 2021, expressed pride in the Politap lecturer's achievement in obtaining a patent. According to him, one of Politap's strategic targets set in the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan is improving lecturer quality through research outputs and community service that achieve international recognition or are applied by society, including obtaining Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) recognition.
According to Endang, to foster the increase of intellectual property rights, Politap has established an Intellectual Property Rights Center (Sentra HAKI), which has been recognized by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia, making it easier for lecturers and educational staff to register their work. Endang also encouraged lecturers to continually enhance their research quality so the results can not only be published but also utilized by the community. In 2021, all research at Politap is required to partner with industry and the world of work.
Meanwhile, Sy. Indra Septiansyah, who was contacted separately, conveyed that his research had been registered for a patent since 12 October 2019. Indra further explained that bauxite tailings are by-products resulting from the beneficiation of bauxite ore. The beneficiation process is carried out by separating particles such as mud or clay, roots, and bauxite ore grains of around 2 mm, which are then discarded or become waste products. The high levels of alumina and silica in tailings are among the reasons why these tailings can be utilized as a raw material in manufacturing a new product, namely an adsorbent. According to Indra, his research findings can be utilized as a heavy metal adsorbent due to its mesoporous properties, meaning it has a favorable surface area and pore volume for metal adsorption, particularly for Ketapang Regency, which is rich in bauxite mining potential, and can be utilized by the bauxite mining industry.