ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT USING PINCH TECHNOLOGY IN A LARGE CAPACITY SUGARCANE PROCESSING PLANT USING DIFFUSION FOR SUGAR

RECOVERY Paper Presenter: Manisha Ghoorah, Societe Usiniere du Sud Vikram Seebaluck, University of Mauritius, Kassiap Deepchand, Mauritius Sugar Authority & Manisha Ghoorah, Societe Usiniere du Sud

Abstract This paper presents the opportunities for improvement in energy efficiency in sugarcane processing with a view to enhance electricity export from bagasse to the public grid which will have a positive impact on the profitability of bagasse as a renewable energy resource and ensure a sustainable revenue to the sugar industry. It assesses the utilization of energy in the form of steam and electricity in a large capacity modern sugarcane processing plant using diffusion technology for the recovery of sugar; it subsequently focuses on the optimization of steam utilization using pinch technology. The long-term sustainability of high and medium cost sugar producers such as Mauritius can be improved through the production of value-added commercial products from sugarcane such as special sugars (more specifically direct consumption sugars), bioethanol and bagasse electricity. Electricity generation from bagasse is already undertaken on a commercial scale in Mauritius. All the sugarcane processing plants in the country export electricity to the national grid. However, optimization of surplus electricity generation from unit quantity of bagasse is of vital importance especially when it is desirable to improve its profitability and competitiveness vis--vis other energy resources. All sugar factories had until recently adopted milling technology to recover sugar from cane which is also most widely used worldwide. In 2007, however, one sugar factory has invested in cane diffusion which is an alternative technology for sugar recovery from cane. This has coincided with the closure of six sugar factories having cane crushing capacities ranging from 70 to 140 tonne cane per hour (TCH) and the concurrent centralization of milling activities at one factory where the crushing capacity has increased to 350 TCH. Investment in cane diffusion was undertaken in view to increase electricity export to the grid. Pinch technology is another technique that could be applied to improve energy efficiency in sugar plants. It provides the opportunity to define a comprehensive and non-conventional energy-saving strategy whereby process-to-process heat recovery is increased to a maximum, hence optimizing steam consumption within the heat exchange network of the sugar factory. In this study, the energy consumption profile of a large capacity sugar factory (350 TCH) which also operated the diffusion system for sugar recovery from cane was determined. The specific steam and electricity consumption of the factory and the amount of electricity generated and sold from bagasse were determined from material and energy balances. Cane milling and diffusion for cane juice extraction were compared. For

further optimization of steam utilization within the plant, a proposed cost effective juice heating scenario was devised, based on the concepts of pinch technology. In general, the average amount of exhaust steam required to process each tonne of cane into raw sugar lies between 450 and 550 kg whereas the trend in electricity consumption for modern electrified mills ranges from 27 to 32 kWh/tonne cane. With a specific steam and power consumption of 377 kg/tonne cane and 21.7 kWh/tonne cane respectively, the factory where this study was undertaken can be considered as a model for effective energy management. The cornerstone of such an achievement rested mostly on the re-engineering of the plant with the use of a diffusion system, platular juice heaters, Kestner evaporators, continuous vacuum pans and a series of energy saving measures. Based on the findings of this project it was found that the electricity consumption of the diffusion system for sugar recovery was considerably lower than cane milling, but when the additional amount of process steam required due to the use of diffusers was considered, it was found that the difference in energy consumption of the two techniques was not substantial. The annexed state-of-the art cogeneration plant exported 163 GWh of electricity from bagasse, obtained from the 1.26 million tonnes of cane processed annually, after satisfying in-house energy (steam and electricity) needs. It was observed that further optimization, entailing a 7.2% fall in the exhaust steam consumption of the factory, was achievable through the use of pinch technology. Consequently, the availability of electrical power for sale to the grid could be increased by 3.4 GWh. This surplus power generated would not only be an added advantage in terms of revenue, but would also satisfy the equivalent domestic electricity requirements of more than 6700 Mauritians, hence displacing around 1900 tonnes of imported coal used for power production on an annual basis. The implementation of the pinch concepts, however, called for some modifications at the juice heating stages. The investment that would be incurred for the proposed juice heating scenario was estimated at MUR 33 million, with a reasonable simple payback period of 3.2 years. The economic feasibility of the project makes pinch technology an attractive option for sugar cane factories, where process steam consumption is to be minimized. It is highly advisable to implement energy conservation measures in cane sugar plants with the point of view of improving the profitability of the industry. The endeavor to transform the sugar industry into a sugar cane cluster, where emphasis is laid on energy-related activities such as optimum power generation and ethanol production as well as the manufacture of special sugars, will not only allow the industry to maintain its economic importance but will also enable sustainable development of the country. Keywords: Sugarcane, bagasse, energy efficiency, pinch technology, electricity