By D’Drift Team
LUBOK ANTU, July 11: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. What Malaysia calls scheduled waste, Japan and South Korea recycle to build roads and bridges.
About 850,000 tonnes of manganese slag, produced from ferromanganese alloy manufacturing, is just sitting around at Pertama Ferroalloys Sdn Bhd’s smelting plant in the Samalaju Industrial Park since its operation in 2016.
Pertama Ferroalloys general manager Yuki Nakamura said the furnaces produce 160,000 to 180,000 tonnes of slag per annum, and the material is not being recycled for better use due to certain regulations from the Department of Environment (DOE).
He said slag is classified as scheduled waste in Malaysia, so the company would need to submit an application should they wish to use the material for construction or other recycling purposes.
“In Japan and South Korea, this slag is called by-product. This is because we use it for road pavements, cement and fertilisers. However, DOE in Malaysia says this is scheduled waste.
“So that’s why if Pertama wants to utilise this by-product, we need to go to DOE every time, one application after another.
“Can I use this material for this project? Can I use this material for this production? So there will be a lot of applications involved,” he said.
In the long-term, Nakamura said Pertama Ferroalloys is requesting DOE to declassify manganese slag from scheduled waste to non-scheduled waste to ease the implementation of recycling activities. However, the process would take time.
“It’s a very cheap material for construction, cement, road pavement and so on because it’s a by-product. I have no intention to make money from this material, so why not recycle it?” he said during a briefing at Pertama Ferroalloys’ main office in Samalaju recently.
The D’Drift Team, accompanying Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Port Development-cum-Samalaju assemblyman Dato Majang Renggi, visited Pertama Ferroalloys for a working visit yesterday (July 10).
We were briefed on the plant’s history, operations, challenges, and activities before we were granted a plant tour on a bus.
Without ferroalloy, no one can produce steel
Not an ounce of steel is produced without ferroalloys. Without ferroalloys, steel would not be steel, lacking strength and ductility.
Although the required amount of ferroalloy in steelmaking is only about one to two per cent, the additive is essential as deoxidants and alloying elements.
The D’Drift Team had the chance to go on a plant tour at Pertama Ferroalloys, the first ferroalloy smelting plant built in Malaysia. From a distance while on the bus, we witnessed the blasting of furnaces and the tapping processes.
It was an eye-opening experience as we saw gigantic structures, piles of raw materials and finished products around the plant.
Currently, there are only three ferroalloy industry players in Sarawak, and they are all located in Samalaju Industrial Park, Bintulu.
They are Pertama Ferroalloys Sdn Bhd, Sakura Ferroalloys Sdn Bhd, and OM Materials (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd. — DayakDaily
Related articles:
Travelogue, Day 1 – Anaconda hunt in Engkilili
Travelogue, Day 2 – Engkilili’s century-old red temple — ‘1/15 Fraction Company’
Travelogue, Day 3 – Let Sibu Street Art be world-renowned like Penang’s
Travelogue, Day 4 – Found in Tatau: Any guesses on what these trees are called?
Travelogue, Day 5 – Checking up on wild boar Robin, and testing Jendela’s WiFi Hotspot in rural areas
Travelogue Day 6 – Four-hour intense ‘bull ride’ to Lusong Laku
Travelogue Day 7 – Traditional Sarawak-Japanese cuisine fusion: Wiggling sago worms on sushi
Travelogue, Day 9 – ‘Karau’ the sweet boy from Batang Ai National Park HQ
Travelogue, Day 10 – ‘Kopi o’, ‘kopi o peng’ in Tatau, Samalaju cost RM2.50, most expensive so far this trip
