Universiti Teknologi Mara Malaysia, (UiTM),

Universiti Teknologi Mara Malaysia (UiTM) Cawangan Johor, Kampus Pasir

Gudang, Jalan Purnama, Bandar Seri Alam, 81750, Masai, Johor

Introduction of Chemical Engineering (CHE121) Assignment Report

Evanesco Plastic
A polymer that acts as an alternative to plastic packaging that serve warm hospitality and
comfort for food packaging users that can help to resolve the environmental crisis.

Team The Three Musketeers:

1) Aliff luqman nasution bin Abdul Hamid

2) Kamilia Anaqi binti Yusri
3) Ed Emran Sharvin bin Badul Shahly

Lecturer:

1) Dr Wan Fazlina Abdol Jani

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REPLACEMENT OF PLASTICS IN OUR DAILY LIFE WITH OTHER
BIODEGRADABLE RAW MATERIALS TO RESOLVE PLASTIC
POLLUTION WITH THE APPLICATION OF INTRODUCTION TO
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING (CHE121) CONCENPT TO EXPLAIN
EXTENSIVE ENGENEERING KNOWLEDGE, CHEMICAL PROCESS
FLOW AND UTILITIES REQUIREMENT IN BIOPLASTIC
PRODUCTION INDUSTRY.

The Three Musketeers,

Universiti Teknologi Mara Malaysia (UiTM),
Pasir Gudang, Johor,
Malaysia,
2022

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 1.0 ABSTRACT
Plastic pollution intensified with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, as global
demand for plastic products increased. For the past few decades, this issue has resulted in
severe plastic waste pollution, primarily in the aquatic environment, causing the quality of
water and animal life to deteriorate dramatically as micro plastic enters the food chain and
causes variety of health effects towards the ecosystem.
In Malaysia, an estimate of 148,000 tons of plastic waste is being used a day. Therefore,
an alternative way is needed to overcome this problem.
Evanesco Plastic, this is where our product will make its debut. Evanesco is unlike any
other form of plastic that has ever existed. It has been structurally innovated, modified,
and improved to achieve our key goals which is to reduce plastic pollution. Evanesco Plastic
is a biodegradable plastic that is completely made of renewable and organic materials such as
cellulose and glycerol. The name of this plastic was inspired by the Spanish word ‘Evanesco’,
which means to disappear and fade away.

2.0 INTRODUCTION TO EVANESCO PLASTIC

Evanesco plastic is a synthetic biopolymer that is made from agar-agar jelly, glycerine,
and water to replace the usage of plastics such as High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and
Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE). It is the ideal substitute as it shares similar qualities
including tensile strength and transparency. In addition, our product is also soluble in water,
biodegradable and has a high absorbability rate which not only able to dissolve in water but
to also absorb harmful chemical pollutants in water and disintegrate together with it. Other
than that, our production cost is lower due to a faster rate of production and the usage of
cheaper ingredients such as agar-agar, glycerine and water which is widely available in the
modern world. Finally, compared to factories that produces plastic, our production facility
would emit fewer waste products and harmful by-products as it only emits water vapour into
the air and recycles any extra materials to lower the production costs and promotes
sustainability.

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3.0 BLOCK FLOW DIAGRAM (BFD)

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 4.0 PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM (PFD)

5.0 EVANESCO
PLASTIC PRODUCTION PROCESS ELEBORATION

1. Grinder
The Agar-agar strips are input into the grinder machine to be crushed and
shredded into smaller pieces to increase the Total surface area and to
accelerate the rate of reaction with water.
2. Air Blower
The agar-agar powder is then flow into the
Continuous-Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR)
with the help of the Air Blower which acts as a ‘pusher’ that
facilitates the movement of the agar-agar powder.
3. Continuous-Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR)
The agar-agar powder is then mixed with water in the reactor to produce an agar-agar
solution which will then flow into the pasteurizer.
4. Pasteurizer
The agar-agar solution is mixed with glycerine. The mixed solution will then undergo
pasteurization to kill harmful microbes and disease-causing pathogens that may be
present in the solution without affecting the structure of the solution.
5. Centrifuge
The pasteurize solution will then enter the centrifuge reactor where suspended residue

and scum in the solution will be separated according to viscosity and density.
6. Polymerisation reactor

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 The centrifuge solution will then enter the polymerisation reactor to under
polymerisation reaction when the particles of the solution will be chemically
combined to create a larger molecule.
7. Drying Drum
The polymerised solution will then enter the drying drum where it will be converted
into a sheet of bioplastic as the end-product of this production line.
8. Reboiler
Any excess solution will then be recycled into the reboiler to convert the solution and
the excess dried sheet into a liquid state before entering the polymerisation reactor
and repeat the polymerisation reaction and the drying process.

6.0 UTILITIES USED IN THE PROCESS

1. Water
Water source comes from raw water reservoir which are lakes or rivers. Water is used to
dilute agar-agar and the agar-agar solution is mixed with glycerine. The water plays an
important role in this process as it combines all ingredients together to form the product.
2. Electricity
Electricity is needed to run each equipment. For example, the CSTR and the shredder.
Sources of this utility can come from off-site sources (hydraulic dam) or steam. Both of this
source falls with the motive of protecting the nature because both are renewable energy.
3. Air
The air plays an important role to push the shredded agar-agar in the pipe flow. As in the air
blower, the impeller will suck the air from the surroundings and will create a dynamic
pressure that forces the air to flow through path. This type of blower is an energy-efficient
level of operation that could maintain the movement of the air.