Prarancangan Pabrik Pembuatan Asam Linoleat dari Biji Karet Menggunakan Proses Hidrolisis Continuous High Pressure Splitting dengan Kapasitas Produksi 15.000 Ton/Tahun

Abstract

Linoleic acid is an omega-6 unsaturated fatty acid which is useful for restoring nutritional balance and preventing several diseases, influencing the growth of brain function and the nervous system in humans and is used as a food supplement, raw material for the pharmaceutical industry, biokerosene and biodiesel. In Indonesia, there are many raw materials available for making linoleic acid that have not been utilized, such as rubber seeds. Rubber seeds contain quite high levels of linoleic acid, namely 38%. Besides the high oil content, rubber seeds are also available in large quantities. The main objective in designing a linoleic acid manufacturing plant is to assess the feasibility of setting up a factory. This factory is designed with a production capacity of 15,000 tons/year, using rubber seeds as raw material. The hydrolysis reaction was carried out at a pressure of 50 atm and a temperature of 250oC in a single-stage counter current splitting reactor. To meet market needs, linoleic acid is concentrated using a Swenson-Walker crystallizer to obtain a 90% linoleic acid solution. The planned factory location is in Bajjenis District, Tebing Tinggi City, North Sumatra Province, with an area of 26,940 m2. The workforce required is 178 people in the form of a Limited Liability Company (PT) under the leadership of a general manager. Utility requirements for factory operations include medium pressure steam of 3,566,089 kg/hour, cooling water of 44,645.90 kg/hour, electricity of 163,320 kW, and diesel fuel of 101,201 liters/hour. To establish and operate this factory, investment capital of IDR 5,678,431,245,481 is required and production costs are IDR 4,848,454,666,956. Based on the feasibility analysis, this factory has a Break Even Point (BEP) of 31.14%, Return on Investment (ROI) after tax of 12%, Payout Time (POT) after tax of 8.36 years, Return on Net Worth (RONW) of 19.94%, and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 16.84.0390%. Based on the review and feasibility analysis carried out, the factory for making linoleic acid from rubber seeds with a production capacity of 14,000 tons/year is suitable for further study