Economical study of bio-based polybutylene succinate production from oil palm biomass

Rohani Arpa and Abdullah Amru Indera Luthfi and Nurul Adela Bukhari and Tan, Jian Ping and Safa Senan Mahmod and Muhammad Zulhaziman Mat Salleh (2023) Economical study of bio-based polybutylene succinate production from oil palm biomass. Journal of Oil Palm Research (Malaysia), 35 (4). pp. 682-693. ISSN 2811-4701

This work demonstrates the economic feasibility of the production of bio-polybutylene succinate (bio-PBS) with 99.69% purity. Based on an extensive literature review, bio-succinic acid (bio-SA) was produced via fermentation from oil palm fronds (OPF), which was then purified via vacuum filtration, evaporated, crystallised and dried to attain 99.27% purity. The purified bio-SA was then hydrogenated to produce 1,4-butanediol (BDO), prior to polymerisation with bio-SA to produce bio-PBS via esterification. The mass balance analysis performed with SuperPro Designer® showed a negligible error. The proposed design gained profit in a short period of time based on 24.14% internal rate of return (IRR), 6.33 years dynamic payback period (DPP) and RM3366.31 million net present value (NPV). Direct comparison between simulation data and manual calculations showed <25.00% difference, which proved the dependability of the simulation results. Sensitivity analysis predicted that an increment in either bio-PBS’s production rate or bio-PBS and by-products pricing can increase the value of NPV and IRR. However, the increment in raw material price and fixed capital investment (CFCI ) can lower their values. Collectively, the results highlighted the feasibility of this process on a large scale as it has the potential to generate revenues, ultimately resulting in a sustainable bioplastic industry for packaging applications.

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Abstract

This work demonstrates the economic feasibility of the production of bio-polybutylene succinate (bio-PBS) with 99.69% purity. Based on an extensive literature review, bio-succinic acid (bio-SA) was produced via fermentation from oil palm fronds (OPF), which was then purified via vacuum filtration, evaporated, crystallised and dried to attain 99.27% purity. The purified bio-SA was then hydrogenated to produce 1,4-butanediol (BDO), prior to polymerisation with bio-SA to produce bio-PBS via esterification. The mass balance analysis performed with SuperPro Designer® showed a negligible error. The proposed design gained profit in a short period of time based on 24.14% internal rate of return (IRR), 6.33 years dynamic payback period (DPP) and RM3366.31 million net present value (NPV). Direct comparison between simulation data and manual calculations showed <25.00% difference, which proved the dependability of the simulation results. Sensitivity analysis predicted that an increment in either bio-PBS’s production rate or bio-PBS and by-products pricing can increase the value of NPV and IRR. However, the increment in raw material price and fixed capital investment (CFCI ) can lower their values. Collectively, the results highlighted the feasibility of this process on a large scale as it has the potential to generate revenues, ultimately resulting in a sustainable bioplastic industry for packaging applications.

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Item Type:	Article
AGROVOC Term:	oil palms
AGROVOC Term:	biomass
AGROVOC Term:	fermentation
AGROVOC Term:	succinic acid
AGROVOC Term:	research
AGROVOC Term:	economic analysis
AGROVOC Term:	biodegradable plastics
AGROVOC Term:	esterification
AGROVOC Term:	waste utilization
AGROVOC Term:	packaging
Geographical Term:	Malaysia
Uncontrolled Keywords:	bio-polybutylene succinate, economic analysis, oil palm fronds, SuperPro Designer®
Depositing User:	Nor Hasnita Abdul Samat
Date Deposited:	29 Apr 2025 01:17
Last Modified:	29 Apr 2025 01:17
URI:	http://webagris.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/1782

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