Performance Assessment of Insulator Media Crystallization Technology for Cleaner and More Resource-Efficient Industrial Salt Production

Sudarto Sudarto

doi:10.21771/jrtppi.2026.v17.no1.p139-168

Authors

Sudarto Kementerian Perindustrian RI

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21771/jrtppi.2026.v17.no1.p139-168

Keywords:

Cleaner Production, Resource Efficiency, Industrial Salt Upgrading, Insulator Media Technology, Solar Saltworks, Sustainable Salt Production

Abstract

Indonesia continues to rely on large-scale industrial salt imports despite its extensive coastal resources, primarily because community-based solar salt production remains constrained by low productivity and inconsistent product quality. This study evaluates the performance of Insulator Media Technology (IMT), a patented polyethylene-based crystallization system, from Cleaner Production and Resource Efficiency perspectives to support sustainable industrial salt production. A quasi-experimental field study was conducted in Sumenep, Madura, Indonesia, using twelve conventional soil-based salt plots as reference controls. Operational performance, NaCl purity, resource efficiency, and economic benefits were compared between conventional soil-based crystallization systems and IMT. Laboratory analysis of NaCl purity was performed using three paired harvest-age samples (3, 4, and 5 days), while long-term technology performance was validated using multi-season implementation data from Madura (2011–2014) and Central Java (2013–2019). The results demonstrate that IMT eliminated brine seepage losses (Material Loss Ratio = 0; Brine Utilization Efficiency = 100%), increased harvest frequency from 7–8 to 14–15 cycles per season, and improved land productivity from 70 to 88–125.72 t ha⁻¹. Mean NaCl purity increased significantly from 87.32 ± 1.75% to 94.75 ± 0.37% (p = 0.014), enabling compliance with the Indonesian industrial salt standard. Resource Productivity improved by 26–42%, generating an estimated additional revenue of IDR 27.46 million ha⁻¹ per production season with a payback period of less than one season. Beyond evaluating technological performance, this study proposes an integrated Cleaner Production–Resource Efficiency–Industrial Competitiveness assessment framework together with five operational Resource Efficiency indicators specifically developed for community-based solar saltworks, providing a practical approach for technology benchmarking and performance evaluation. The study was limited to operational and production performance; direct measurements of soil salinity, groundwater quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and other environmental impacts were beyond its scope and should be addressed in future research.

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