Simulation of the process of obtaining Maltina: from red sorghum CIAP R--132 a132 at pilot plant scale

The simulation of a maltine production plant at pilot scale (150 L/batch) was carried out, using red sorghum CIAP R-132 as the main raw material. A sensitivity study consisting of 11 experimental runs was carried out to evaluate the influence of three input variables (maltine production capacity per batch; red sorghum acquisition cost; and maltine bottle selling price) on three important economic indicators: Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Payback Period (payback period). The unit cost of production reached a value of $ 3.73/bottle, while the NPV, IRR and IRR of $ 3,661,000, 63.20% and 1.02 years, respectively, were obtained, which qualifies the process as economically profitable and feasible from the investment point of view. The sensitivity study made it possible to obtain equations that establish the statistical correlation between the 3 input variables and the 3 output variables.