Techno-economic evaluation of integrated levulinic acid-bioethanol plant design based on oil palm empty fruit bunches

Currently, renewable energy started to become a focus of the world as it can be an alternative to fossil energy. Bioethanol is the result of glucose fermentation derived from lignocellulosic raw material (second-generation bioethanol). As one of the countries with the most significant biomass resources globally, Indonesia has a huge opportunity to develop the bioethanol industry. Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) is the most significant solid waste generated by oil palm plantations. Levulinic acid can be used as a chemical platform for biodiesel production, which has a higher selling price than bioethanol. In this research, techno-economic evaluation of integrated levulinic acid-bioethanol plant based on OPEFB was conducted. Optimization of production capacity is done to determine the suitable plant capacity so that the integrated levulinic acid-bioethanol plant is feasible to be developed. Based on simulation results with SuperPro Design 9.5 and analysis of the economic value, Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Return Rate (IRR), and the payback period is 53.939.000 USD; 29,77%; and 4,52 years, respectively. In conclusion, an integrated levulinic acid-bioethanol plant based on OPEFB has fulfilled the economic parameters of a chemical plant.