Pra-Rancangan Pabrik Mikronitroselulosa dari Eceng Gondok dengan Kapasitas 13.000 Ton/Tahun

Abstract

A micronitrocellulose plant using water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) as the raw material is designed with a production capacity of 13,000 tons/year and an operating period of 330 days/year. The plant is planned to be established in Balen District, Bojonegoro Regency, East Java Province, Indonesia. The plant is designed to produce 1,625.00 kg/h of micronitrocellulose using 1,837.304 kg/h of water hyacinth as the primary raw material. The pre-design of the micronitrocellulose plant consists of several processing stages. The production process begins with raw material preparation by reducing the particle size of water hyacinth to 60 mesh using a chopper. The material is then subjected to a steam explosion process at 190°C and 12 atm for 10 minutes to reduce the lignin and hemicellulose contents. The next stage is hydrolysis using nitric acid (HNO₃), followed by a bleaching process with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) to remove the remaining lignin. The bleached product is separated using a rotary drum filter and a centrifuge before entering the nitration stage. Nitration is carried out in a nitration reactor using a mixture of nitric acid (HNO₃) and sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄), where the hydroxyl groups of cellulose are substituted with nitrate groups to form nitrocellulose. The product is subsequently neutralized with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to eliminate residual acids and further purified using a rotary drum filter. In the final stage, the product is milled using a ball mill to obtain micronitrocellulose with a particle size of approximately ±150 μm and a product purity of 99%, after which it is stored in the product storage tank. The plant is designed as a Limited Liability Company (Perseroan Terbatas/PT) employing 177 workers. The economic evaluation indicates a net sales profit of IDR 144,738,078,501 with a selling price of IDR 75,000/kg of micronitrocellulose. The Rate of Return (ROR) is 17%, the Pay Out Time (POT) is 3.7 years, and the Break Even Point (BEP) is 54%. Based on the technical and economic evaluations, the proposed micronitrocellulose plant with a production capacity of 13,000 tons/year is considered feasible for construction and operation.