: Persaingan didunia industri yang semakin ketat ini, PT. X dituntut untuk men-erapkan strategi bisnis agar dapat bersaing dengan industri kakao bubuk lainnya. Salah satu strateginya adalah dengan meningkatkan output dan mempertahankan kualitas produksi kakao bubuk dengan cara melakukan rancangan percobaan agar didapatkan formulasi produk yang optimal. Penelitian yang dilaksanakan ini bertujuan: 1). Mengetahui faktor mana saja yang berpengaruh untuk mengopti-malkan kualitas produksi kakao bubuk; 2). Menganalisis dan menentukan besarnya nilai signifikasi faktor-faktor terhadap kualitas produksi kakao bubuk; 3). Menganalisis dan menentukan kombinasi optimum yang dipengaruhi oleh sejumlah variabel menggunakan metode Response Surface. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah: Kombinasi optimum produksi kakao bubuk menggunakan metode rancangan percobaan Response Surface didapatkan sebagai berikut: titik optimum faktor lama pencampuran bahan adalah 14.94 menit, titik optimum dari faktor air adalah 57.3 liter dan titik optimum dari faktor waktu mixer adalah 12.625 menit

Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-supported zinc oxide (ZnO/MWCNTs) heterogeneous catalyst has been prepared using impregnation and gel process. This catalyst has been utilized to synthesize biodiesel via transesterification process from Kesambi (Schleichera oleosa L.) oil (SOO) and methanol. The prepared ZnO/MWCNTs catalyst prior was characterized using the X-ray diffraction (X-RD), Brunauwer-Emmett Teller (BET), and Scanning Electron Microscopy with energy dispersive X-Ray microscopy (SEM-EDX) methods. The transesterification process was performed in a three necks round bottom flask batch type reactor. The influence of several parameters includes reaction time (h) and the amount of catalyst (w/w% of SOO) on biodiesel’s yield, were studied. It was found that ZnO/MWCNTs were potentially used as a heterogeneous catalyst for transesterification of kesambi oil. The highest biodiesel yield of 41.9% was achieved at 65 °C, 5 h of reaction time, 4% of catalyst amount, and 1:15 of molar ratio SOO to methanol.

No abstract

Biodiesel is an alternative energy obtained through the trasesterification of vegetable oil in the presence of a catalyst. The catalyst plays a very important role in the success of the transesterification process. One way to increase the activity of the catalyst is through chemical modification called functionalization, which generally using SO3 group as a sulfonating agent is known as the sulfonation process. However, the disadvantage of this process is that it uses strong acids which are corrosive, require high temperatures and are not environmentally friendly. This study aims to increase the activity of zinc oxide catalyst supported by multi-wall carbon nano tube (Z/MWCNTs) sulfonated using (NH4)2SO4 as sulfonating agent. The synthesis route includes co-precipitation, sulfonation and precipitation time. The effect of concentration of ammonium sulfate, co-precipitation time, and sulfonating time on yield of biodiesels of kesambi (Schleichera oleosa L) oil (OSOBD) was investigated. The result showed that the activity functionalized Z/MWCNTS catalyst (Z/s-MWCCNTs) could enhance significantly. The results of the catalyst activity test on transesterification of OSO into biodiesel showed that Z/s-MWCNTs gave a high yield of 91% for the functionalized catalyst using ammonium sulfate with a concentration of 35%, co-precipitation time 12 hours and sulfonation time 4 hours. The functionalization of MWCNTS with the sulfonation process using ammonium sulfate has the potential to increase catalyst activity and can increase the efficiency of the transesterification process for non-edible oils, especially kesambi oil.

Virgin coconut oil (VCO) is pure coconut oil with low free fatty acid content and high lauric acid content. VCO has been produced in many home industries where the yield obtained is still very small. So, the researchers tried to find a more efficient production process so that they could obtain high process yields. Researchers made VCO using the aeration method with a diffuser type aerator. The experimental variables were air flow rate (L / min): 0.6; 1.8; 4.0; 4,5 and the duration of the aeration process (hours): 2; 3; 4; 5, by using coconut milk from 1 kg of grated coconut in 1 liter of water, the maximum yield is 33.5% at an air flow rate of 4.0 L / min with an aeration time of 4 hours. The quality of VCO obtained were: water content of 0.02%; iodine number 5,54%; peroxidation number 1.36 g.iod / 100 g; 0.19% free fatty acids; saturated fatty acid content of 93.71% and unsaturated fatty acid 6.24% and the color is very clear. The quality test results obtained are in accordance with the quality standards required by SNI 7381-2008.