Techno-Economic Evaluation of Hand Sanitiser Production Using Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch-Based Bioethanol by Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) Process

Techno-Economic Evaluation of Hand Sanitiser Production Using Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch-Based Bioethanol by Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) Process

Misri Gozan, Andre Fahriz Perdana Harahap, Jabosar Ronggur Hamonangan Panjaitan, Catia Angli Curie, Muhammad Yusuf Arya Ramadhan, Penjit Srinophakun

Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) is a potential raw material abundantly available for bioethanol production. However, the second-generation bioethanol is still not yet economically feasible. The COVID-19 pandemic increases the demand for ethanol as the primary ingredient of hand sanitisers. This study evaluates the techno-economic feasibility of hand sanitiser production using OPEFB-based bioethanol. OPEFB was alkaline-pretreated, and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was then performed by adding Saccharomyces cerevisiae and cellulose enzyme. The cellulose content of the OPEFB increased from 39.30% to 63.97% after pretreatment. The kinetic parameters of the OPEFB SSF at 35 °C, which included a µmax, ks, and kd of 0.018 h-1, 0.025 g/dm3, and 0.213 h-1, respectively, were used as input in SuperPro Designer® v9.0. The total capital investment (TCI) and annual operating costs (AOC) of the plant were $645,000 and $305,000, respectively, at the capacity of 2000 kg OPEFB per batch. The batch time of the modelled plant was 219 h, with a total annual production of 32,506.16 kg hand sanitiser. The minimum hand sanitiser selling price was found to be $10/L, achieving a positive net present value (NPV) of $108,000, showing that the plant is economically feasible.

2020

economic analysis, Bioethanol, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation, Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB), hand sanitiser, SuperPro Designer®

10.3390/app10175987

Epidemiology and Health

Korean Society of Epidemiology

Biology (General), Chemistry, Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General), Technology, Physics