SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Adhika Ardhana 1306388912

Aaron William 1306437164

Fajar Muhammad 1306437170

Daniel Andiga Wibisana 1306437076

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTEMENT

ENGINEERING FACULTY

UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA

DEPOK 2015

Preface

We are given a task to research and write a report about a case study of a current

environmental issue that is related to the development of environmental sustainability

especially in Indonesia. These cases may include environmental issues such as the growth

of a population, water crisis, scarcity and crisis of energy, climate change and global

warming, and deforestation. Students are to study these cases and produce a report on

their findings that include the negative impacts on the environment and to also construct

possible solutions.

It is important to understand the environmental issues that the world is facing

today because it will have an impact on sustainable development. Sustainable

development is the development that humans are trying to achieve in the present without

harming or causing negative impacts on society in the future. Development is usually

driven to satisfy one’s need without realizing the impacts on the future. We need to

balance the different and competing needs of people so that we do not run out of

resources in the future. Climate change is one example of unsustainable development as a

result of environmental irresponsibility. One of the main objectives of this paper is to

understand the problems that our environment is facing due to activities that human

create to fulfill their survival needs. It is also for students to come up with solutions to

reduce the negative impacts on the environment.

Depok, May 11, 2015

Table of Contexts

Preface………………………………………………………………………………....2

Table of Contexts………………………………………………………………………3

Chapter 1 Preliminary

1.1 Background of the Problem………………………………………………..4

Chapter 2 Contents

2.1 Coal Technical Description………………………………………………..7

2.2 Coal Mining Methods………………..…………………………………….9

2.3 Coal Processing Methods ……………………………………………...….10

2.4 Environmental Impacts…………………………………………………….12

2.5 Wildlife Impacts……………………………………………………….......13

Chapter 3 Conclusion

3.1 Pollution Prevention and Control……………………………………….….14

3.3 Coal Waste Water Treatment Processes…………………………………....16

Reference…………………………………………………………………………….…18

CHAPTER 1

PRELIMINARY

1.1Background of the Problem

In this era, technologies are growing rapidly around the world, where everyone is

influenced with it. Our daily lives depend on it both at night and also at day. With the rapid use

of these technologies, energy is needed to initiate our daily activities. It can be for our use of

electricity and for the manufacturing of products. So where does energy come from?

Energy comes from the processing of coal. With a rapid demand in energy, then coal is

extracted from our environment regularly around the world. In the case of a huge coal mining

activity in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, coals are being extracted every day where negative

impacts may occur because of the high amount of mining activities.

Indonesia started its coal activity twenty years ago after the fall of Soeharto. Since then,

the reform era began, which changed the politics of Indonesia and led to uproar of Indonesian

and international coal companies. Political authorities found that the coal mining activity is

profitable, especially in issuing new mining licenses, exploration permits, and production

permits. With this, about 10000 permits were granted, and with so many granted permits, not all

were mapped making unknown exact exploration locations. Lots of Indonesian coal companies

began to rise, which led to sideline the international coal companies. With emerging companies,

lots of money were made and lost, due to struggling Indonesian companies for dominance.

It was found that with increasing demand of coal activity, there was proliferation on “coal

mafias”, lessening of transparency, thugs were hired, corruption expanded, illegal mining

operation rose, and government coordination was now gone. The condition with the political

state of Indonesia led to more explorations granted making Indonesia’s environment destroyed,

especially in Kalimantan where hundreds of illegal coal companies can be found. This destroyed

environment is caused with the lack of environmental responsibility, especially from the small

illegal coal company, which isn’t environmentally responsible.

Indonesia’s emergence in the coal mining activity sector has been increasing by 460%

since 2000. Today Indonesia can be considered to be the world’s largest coal exporter in just a

brief period of time. In 2012 it was found that Indonesia supplied 39% of global seaborne

thermal coal exports, which is an increase of 14% just from earlier 2002. With this increase,

Indonesia’s environment is being tragically destroyed from deforestation and nothing is being

done until now, making places where coal mining activity is concentrated, being totally

destroyed, which can be seen in the Island of Kalimantan.

Today, Indonesia’s coal production is concentrated in Kalimantan, which counts for 40%

of the country’s reserves. Most of the coal productions are situated in South Kalimantan, which

has become a massive part of Indonesia’s coal production story where it is still growing. South

Kalimantan has been estimated to produce 79 Million Tonnes of coal in 2008, and rose rapidly in

just a few years later to 118 Million Tonnes of coal extracted. South Kalimantan was also

estimated to take two-thirds of Indonesia’s coal exports, which is very devastating when looking

at the results of these coal-mining activities.

Reports stating about the legal coal companies in South Kalimantan states about 450 coal

companies were granted by the government. A coal company is permitted to have more than 1

territory it was tracked that the official companies cover about a million hectares of area from

South Kalimantan’s total area of 3.7 million hectares. This does not include hundreds of other

illegal mining companies. It is concluded that about a-third of South Kalimantan is given

towards coal mining activity and their destruction of the environment around.

South Kalimantan is more than just a major player in Indonesia’s coal industry. South

Kalimantan’s rapid increase in coal output and resulting huge increase in carbon emissions

contributes to global climate change, given the dominant and growing role of Indonesian coal in

the international coal market. Coal mining activities in South Kalimantan creates a negative

impact towards the environment around the area, which is a-third of South Kalimantan. This is a

result from coal companies in not acting responsibly in treating the environment after their coal

has been taken. Coal companies will most likely abandon their extraction point and leave the

polluted waste to cover South Kalimantan’s environment and relocate to another extraction

point, leaving hectares of polluted waste covering the waters.

It was revealed from green peace’s investigation on South Kalimantan, that most of the

areas are being highly polluted from the wastes of coal mining activities. These wastes account

for many hazardous waters around South Kalimantan with a low pH, making the lives of people

living there unacceptable. These hazardous waters are found to contaminate bigger water bodies

making the whole of Kalimantan polluted. Coal mining companies activities are still on going

and making harsh environment status increasing around Kalimantan.

With the increase of coal mining activities permitted by the government, then there will

also be an increase in the pollution created. These harmful chemical wastes will then cover the

whole area of South Kalimantan in the future and it will become a harsh area for the ones living

on those areas, whether it is the environment, wild life, and the people living there. There are lots

of reason how South Kalimantan is rapidly bing polluted, and with it there are also a bunch of

negative effects. This report will analyze further on the methods of coal mining activities and

their results to the environment around it, where, who, and how it pollutes will be explained.

CHAPTER 2

CONTENTS

2.1 Coal Technical Description

Coal is one of fossil fuel. The general description is flammable sedimentary rock, form

by organic sediment, The main are the remains of plants and formed through biochemical and

geochemical processes. Coal is primarily consists of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Coal is also

an organic rock that has physical properties and chemical complex that can be found in various

forms.

Coal forms from the accumulation of plant debris, usually in a swamp environment.

When plant debris dies and falls into the swamp the standing water of the swamp protects it from

decay. Swamp waters are usually deficient in oxygen, which would react with the plant debris

and cause it to decay. This lack of oxygen allows the plant debris to persist. In addition, insects

and other organisms that might consume the plant debris on land do not survive well under water

in an oxygen deficient environment. To form the thick layer of plant debris required to produce a

coal seam the rate of plant debris accumulation must be greater than the rate of decay. Once a

thick layer of plant debris is formed it must be buried by sediments such as mud or sand. These

are typically washed into the swamp by a flooding river. The weight of these materials compacts

the plant debris and aids in its transformation into coal. About ten feet of plant debris will

compact into just one foot of coal. Plant debris accumulates very slowly. So, accumulating ten

feet of plant debris will take a long time. The fifty feet of plant debris needed to make a five-foot

thick coal seam would require thousands of years to accumulate. During that long time the water

level of the swamp must remain stable. If the water becomes too deep the plants of the swamp

will drown and if the water cover is not maintained the plant debris will decay. To form a coal

seam the ideal conditions of perfect water depth must be maintained for a very long time. If you

are an astute reader you are probably wondering: "How can fifty feet of plant debris accumulate

in water that is only a few feet deep?" The answer to that question is the primary reason that the

formation of a coal seam is a highly unusual occurrence. It can only occur under one of two

conditions: 1) a rising water level that perfectly keeps pace with the rate of plant debris

accumulation; or, 2) a subsiding landscape that perfectly keeps pace with the rate of plant debris

accumulation. Most coal seams are thought to have formed under condition #2 in a delta

environment. On a delta large amounts of river sediments are being deposited on a small area of

Earth's crust and the weight of those sediments causes the subsidence. For a coal seam to form

perfect conditions of plant debris accumulation and perfect conditions of subsidence must occur

on a landscape that maintains this perfect balance for a very long time. It is very easy to

understand why the conditions for forming coal has occurred only a small number of times

throughout Earth's history. The formation of a coal requires the coincidence of highly

improbable events.

For the peat to become coal, it must be buried by sediment. Burial compacts the peat and,

consequently, much water is squeezed out during the first stages of burial. Continued burial and

the addition of heat and time cause the complex hydrocarbon compounds in the peat to break

down and alter in a variety of ways. The gaseous alteration products are typically expelled from

the deposit, and the deposit becomes more and more carbon-rich as the other elements disperse.

The stages of this trend proceed from plant debris through peat, lignite, sub-bituminous coal,

bituminous coal, anthracite coal, to a pure carbon mineral. Based on the rate of formation process

which is controlled by pressure, heat and time, coal is generally divided into five classes:

anthracite, bituminous, sub-bituminous, lignite and peat.

First, Anthracite coal is the highest grade, with a shimmering black metallic, containing

between 86% - 98% of the elements carbon (C) to a moisture content of less than 8%. After that

we got bituminous containing 68-86% carbon element (C) and the water content of 8-10% by

weight. This type of coal is the most widely mined in Australia. Sub-bituminous coal contains

less carbon and a lot of water, and therefore a source of heat is less efficient compared to

bituminous. Lignite or brown coal is very soft coal containing 35-75% water by weight. Peat,

porous and has a moisture content above 75% and the lowest calorific value.

2.2 Coal Mining Methods

2.2.1 Strip Mining

In strip mining, also known as surface mining, the ground covering is first removed to

expose the coal seam for extraction. It involves scraping away earth and rocks to get to coal

buried near the surface. Sometimes, mountains are literally torn apart to reach thin coal seams,

which leave permanent scars on the landscape. There are elements of a surface mining operation,

which include:

Top soil removal and storage

Drilling and blasting the strata

overlying the coal seam

Loading and transporting this

fragmented overburden material

Drilling and blasting the coal seam

Loading and transporting the coal

Backfilling with grading,

Spreading top soil over the graded

area

Establishing vegetation to ensuring

control of soil erosion and water quality

FIGURE 1.1 Schematic depiction of the unit operations in a surface coal mine. SOURCE: Royal Utilities

2.2.2 Underground Mining

Underground mining is usually done by the room-and-pillar mining or longwall mining

method. Even in mines where the longwall method is the principal extraction method, the

development of the mine and the longwall panels is accomplished by room-and-pillar continuous

mining. The coal seam is accessed by both a slope and a shaft. Arrangement of ventilation fan is

shown adjacent to the surface opening of the shaft. The shaft has an elevator for lowering and

raising miners and materials. Coal gathered from the workings by various conveyors is then

transported to the surface by the slope conveyor. The surface features are the raw coal storage,

the coal preparation plant, the clean coal storage, and the train load out. A longwall section and a

room-and-pillar continuous miner section are below.

FIGURE 1.2 Schematic showing underground coal mine workings. SOURCE: CONSOL Energy Inc.

2.2.3 Long wall Mining

Long wall mining is a form of underground coal mining that is characterized by high

recovery and extraction rates and feasible only in flat lying, thick, and uniform coal beds. First, a

high powered cutting machine is passed across the coal. It shears away broken coal and is

continued away by a floor level conveyor system. Long wall mining extracts all machine-

minable coal between the floor and ceiling within a contiguous block of coal, leaving no support

pillars within the panel area.

2.3 Coal Processing Methods

The process of coal mining has been improving since early times and the composition of

coals mined in different areas is varied widely. Coal preparation plants have evolved, but the

processes in coal preparation plants follow similar steps:

Crushing and breaking. Coal must be crushed to an acceptable size for

treatment in the preparation plant. Feeder breakers, rotary breakers, hammer

mills, and roll crushers are typical crushing and breaking devices.

Sizing. Different sizes of coal use different cleaning processes. So raw

coal entering the plant can be sieved into three or four sizes.

Storage and stockpiling. Coal is stored in silos or stockpiled before and

after cleaning. Raw coal is stored between the mine and the preparation plant,

and clean coal is stored between the preparation plant and product load out.

Density separation. Raw coal consists of organic and mineral matter

components. Coal is cleaned by separating the lower-density organic material

from the higher-density refuse. A suspension of finely divided magnetite in

water is chosen to achieve a given degree of separation depending on the

characteristics of the coal, the desired product quality.

Froth flotation. Separating fine coal particles from mineral matter on a

density basis are difficult, so and this is cleaned by froth flotation. Froth

flotation is a process that exploits the attachment of air bubbles to organic coal

particle surfaces. Surfactants are used to create a hydrophobic surface on the

coal particles to be floated, and a fuel oil, is used to promote piling of the

floated particles to facilitate their removal.

Coal drying. Cleaning by froth flotation can produce an excess amount of

moisture in the product. Wet coal goes through thermal drying process, in

which it is dried in the hot gas generated by a coal or gas-fired burner to

reduce the moisture content.

Refuse and tailings management. Waste management is an important part

of coal preparation. Coarse waste is transported to the solids disposal area,

where it can be placed in a suitable landfill. Tailings are fine solid waste in

water that is usually transported by pipeline to an impoundment area. The

water used to transport tailings is then clarified so it can be reused in the

plant.

2.4 Environmental Impacts

Mining is an activity search, explore, process, use and sell the result of minerals in the

form of mineral, coal, geothermal and oil and mining activities gas. Supposedly utilize natural

resources with environmentally sound, so that environmental sustainability is maintained. As we

know based on data from the Indonesian Coal Mining Association in 2001, the stock of coal

reserves in South Kalimantan for example, are measured (for sure) was 2.428 billion tons, and

are indicated approximately 4.101 billion tons. So at least, until now, there are coal reserves that

have been found to be 6.529 billion tons. By the data that we know we can draw the conclusion

that any presence of coal mining activities can cause a great impact to the surrounding

environment. There are some of the impact is caused because coal mining such as water

pollution, air pollution, soil pollution.

2.2.1 Water Pollution

Coal mining use some chemicals that can interfere with water such as mercury, cyanide

Sulfuric acid, arsenic and the other chemical. Some of chemicals dumped into nearby streams

causing the river are contaminated and possible leaking pipes can causes chemicals spilled into

the river. The release of toxic chemicals into the water dangerous to life of flora and fauna. Apart

from mining pollution also need water for wash impurities from the coal itself. Waste coal

washing after investigation contains substances that are very harmful to human health if the

water is consumed. The waste contains sulfur (b), mercury (Hg), manganese (Mn), sulfuric acid

(H2SO4), and lead (Pb). Hg and Pb is a heavy metal that can cause skin diseases in humans such

as skin cancer. For this problem should any mining company should have its own land to dispose

of waste that can disturb the environment and pipes should be checked periodically to determine

whether a leak in the pipeline or not.

2.2.2 Air pollution

Coal combustion produces nitrogen oxides, smog, acid rain, and toxic air pollution. Acid

rain occurs when contaminated gases become trapped inside the cloud. Clouds can float up to

hundreds or even thousands of kilometers before finally releasing acid rain. Acid rain is rain

water with a pH of less than 5.7, while normal pH 7. Acid rain water usually occurs because of

the increased levels of nitric and sulfuric acid in air pollution. This usually occurs because of

increased emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NO) in the atmosphere. Other

toxic chemicals will also be separated and mixed with nutrients. If these nutrients are absorbed

by plants will inhibit growth and accelerate the falling of leaves, and the plant will be stricken

with disease, drought, and death. The effect from all of the combustion is burn lung tissue,

asthma, and makes people susceptible to chronic respiratory disease. Some of the coal

combustion can be reduced but not all of them can be reduced because it is in the air.

2.2.3. Soil Pollution

Coal mining can damage vegetation, destroying the genetic soil profile, replacing the

genetic soil profile, destroying wildlife and habitat, degradation of air quality, land use change

and to some extent can be altering the general topography of the mining area permanently. In

addition, coal mining also produces methane gas, this gas has potential as a greenhouse gas. The

contribution of methane gas caused by human activity, contributing 10.5% in greenhouse gas

emissions.

2.5 Wildlife Impacts

Huge areas of Indonesian Borneo’s wilderness, which are lands with strong links to

indigenous communities, have suffered to support the increase on coal exports. These lands have

been removed and replaced as coal mining concessions. New coal mine plants will not be the

only thing that will cut open the heart of Borneo, but as well as new infrastructure for coal

transportation, which will also be carved through the forests that are home to one of the richest

tropical forest ecosystems on the planet. The forests provide natural habitats for the endangered

orangutan and other species of primates, as well as for important bird life, including the argus

pheasant and hornbills.

The coal industry releases acids and sulphates into rivers, which are pollutants that

destroy water supplies. These as a result, harm the fish stocks and contaminate crops, leading to

loss of livelihoods, a reduction in food sources and health problems for local communities.

Deforestation is also the result of coal mining, which causes floods in several places in

Kalimantan. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reports that flooding has become commonplace

in Samarinda, in East Kalimantan. Major floods have affected families and disrupted the

economy, transportation, employment and livelihoods.

CHAPTER 3

CONCLUSION

3.1 Pollution Prevention and Control

The key to minimizing pollution associated with mining activities are early planning and

careful design of operations. A mining development plan and closure and restoration plan must

be approved and prepared before the process of mining can begin. For implementation and

monitoring of environmental measures, specific responsibility or task must be assigned. These

plans define the sequence and behavior of extraction operations and detail the methods to be

used in closure and restoration. A development plan must be addressed to prevent and control

coal mining pollution, which include:

Removal and proper storage of topsoil

Early restoration of worked-out areas to minimize the extent of open areas

Diversion and management of surface and groundwater to minimize water pollution

problems

Identification and management of areas with high potential for acid mine drainage

(AMD) generation

Minimize the of generation of AMD by reducing disturbed areas and isolating drainage

streams by avoiding contacts with sulfur bearing materials

A water management plan for operations and post-closure including minimization of

liquid wastes by methods such as recycling water from tailings wash plant

Minimization of spillage losses by proper design and operation of coal transportation and

transfer facilities

Reduction of dust by re-vegetation and by good maintenance of roads and work areas.

Minimizing drop distances, covering equipment, and wetting storage piles

Controlling the release of chemicals used in extraction processes

Control of methane, a greenhouse gas to less than one percent by volume, minimizing the

risk of explosion in closed mines. Recover methane where feasible

Proper storage and handling of fuel and chemicals used on site to avoid spill areas

And lastly, the mine closure and restoration plan should include recovery of open pits,

waste piles, sedimentation basins, and abandoned mine, mill, and camp sites. These plans

should include:

Return land to conditions capable of supporting prior land use or other environmentally

acceptable uses

Use of overburden for backfill and top for recovery

Contour slopes to minimize erosion and runoff

Plant vegetation to prevent erosion and encourage self-sustaining development of a

productive ecosystem on the land

Management of post-closure acid mine drainage and extraction waste

Budget and schedule for pre and post-abandonment reclamation activities

3.3 Coal Waste Water Treatment Processes

Some of these waste waters can be strongly acidic and can contain high levels of

dissolved salts and heavy metals. Others can have a near neutral pH with lower

concentrations of heavy metals but with higher concentrations of silica and sometimes

phosphates.

A coal mine water treatment plants need to be constructed that can recover high

quality drinking water from all of these different coal impacted waters. This water

treatment process for coal impacted water would include:

1. Fine coal and suspended solids are removed from the feed water using the appropriate

technology for the water quality that is to be treated

2. A heavy metals, silica, phosphate and hardness removal stage using a chemical

precipitation process.

3. Product from the chemical precipitation stage would then go through a clarification

process followed by pH adjustment, ultra-filtration and reverse osmosis stages, so as to

create the product water.

4. The remaining waste water would then be reacted, using proprietary process technology,

to produce gypsum and a weak caustic solution, which is a suitable reagent for the initial

chemical precipitation stage and is usually able to supply the whole of that reagent

requirement.

The use of this solution makes the cost of reagent for the chemical precipitation

stages the same as if a combination use of lime and limestone.

If the sodium and chloride concentrations exceed the reuse or discharge criteria,

an appropriate portion of the brine is be put through further concentration steps to

recover the maximum proportion of reusable water.

This technology process should be able to achieve 100% recovery of the

contaminated water, making the mine site a zero liquid discharge

But if need be, additional process steps can be added when they are needed. These

include fuels oils and greases removal, uranium removal using ion exchange technology, ion

exchange modules to remove nitrates, and recovery of reusable salts from any excess solution.

The installed technology and process provide a cost effective, practical and reliable solution. The

design would also take into account the whole life cycle cost, including the disposal options for

the precipitation residues and for any water solution that cannot be recycled within the process.

The technology makes water flow and quality changes easy to manage.

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