Economic potential of the manufacture of acrolein and propylene glycol from glycerol

Indonesia is one of the largest palm oil producers in the world. Acrolein and propylene glycol can be produced from glycerol as a byproduct of palm oil-based biodiesel whereas they are still imported by Indonesia. The purpose of this study is to determine the economic potential of combined acrolein and propylene glycol production from crude glycerol with production capacities of 11,094 tons/year and 70,001 tons/year, respectively. The production gives a Net Present Value of USD 376,600,000, Internal Rate of Return of 149.94%, Payback Period of 1.26 years, Profitability Index of 8.22. The cessation of acrolein and propylene glycol imports can Indonesia's foreign exchange nearly USD 207,427,000/year where the domestic demand can be fulfilled by the plant of combined products proposed in the present work.