ECONOMICAL STUDY OF BIO-BASED POLYBUTYLENE SUCCINATE PRODUCTION FROM OIL PALM BIOMASS

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.