Parameter and strutural retrofit of palm oil fatty acid fractionation process for improved productivity and energy efficiency

Abstract

I owe a great deal of thanks to many people who have contributed towards the successful completion of this thesis. It has certainly been a long road, but also a fruitful and enjoyable one because of these people. I gratefully acknowledge the support of my research project supervisor, Associate Professor Dr. Zainuddin Bin Abdul Manan. He undoubtedly deserves the greatest thanks for his assistance and tireless effort over the years. Without his guidance and support, this project would not have been accomplished. He has always been more than generous with his time, helps and ideas, not withstanding his busy schedule. I have worked under his supervision for four years since my first degree final project until the present one. I have gained plenty of invaluable comments and ideas in process systems engineering through his experience and knowledge. I also thank Associate Professor Dr. Arshad Bin Ahmad for his contributions as a panel during the proposal presentation of this project. His critical questions and comments have helped to make sure the research scope remained tied to reality and relevant to the field ofprocess systems engineering. Another party that must not be forgotten is the collaborating plant. Special thanks are dedicated to the plant management and personnel, Mr. Azilan, Mr. Rosli for providing the helps and support during our stay in the plant. To all my fellow colleagues from Process System Engineering (PSE) research group, Wesley, Derrick and Fang Yee, thanks for your outstanding ideas during our lively discussions. I appreciate the moments at Process Design Lab and the process plant. I'd never forget your help. Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to En. Ahmad Kamal Bin B aderon, who helped me to operate the process simulator, ASPEN PLUS ®on UNIX platform.