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This study is focused on the utilization of the limestone from Aceh province, Indonesia, as a raw material for preparing inorganic oxide using a high thermal decomposition method. In this preliminary experiment, the limestone material was powdered, then calcined at a temperature of 900 °C for 4 hours under atmospheric pressure and modified with several concentrations of nickel element (1, 3, 5 wt%). The prepared catalyst was characterized using analytical instruments, namely X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Based on the diffractogram of XRD, it can be known that the prepared catalyst was dominated by CaO crystals, in which Al2O3 was a minor compound. Characterization of the prepared catalyst using SEM-EDS demonstrated that the catalyst has a homogeneous morphology and uniform particle size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The salted egg has been popular as a rural economic product which are mostly prepared by housewives in Aceh Besar regency. In order to support the rural economic activity, this experiment was designed and focused on utilization of the local fruits, namely wild mango (Spondias pinnata), which is recognized locally as "Kedondong hutan" to preserve quality of the salted egg. This biomass was employed as a green material on salting process of duck eggs. Initially, the pH level of "kedondong hutan" in liquid phase was determined by chemical method and a pH value of around 4.2 was obtained. While a phytochemical analysis of wild mango fruits revealed that it contains terpenoids, phenolic acids, saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds. The oil exudation (OE) content in the salted eggs products was examined using a gravimetric method, and it was found that OE level of the salted eggs produced in Aceh Besar was around 19.83 %. Finally, this research demonstrated that "Kedondong hutan" fruit have a positive impact on preventing microbial growth in the salted duck egg product, thus useful for preserving its quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation of sediments carried by tsunami 2004 was conducted in Seungko Meulat village, located in Lhoong subdistrict of Great Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia. Seungko Meulat is directly opposite the Indian Ocean thus it is probable to be affected by the giant tsunami that has hit Aceh province. The deposit samples were taken at two points using a hand drill with a depth of over 1 meter. The collected samples have been further prepared in the laboratory including cleaning, refining, and sieving. Based on our visual observations, the 2004 tsunami candidate layer was found in our study. Tsunami deposits were identified at a depth of 4 cm with a thickness of 16-24 cm. The layers are characterized by light brown coarse to fine sand material located above a dark brown paleosoil layer with sharp erosion contacts. The tsunami deposits of coarse size at the bottom gradually turn into medium to fine sand at the upmost layer. The finer grain size of sand material reflects weakened tsunami waves in the pre-backwash deposition. Moreover, the lower part of the tsunami deposition layer is rich in plant roots, stems, and anthropogenic products. Based on the results obtained, the tsunami layers found in this study have characteristics that are almost similar to the tsunami layer found in other areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to identify the content of a radioactive element, namely uranium in traditional salt from seawater produced on the coastal region of Aceh Besar. The salt sample was collected from Lam Ujong village, Aceh Besar regency, Aceh province. Detection of uranium presence in Lam Ujong salt samples was carried out using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). The beam of Nd-YAG laser (23 mJ and 10 Hz) is sent onto the surface of the pellet using a focusing lens under air at atmospheric pressure for producing plasma. The emission spectral lines from plasma that were generated were discovered when testing with Optical Multichannel Analyzer (OMA) system. It could be noted that many emission lines of chemical elements could clearly be detected and identified in this study, namely Calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), Magnesium (Mg), Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), and Oxygen (O). However, no emission line of uranium was identified in Lam Ujong salt sample. Thus, it can be concluded that the Lam Ujong Aceh salt does not contain radioactive uranium or the uranium contained in the Lam Ujong salt has a very low concentration so that it cannot be detected using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation of affected soils by the massive Indian Ocean tsunami 2004 in Banda Aceh city was carried out utilizing X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) technique for analyzing and identifying its chemical component. Based on this preliminary study, the XRF investigation demonstrated that the affected soil samples in Banda Aceh city 10 years after the tsunami disaster were still contaminated by alkali metal elements identified as salt content (Ca and K) and transition metal elements involving Al, Si, P, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Sr. On the other hand, this research also revealed that Fe element dominantly appeared in the tsunami-affected soils in more than 35% of collected samples, then it followed by Si and Ca elements. It could be noticed that almost all of the chemical elements that appeared in the soil 10 years after the tsunami event were higher than the similar experiment held 1.5 and 3 years after the Indian Ocean tsunami 2004 in Aceh province. This work found that the concentration ratio of Fe/Ti and Si/Ti is far higher than other elements, thus the ratio is potential chemical signature to characterize the soil samples impacted by 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Banda Aceh city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study to locate the paleotsunami deposition was carried out in Seubadeh Village situated in East Bakongan Timur sub-district of South Aceh, which is a part of the province of Aceh, Indonesia. Seubadeh Village is located on the coast and faces directly to Indian Ocean, thus possibly affected by historic tsunamis occured in the past. this area has been identified geologically as one of the areas that has the potential to store paleotsunami deposition. The sample collection was carried out by drilling the ground using coring at several points with depth of up to 3 meters. The collected soil samples have been processed in the laboratory, dried and sifted. Visual observation of the soil and sediment samples taken showed that it mainly consits of sand and ordinary soil. However, it was found that there were parts of the deposited layer that show geological characteristics fit to characteristics of a paleo-tsunami deposition layer. Thus, the excavated deposition layer is a very potential candidate for the paleotsunami layer. The paleotsunami candidate layer was found at at a depth of 2.5 meters below ground level. The deposition layer considered as the candidate paleotsunami deposition consists of 2 separate layers with different thickness. The first deposition layer has a thickness of more than 30 cm, while the second layer has a thickness of more than 9 cm. The paleotsunami deposition layer found will be further characterized by geological methods and optical analytical tools, namely laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). This study implies that the south west coast of Aceh holds records of past tsunami events, and Seubadeh Village could be an appropriate area to study paleotsunami further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work was carried out to examine the feasibility of LIBS technique coupled with chitosan adsorbent for heavy metal analysis in liquid sample, namely liquid milk products. Heavy metals contained in the liquid products were trapped on the chitosan surface before being irradiated by a focused laser beam using a LIBS technique. Preliminary results of the emission spectra of the heavy metal (Pb) capped on chitosan can clearly be detected using the LIBS technique. Thus, this proposed method of LIBS coupled with chitosan adsorbent could be a promising, efficient and eco-friendly techniques for analyzing heavy metal contaminants in milk liquid samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, plasma characteristics in terms of temperature and electron density of a plasma of the tsunami impacted soil sample induced by a transversely excited atmospheric carbon dioxide (TEA-CO2) LIBS was studied. Practically, the tsunami impacted soil samples was taken from at the worst affected area by the giant tsunami, Banda Aceh city, Aceh province, Indonesia. The generated plasma has been produced after TEA-CO2 pulses laser was targeted onto sample placed on a sample holder in air surrounding gas. The emission spectral lines emitted from the plasma region collected using system of an optical multichannel analyser (OMA) allowed atomic emission lines could be clearly identified. The temperature of plasma was estimateed through the method of Boltzmann plot, while the plasma electron density has been obtained by method of Saha-Boltzmann using spectral lines of calcium both atomic and ionic spectral lines. As results, the plasma temperature and electron density produced were T = 8691 K and 5,2 × 1015 cm−3, respectively. Generally, the plasma temperature and density electron obtained are fit to the Maxwell distribution criteria kT <50,000 and Mcwhriter's criteria (Ne >1.6×1012 T½ (ΔE)3) for plasma laser in state of local thermal equilibrium LTE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]