Silica Innovation for Liquid Sulphur Filtration Transforms By-product into Agro-industry Solution
PT Petrokimia Gresik, a member of the PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) holding company, has successfully developed an innovation to utilise silica by-products as a filtering material for liquid sulphur during the sulphuric acid production process.
The President Director of Petrokimia Gresik, Daconi Khotube, stated that this innovation transforms a material that was previously a management challenge into a useful resource, while simultaneously reducing the company’s dependence on external filtering materials.
“Previously, liquid sulphur filtration utilised diatomaceous earth sourced from third parties,” said Daconi in a statement on Monday, 21 September 2026.
“Through this innovation, we have not only found a solution for the silica by-products generated by the company, but we have also introduced an alternative filtering material that can support production process efficiency.”
He emphasised that this innovation has also been granted a Simple Patent Certificate by the Ministry of Law of the Republic of Indonesia. The certificate was presented directly by the Minister of Law, Supratman Andi Agtas, to the Senior Vice President (SVP) of Operations III at Petrokimia Gresik, Bambang Ariwibowo, representing the company’s management.
The ceremony took place during the “What’s Up Campus Calls Out” (WCCO) event, organised by the Ministry of Law at the Airlangga Convention Centre recently.
Silica is a by-product of the aluminium fluoride (AlF₃) production process. Every month, this production unit generates approximately 990 tonnes of silica in solid form. This volume requires adequate management and storage areas.
“This challenge prompted Petrokimia Gresik to develop silica as an alternative filtering material for the sulphuric acid production process,” said Daconi.
Sulphuric acid is a key component used in fertiliser production. The production process involves a stage of filtering liquid sulphur to ensure the resulting material is clean and meets quality standards. Through the innovation developed by Petrokimia Gresik, the silica resulting from aluminium fluoride production can now be utilised as an alternative filtering agent in this process.
Daconi acknowledged that the use of silica provides dual benefits for the company. In addition to optimising by-products to ensure they have utility, the innovation also reduces the need for external filtering materials and has the potential to lower production costs.