NEW STRAITS TIMES.Tuesday, 24 September 2019, 12:02 PM . Lynas...

NEW STRAITS TIMES
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Tuesday, 24 September 2019, 12:02 PM
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Lynas plant waste residue can be used to boost oil palm growth
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By Dr J. Shamshuddin - September 23, 2019 @ 11:20pm
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PEOPLE living near the Lynas plant in Gebeng, Pahang, are divided between believing the myth propagated by opponents, proponents and the reality of the issue.
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Lynas was built to produce rare earth, which is needed in high-end industries, and is not a nuclear reactor.
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I spent time conducting research on a by-product of Lynas’ chemical plant for agriculture (oil palm), which is the non-radioactive neutralisation underflow (NUF) residue, or magnesium-rich synthetic gypsum.
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The production of rare earth involved many steps.
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Along the way, two contrasting by-products are produced.
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The process starts with lanthanide ore containing rare earth coming from Mount Weld, Australia,
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After a series of chemical processes, radioactive water leach purification (WLP) residue is produced. This is followed by NUF residue production.
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A team of researchers from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, led by myself, has evaluated the benefit of applying NUF on land with oil palm..
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We found that NUF contained high amounts of macronutrients.

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The application of the by-product has a positive impact on oil palm in terms of growth and production.
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In a glasshouse study conducted at UPM in Serdang, the NUF application was found to have reduced soil acidity, resulting in oil palm seedlings having better growth.
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This study concluded that NUF not only was a good fertiliser, but also an excellent soil amendment.
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The same thing can be done with the WLP produced by Lynas, but it has to be done with caution to ensure the sustainability of the process.
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Once done, the WLP can be turned into a by-product used in agriculture.
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It has been reported that the WLP produced by Lynas can be used as fertilisers and help reduce the import of phosphate rocks.
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This can be translated into foreign currency savings.
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In the spirit of Malaysia Boleh, we can use the wastes produced by Lynas to boost the economy.
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DR J. SHAMSHUDDIN
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Research fellow, Universiti Putra Malaysia