Pra Rancangan Pabrik Fatty Alcohol Dari Metil Ester dan Hidrogen Kapasitas 70.000 Ton/Tahun

Abstract

The establishment of a fatty alcohol factory with a capacity of 70,000 tons/year aims to meet the demand for surfactants in the agriculture, paper & pulp, and cosmetics sectors as well as to be used as a stabilizer and emulsifier agent in the detergent and soap industry so as to reduce import activities and build domestic economic growth. This factory was established in the Wilmar integrated industrial area (KITW) Serang-Banten with 169 employees employed. Fatty alcohol is produced using methyl ester as raw material obtained from fatty acids methyl ester (FAME) which is separated using a distillation tower where the methyl ester obtained is then hydrogenated at a temperature of 250˚C and a pressure of 50 bar using the help of a catalyst in the form of copper-manganese with a conversion of 98% in a packed bed trickle reactor which takes place in three phases namely, solidliquid-gas. The output of the reaction in the reactor is in the form of gas and liquid

phases

where the gas phase which was first released with the assumption that the pressure is also released along with the output of the gas phase, then when the conditions inside the reactor are at atmospheric pressure the liquid fluid output is just released. At the output the liquid fluid contains fatty alcohol which is the main product in this factory. While the output of the gas phase contains excess hydrogen and methanol which will then be purified by excess hydrogen to be recycled using a flash drum and the separated methanol is used as a by-product. The required raw material for methyl ester is 10,197.217 kg/hour with hydrogen as much as 22,523.396 kg/hour to produce a fatty alcohol capacity of 70,000 tons/year. The water utility needs of this factory is 71,425.22 Kg/hour with details of using Cooling Water: 84,241.11; Steam Water: 232,209.92; Domestic Water: 26,617.5798; and Air Service 500 (all in units of Kg/hour). Based on the economic evaluation of the establishment of a fatty alcohol factory, the results are as follows: Return on Investment (ROI) before tax is 55.80%, Return on Investment after tax is 41.85%, Pay Out Time before tax is 1.57 years, Pay Out Time after tax is 2.01 years, Break Even Point 53.8%, Shut Down Point 42%, and Discounted Cash Flow Rate of Return 23.15%. The design of the fatty alcohol factory from methyl ester and hydrogen with a capacity of 70,000 tonnes/year is classified as a high risk plant based on process reviews, operating conditions, raw material and product characteristics, and the origin of the raw materials. But the factory design is economically feasible to establish and has good potential to be developed both in the national and international markets.