Pra-rancangan Pabrik Hidroksipropil Metilselulosa dari Tandan Kosong Kelapa Sawit Menggunakan Metode Slurry Phase dengan Kapasitas Produksi 30.000 ton/tahun

Abstract

Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC) is a semi-synthetic non-ionic cellulose ether derivative widely utilized in the pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics, and construction industries as a thickener, emulsifier, and binder. The demand for HPMC in Indonesia continues to rise in tandem with national industrial growth; however, its supply remains fully reliant on imports. On the other hand, Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) waste is abundant in Indonesia with a cellulose content reaching 47.26%, thereby holding significant potential to be utilized as a raw material for HPMC production. This preliminary plant design for HPMC is planned with a capacity of 30,000 tons/year to meet domestic demand as well as the export market by the year 2030, located in the Kaltim Industrial Estate (KIE) area, Bontang, East Kalimantan. The HPMC production process employs the continuous slurry phase method, operating 330 days/year (24 hours/day). The process steps include raw material preparation of OPEFB (crushing to a size of 3–5 mm and drying), delignification using 49% NaOH and 30% H₂O₂ solutions at 90°C for 1 hour to extract alpha-cellulose, cellulose alkalization with a 49% NaOH solution at 40°C for 108 minutes to form alkali cellulose, and etherification using methylating agent methyl chloride (CH₃Cl) and hydroxypropylating agent propylene oxide (C₃H₆O) with dimethyl ether (DME) inert solvent in a jacketed pressure reactor at 60–80°C and a pressure of 5 atm. The etherification product is dissolved and washed with hot water at 80°C to remove unreacted residues and side-product salt (NaCl), filtered, dried at 80°C, and ground using a ball mill and sieved to obtain HPMC powder with a particle size of 1.4 mm, a Degree of Substitution (DS) of 1.84, and a Molar Substitution (MS) of 0.32. To produce 30,000 tons of HPMC/year, 9,783.53 kg/hour of OPEFB raw material is required (approximately 85,000 tons/year).