Process Design and Economics for Bioethanol Production Process from Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB)

Approximately one million metric ton of empty fruit bunch (EFB), which is a waste of the palm oil industry are discharged every year mainly in Malaysia and Indonesia. It is one of the most recent renewable energy resources and promises high yield in bioethanol productions. The objectives of this study are to conceptually design and economically analyze a whole bioethanol plant using eletrolyzed-reduced water (ERW) as the pretreatment method. To achieve the first objective, a comprehensive model of the bioethanol production plant is developed employing a process simulator on the basis of an experimental study in a pilot plant. The bioethanol production plant consists of five main areas: feed handling, pretreatment & conditioning, saccharification & co-fermentation, product purification, and wastewater treatment. For the second objective, the total capital investment (TCI) is estimated for 100 kton-dry EFB/yr plant. The economic analysis is performed in terms of the payback period (PBP), return on investment (ROI) and the product value (PV). The sensitivity of key variables is analyzed to find the potential reduction of PV.