Prarancangan Pabrik Lovastatin dari Biji Jagung dan Jamur Aspergillus terreus dengan Kapasitas 3000 ton/tahun
Risqia Malika, Prof. Sang Kompiang Wirawan, S.T., M.T., Ph.D.
2026 | Skripsi | TEKNIK KIMIA
Lovastatin is a substance used as a cholesterol-lowering medication that works by inhibiting the production of the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which triggers cholesterol production. This plant is designed to produce lovastatin API in the form of a 10-micron solid powder, with a production capacity of 3,000 metric tons per year. The plant will be established in 2030 and will operate 330 days a year. The primary raw materials used are dried shelled corn kernels, with an annual requirement of 31,680 metric tons, and the fungus Aspergillus terreus. The lovastatin production process consists of four stages. The first stage is raw material preparation, involving dried corn kernels and water to produce starch powder. The second stage is the hydrolysis of starch into glucose using the enzymes alpha-amylase and glucoamylase. The third stage involves the fermentation of glucose using the Aspergillus terreus fungus, which takes place in a batch process for 12 hours at a pressure of 1 atm, a temperature of 30oC, and a pH of 6–7. The process continues to the fourth stage, namely separation and purification, where separation is carried out by performing cell lysis on the Aspergillus terreus fungus, forming lovastatin lactone through acidification, separating it from fungal debris, and extracting the lovastatin lactone; purification is carried out through crystallization, centrifugation, drying, and reduction of crystal particle size.
To meet the factory’s utility needs, 827,733.0050 kg/hour of water, 73,797.8844 kg/hour of refrigerant, 4,518.8912 m³/hour of process air, 231.2354 m³/hour of compressed air, 1,218.5177 m³/hour of fuel gas, and 6,151.5954 kW of electricity. The factory will be built in Jenu Subdistrict, Tuban Regency, Central Java Province, with a site area of 10.42 hectares and a workforce of 258 employees. The plant requires fixed capital of $134,598,987.66 and Rp622.470.755.498,31, as well as working capital of $23,822,754.79 and Rp94.815.523.168,33, respectively. Based on the economic evaluation results, the Lang factor was 3.64, the pre-tax ROI was 24.23%, the post-tax ROI was 18.9%, the pre-tax payback period was 2.92 years, the post-tax payback period was 3.46 years, with a BEP of 40.03%, an SDP of 15.65%, and a DCFRR of 36.59%. Thus, the lovastatin plant is worthy of further study.
Kata Kunci : Aspergillus terreus, fermentation, lovastatin, pharmaceutical