Developing a kinetic model to analyze the multi-step reaction of biomass pyrolysis is pivotal to elucidate the mechanism of the pyrolysis. For this purpose, a model-fitting method such as multi-distribution the Distributed Activation Energy Model (DAEM) is one of the most reliable methods. DAEM with 4 different distribution functions of Gaussian, Logarithmic, Gumbel, and Cauchy was utilized to characterize the pyrolysis of cellulose and lignin during Thermogravimetric Analysis/Differential Scanning Calorimetry (TGA/DSC) instrumentation. By comparing Derivative Thermogravimetry (DTG) and DSC profiles, determination of pseudo-components can be done more accurately. A kinetics analysis on the pyrolysis of cellulose with a single Gaussian distribution DAEM yielded a single activation energy of 178 kJ mol−1 with a narrow standard deviation. This result was justified by a single and dominant endothermic peak followed by minor exothermic peaks in the DSC result. For lignin pyrolysis, the presence of multiple peaks is characterized by four pseudo-components in DAEM with activation energies of 157, 174, 194, and 200 kJ mol−1. These pseudo-components were confirmed by the DSC result which indicated the occurrences of two exothermic peaks with two lesser exothermic or possibly endothermic peaks at the same temperature range. These findings imply the importance of DSC to support a kinetics study of thermogravimetric pyrolysis.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) processing is still problematic in Indonesia. From the hierarchy of waste management, it is clear that energy recovery from waste could be an option after prevention and the 5R (rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle) processes. The Presidential Regulation No 35/2018 mandated the acceleration of waste-to-energy (WtE) plant adoption in Indonesia. The present study aimed to demonstrate a techno-economic evaluation of a commercial WtE plant in Indonesia by processing 1000 tons of waste/day to produce ca. 19.7 MW of electricity. The WtE electricity price is set at USD 13.35 cent/kWh, which is already higher than the average household price at USD 9.76 cent/kWh. The capital investment is estimated at USD 102.2 million. The annual operational cost is estimated at USD 12.1 million and the annual revenue at USD 41.6 million. At this value, the internal rate of return (IRR) for the WtE plant is 25.32% with a payout time (PoT) of 3.47 years. In addition, this study also takes into account electricity price sales, tipping fee, and pretreatment cost of waste. The result of a sensitivity analysis showed that the electricity price was the most sensitive factor. This study reveals that it is important to maintain a regulated electricity price to ensure the sustainability of the WtE plant in Indonesia.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a useful tool to evaluate the environmental impact of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) processing. Here, a BUMDES (village owned enterprise) converted MSW to Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) in the area around a cement plant in Cirebon, Indonesia. The RDF that is produced is used as a partial substitutiton fuels for the kiln in the cement industry. The purpose of present study was to evaluate the environmental impacts of RDF production through an attributional LCA study. The results were compared with the current practice of MSW treatment system. The waste management system that will be compared includes RDF and direct combustion. LCA simulation was conducted in the OpenLCA software, which is equipped with ecoinvent database as well as primary data from the field. The company treated about 2, 259.96 kg of waste / day. The results showed that the production rate of RDF is about 966 kg / day. The analysis shows that the conversion of combustible municipal solid waste into RDF is more environmentally friendly than direct combustion with environmental impacts as follows: GWP 8.40E-01 kg CO₂eq., Acidification 4.36E-04 kg SO₂eq., Eutrophication 7.18E-04 kg PO₄eq., ODP 3.59E-09 kg CFC-11 eq., And Human toxicity 2.27E-01 kg 1.4 dichlorobenzene eq. The use of RDF as a substitute fuel for the cement industry is economically advantageous if: there are no restrictions on processed waste, the RDF product sales to the cement industry is ensured, and the RDF product price should be economically viable. The initial investment costs and high operating as well as the maintenance costs could be a challenging issue when dealing with MSW processing to RDF.

Esterification of rosin with pentaerythritol produces rosin pentaerythritol ester (RPE) which is widely used in paint, coating, and pressure-sensitive and hot-melt adhesive industries. Although RPE has excellent valuable applications and has been industrially produced, studies on the reaction kinetics have not been widely reported in the present literature. This work proposed a kinetic study of RPE synthesis by including a series of consecutive reactions forming mono-, di-, tri-, and tetra-ester with decarboxylation of rosin as a side reaction in the kinetics model. For esterification, the reaction rates were determined by the second-order kinetic model. The first-order kinetic order was proposed for decarboxylation. Kinetic experiments were performed at a temperature range of 260 °C to 290 °C. The initial molar ratio of pentaerythritol to rosin (in the mole of OH/COOH) used was between 0.8 and 1.2. A small amount of samples were withdrawn in certain time interval. The sample was analyzed to evaluate their acid and saponification number. Afterward, those experimental data were used to simulate and validate the proposed kinetic model. In general, the proposed model could capture the experimental data well. The resulting activation energies ranged from 65.81 to 129.13 kJ mol⁻¹ for esterification and 233.00 kJ mol⁻¹ for decarboxylation. This model also offers a new insight that correlates well with tetra-ester formation and the softening point.

The success rate of matrix acidizing in hydraulic fractured sandstone formation is less than 55%, much lower compared to the more than 91% success rate in carbonate formation. The need for alternative approaches to help the success ratio in matrix acidizing is crucial. This paper demonstrates a modeling technique to improve the success ratio of matrix acidizing in a hydraulic fractured sandstone formation. Supervised machine learning with 4 models of a neural network, logistic regression, tree, and random forest was selected to predict the successfulness of matrix acidizing in hydraulic fracturing. In parallel, multivariate analysis of principal component regression and partial least square regression approach were utilized to predict the oil gain of the job. For qualitative prediction, the results showed that the random forest was the best model to predict the successfulness of the job with the area under the curve (AUC) of 0.68 and precision of 0.73 in the training model with 70% of the data. Subsequently, the validation test with the rest of the data (30% data) gave 0.51 AUC and 61% precision. For quantitative prediction, the net oil gain was evaluated by using principal component regression (PCR) and partial least square regression (PLS-R). The PCR and PLS-R model gave a coefficient of determination (Rsquare) of 0.22 and 0.35, respectively. The p-value of PLS-R was 0.047 (95% confidence interval) which indicates that the model is significant. The results of this work demonstrate the potential application of supervised machine learning, principal component regression, and partial least square regression to improve candidate selection of oil wells for matrix acidizing especially in hydraulic fractured wells with limited design data.

There has been large interest to utilize oil reservoirs in Indonesia by using Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes. Injection of surfactant as a part of chemical injection technique in EOR is known to aid the mobility and reduction in surface tension. One potential surfactant for EOR application is Sodium Lignosulphonate (SLS) which can be made from various sources particularly empty fruit bunch of oil palm and black liquor from kraft pulp production. Here, we will discuss a number of methods for SLS production which includes lignin isolation techniques and sulphonation reaction. The use of SLS alone as EOR surfactant, however, is often not feasible as the Interfacial Tension (IFT) value of SLS is typically above the order of 10^-3 dyne/cm which is mandated for EOR application. Hence, brief discussion on SLS formulation screening is provided which illustrates an extensive labwork experience during the SLS development in our lab.