Optimization of Scheduling in Ethanol Production from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Process

Abstract

In this research, the scheduling Batch process had done for minimizing the processing time and the highest equipment efficiency of the ethanol production process. Aspen Plus program was used to perform the mass and balances in the steady state part, and Aspen Batch Process Developer program was used to schedule batch parts of the process. The production process from oil palm empty fruit bunch has the ethanol capacity of 9,200 kg per day. The raw materials are oil palm empty fruit bunch 47,000 kg per day. There are four production schedules: one hydrolysis tank and one fermentation tank, four hydrolysis tanks and a fermentation tank, one hydrolysis tank and four fermentation tanks, four tanks of hydrolysis and four tanks of fermentation. This can reduce time consumption in one production cycle and less cycle time