Prarancangan Pabrik Propilen Glikol dari Gliserol dengan Kapasitas 40.000 Ton/Tahun

Abstract

The plant design of a propylene glycol from glycerol with a production capacity of 40,000 tons/year to meet domestic demand for propylene glycol which fully relies on the import sector. The raw materials used are glycerol and hydrogen gas with Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst support. This plant will be established in Medan Deli District, Medan City, North Sumatra with a design operating time of 330 days/year. The production process consists of dehydration, hydrogenation, and separation processes. The dehydration and hydrogenation processes were carried out in a trickle bed reactor with a temperature of 235oC and a pressure of 38.45 atm. The reaction begins with the dehydration of glycerol to acetol and continues with the hydrogenation of acetol to produce propylene glycol. Propylene glycol is then purified in a flash drum to obtain propylene glycol with a purity of 99.6%. Hydrogen gas is separated and reused as a raw material. The process support unit consists of a water supply unit sourced from PT. KIM and Sungai Deli, steam supply unit from the boiler, electricity supply unit from PT. PLN and generators, fuel procurement unit in the form of diesel fuel, and waste treatment unit. The form of the company chosen is a Limited Liability Company (PT) and requires a total of 276 employees consisting of shift and non-shift employees. From the economic evaluation, the percentage of Annual Cash Flow (ACF) was 24.59%, Pay Out Time (POT) after tax for 3.5 years, and the percentage of Break Event Point was 50.77%. Based on these parameters, this factory is feasible to build.