5 Palma: grupo nacional de extração e refino de óleos vegetais

Abstract

The consumption of socio-environmentally responsible products has been gaining increasing traction in Brazil, especially in the food, cosmetics, and biofuel sectors. Although national production is relatively consolidated, the country's productive matrix is limited, highlighting opportunities for expansion and diversification. In this context, there has been a search to broaden the variety of vegetable oils produced, both to meet growing market demand and to explore the nutritional and sustainable benefits these products offer. Given this scenario, this work presents the development project for a new industry: 5 Palma, a company that will be dedicated to processing the palm fruit and refining its crude oil, aiming to supply domestic demand. The choice of the palm fruit was due to the high demand for its oil, which is widely used in biofuel production and, especially, in the food industry. The industrial unit will be installed in the municipality of Benevides (PA), a location strategically selected due to its favorable geographical position, available tax incentives, and abundance of raw materials. The name “5 Palma” refers to the main raw material and also to the five group members, in addition to representing the five fundamental values that guide the company: Community, Quality, Responsibility, Innovation, and Brio. The 5 Palma Group is estimated to supply about 10% of the national palm oil production, with a capacity to produce close to 100,000 tons per year. The industry will be designed for continuous operation to perform the extraction of palm oil through solid-liquid extraction (SLE) using ethanol (96%) as a solvent at 50°C; furthermore, the ethanol feed process, in the series extractor stage, will be rearranged in parallel to optimize the extraction from the solid matrix. The process will include steps for the recovery of the used ethanol, as well as refining stages, such as bleaching with neutral silica as a fixed-bed packing. The palm oil extraction and refining process initially required 3328.61 kW of hot utility, and Pinch analysis was applied for energy optimization. The methodology identified a pinch point of 99°C, allowing for the design of a heat exchanger network (HEN). The resulting energy integration achieved a maximum recovery of 2313.64 kW, reducing the hot utility requirement to 1070.66 kW and generating savings of 67.83%. In addition to the technical process detailing, the work includes an economic viability analysis of the project. This analysis details the necessary Fixed Capital Cost (CAPEX) of R$ 3,588,776,372.56 for the plant's implementation, in addition to the annual Operating Costs (OPEX) and the financing structure. The financial evaluation, conducted from the shareholder's perspective, is consolidated through key profitability indicators, with a Payback Period of 4 to 5 years and an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 36%, benchmarked against a Minimum Acceptable Rate of Return (MARR) of 16%, which validate the attractiveness and robustness of the investment.