Process simulation of integrated palm oil mill, refinery and oleochemical processes

Abstract

Processes involved in the palm oil industry can be categorized into three main operations; upstream operation (planting and milling), midstream operation (physical/chemical refining), and downstream operation (palm-based oleochemical processing). For the last few years, some industrial key players have emphasized a change from stand-alone operations towards an integrated manufacturing facility. This has become the basis idea for integration of palm-based production processes. It includes material integration, shared energy and utility resources and waste-to-feed utilization. Integrated process however, involves a complex network; thus, the process has to be simulated to analyze its feasibility in terms of process throughput and material, energy and utility consumption. Hence, this paper addresses the basis to simulate the integrated palm oil process using process simulator Aspen Plus V8.6 for its dynamic capabilities in adjusting process variables to meet the required capacity for a target product. This study is critical in providing a basis and overview of the typical processes in palm oil industry and the possible interrelations associated with the proposed integrated facility for palm oil-based production.