TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC STUDY OF THE PRODUCTION PROCESS OF METAL MAGNESIUM CAPACITY 30.000 TONS PER YEAR USING DOLOMITE AS RAW MATERIAL

• Main Author: Arif, Hardio
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Metalurgi
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/51487
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Magnesium is a metal that is widely used in human life in the form of raw materials, metal alloys, and pure magnesium metal. Magnesium is widely used in the aviation and automotive industries because it has a low densitiy so that the use of magnesium can cover longer distances with the use of the same fuel. Until now, the technology of magnesium metal production has experienced a development that is evidenced by the dominance of magnesium metal production by three countries in Germany, the United States, and China at different periods. In general, the production process for magnesium metal is divided into two, namely using electrolysis and thermal processes to reduce magnesium chloride and dolomite to magnesium metal. Based on data from Center for Geological Resources, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, in 2015 stated that the content of dolomite in Indonesia as a raw material for magnesium metal is 6.1 billion tons with dolomite production of 2.7 million tons. However, Indonesia has not produced magnesium metal, so the prospect of building a magnesium metal factory in Indonesia needs to be researched. In this study of literature, the calculation of the material was carried out to obtain the raw material requirements (dolomite, coal, ferrosilicon, and fluorite) and the economics of the magnesium metal production process. The study of literature begins by recording the chemical composition of dolomite in Indonesia as a raw material for the production process of magnesium metal and the chemical composition of coal as fuel. Then the material balance of the magnesium metal production process are calculated to determine the need for raw materials and fuels. In determining the economics of the magnesium metal production process, the calculation of Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), and Pay Back Period (PBP), as well as sensitivity analysis is carried out to determine the feasibility of investing in the magnesium metal production process. The result of this study of literature indicate the need for dolomite as raw material as much as 332,804.11 tons, coal as fuel as much as 241,111.42 tons, ferrosilicon as a reducing agent as much as 31,609.44 tons, and fluorite as the catalyst as much as 3,477.04 tons. From an economic perspective, assuming an interest rate of 6% per year, the NPV value is USD 7,820,075.447 and the IRR value is 7.21%. The cash flow for the magnesium metal production process is positive after 9 years of operating under normal conditions. When conditions change from normal conditions, investment feasibility is sensitive to changes in the the price of magnesium metal and ferrosilicon in the Pidgeon process.