Utilization of Citronella Oil Refining Industry Solid Waste: Feasibility Study

The amount of solid waste from the distillation of citronella oil is mostly still not utilized optimally so that it only accumulates and pollutes the environment. Especially in Aceh Province, waste from citronella oil distillation on average is only burned when it has accumulated. The potential for the amount of waste is relatively large, with the area of citronella in Aceh Province being 17,445 ha, the waste generated from the distillation process can reach an average of 6,959 tons/year. When managed properly, the waste still has a high economic value, one of which is by turning the waste into briquettes. This study aims to analyze the feasibility of processing citronella solid waste into briquettes with a focus on the financial aspect. Processing refining citronella oil solid waste into briquettes is through five stages starting from the drying process, raw material chopping, pyrolysis process, refining, to briquetting. Testing was conducted by looking at the value of the break even point and net present value. It costs IDR 19,652,000 as investment cost to make briquettes from citronella oil refining solid waste. Based on the BEP value, briquette products must at least be able to be sold at a price of IDR13,525/kg to cover the cost of production, while the production unit should be able to produce 8.95 kg briquettes every day. Based on the calculation of the net present value which is worth IDR 5,380,817, it indicates that the business or investment design is economically feasible to be implemented. However, the by-products of liquid smoke and gas from pyrolysis have great potential to be utilized.