The papers presented at the Meeting are listed below, linked to an abstract of the paper.
#980 Keynote Speaker
#981 Imperial Sugar Rebuild Project
#982 A Single Strike Boiling System
#983 Natural Sugar Cane Extracts With Potent Deodorizing Activity
#984 Optimum Filtration Technology in Sugar Refinery
#985 First Industrial Experiences with Special Vertical Fluidized Bed Sugar Cooler at Imperial Sugar in Port Wentworth, Georgia, USA
#986 Symposia
#987 A Just in Time Approach to Refining
#988 A Comparative Evaluation of Fluidised Bed and Multiple Hearth Kilns for Activated Carbon Reactivation
#989 Improvements in Clarification and Scaling Problems with Hot Liming
#990 A Smart Colorimeter to Track Sugar Quality
#991 Building a Sugar Production Plant around Pneumatic Conveying
#992 Pro and Con of Various Decolorization Processes for Production of Refined Sugar
#993 Seasonal Variations on Sugarcane Trash Quantity and Quality that Directly Concerns Refiners
#994 Sensors for Crystallisation Control in Vacuum Pans - A review of Fives Fletcher Experience over the Past 25 Years
#995 The installation and Operation of Rapid Conditioning System for Refined Sugars at Central Azucarera Don Pedro (Philippines)
#996 Simplified Reprocess of Raw Sugar with Crushing in Indian Sugar Industries
#997 Water and Sucrose Crystallization
#998 On-line Measurement of Crystal Complexity during a Crystallization Process
#980 KEYNOTE SPEAKER
John Sheptor, CEO Imperial Sugar Co, USA
No abstract available at this time.
#981 IMPERIAL SUGAR REBUILD PROJECT
Brian Harrison and Dwayne Zeigler, Imperial Sugar Co., Port Wentworth, GA, USA
The rebuild of Imperial Sugar’s Port Wentworth refinery provided a unique opportunity to design and build one of the safest and most efficient sugar packaging and handling facilities ever constructed to date. The Refinery and material handling equipment was rebuilt from the white sugar centrifugals through the finished goods warehouse. The rebuild included the installation of state of the art equipment sourced world wide including sugar drying, sugar cooling, material handling via dense phase systems, silo storage and a packaging facility complete with packaging, palletizing and stretch wrap lines.
The design emphasis on safety as the primary priority included all facets of the process and utilized an extensive network of internal and external resources to support the complete design. The final design includes dense phase systems, rotary airlocks and other methods as isolation devices. All of the dry sugar equipment was equipped with a variety of sensors and warning devices to maintain safe operating parameters. Explosion suppression systems and/or explosion venting systems were installed throughout the material handling systems and are connected to the life safety systems as additional protection.
The packaging facility was designed to maximize throughput and efficiencies while maintaining a safe and clean environment. An extensive dust collection system strategically placed within the machines and the surrounding areas ensures dust control during the entire bag filling process. The elimination of vertical surfaces, station vacuum systems in addition to the building design insures the operation and maintenance of a clean work environment. This paper will highlight the design and execution of the plan that culminated in the facility that will be on exhibit during the SIT meeting this year.
#982 A SINGLE STRIKE BOILING SYSTEM
Dr Mike Inkson, Sugar Knowledge International, London, England, Malcolm Topfer and Philip Antier, ED&F Man Sugar, London, England
SIT #875, presented in Dubai 2005, proposed a single strike boiling scheme model based on the way that Russian beet factory conversions operated when refining raw sugar. It suggested that it would be particularly suitable for medium size refineries up to about 2000 t/d RSO.
We now have operational a 1700t/d RSO stand-alone refinery that uses the scheme. It melts up to 1200 colour VHP raws and runs carbonatation followed by a light dosing of PAC asnecessary then double effect evaporation to produce fine liquor. Target colour for the fine liquor is 300 ICUMSA.
The product boiling scheme employs diverter valves, integral to the batch centrifugals, to segregate higher purity, lower colour [so called ‘white’] run-off from lower purity, higher colour [so called ‘green’] run-off. The valves switch at set points in the cycle so that the white is primarily crystal and basket washing and the green primarily mother liquor. About 75% of the run-off is sent to white and returned as pan feed for back boiling. The remaining 25% is sent to three boiling recovery but, given the high purity regime without affination, the ‘A’ sugar is melted back to fine liquor having been boiled and purged as if food quality.
The results presented in the paper show that the refinery is operating as predicted, producing a refined sugar to EEC 2 standard.
#983 NATURAL SUGAR CANE EXTRACTS WITH POTENT DEODORIZING ACTIVITY
Kohei Miyazaki, Masami Mizu, Toshikazu Kawai, Mitsui Sugar Co. Ltd., Hiroyuki Miyashita, Sojo University and Tsuyoshi Ikeda, Kumamoto University, Japan
In Japan, especially in the Okinawa region, brown sugar has been used traditionally for deodorizing fish and meat odors in cooking. We focused on this effect and developed a process to produce a natural high deodorizing sugar cane extract directly from the raw sugar manufacturing method.
Three novel stilbene derivative compounds were isolated from this extract. According to Gas-Chromatography analysis and human sensory tests, it had a potent deodorizing activity against bad odors such as sulfur compounds (hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan etc.), nitrogen compounds (trimethylamine, ammonia etc.), and short-chain fatty acids (isovaleric acid etc.).
This extract is a natural and human-safe material without any addition of chemical additives. It has a high deodorizing performance both from sensory and chemical deodorizing effects, and a high comfortable index compared with other natural deodorizers. It can also be used as a non-sticky type deodorizer leaving no greasy residue.
This natural sugar cane extract now available for sale as MSX-245 or MSX-201 is used for cosmetics and toiletry in Japan and Korea. It has been adopted for both consumer products and institutional use for the purpose of deodorizing smells of smoke, pets, etc. in our daily life. We will show the features of this extract, deodorizing mechanisms and test results we have done.
#984 OPTIMUM FILTRATION TECHNOLOGY IN SUGAR REFINERY
Michel Mabillot, Gaudfrin, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
To separate the calcium carbonate formed during carbonatation, a double filtration step is a well established process in raw sugar refinery.
The first step consists in extracting the largest quantity of clear liquor and discharging a resulting cake containing liquor and diluted sludge. During the second step, sludge is filtered and washed in order to extract sugar.
The Diastar filter has already replaced many kind of filters and clarification systems in various industries and particularly in sugar industry.
With latest development, the Diastar filter offers improved performances with optimum investment and maintenance costs. Specifically, the Diastar filter discharging system provides preliminary dewatering and pre-desweetening of the cake which simplifies the second filtration step.
Capability of Diastar filters for new large refineries and expansion of existing refineries with both carbonatation or phosphatation process is also presented.
#985 FIRST INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCES WITH SPECIAL VERTICAL FLUIDIZED BED SUGAR COOLER AT IMPERIAL SUGAR IN PORT WENTWORTH, GEORGIA, USA
Hartmut Hafemann, Senior Manager Drying Plants, Braunschweigische Maschinenbauanstalt AG, Germany
For the rebuilt Imperial Sugar refinery at Port Wentworth, GA/USA, BMA delivered a sugar dryer and sugar cooler. The new sugar dryer is 4.0m in diameter and 13m long, and does the same job that five smaller drum dryers working in parallel did before. It is thus one of the largest dryers for crystal sugar in North America.
BMA's novel fluidized bed cooler of type VFC has been installed downstream of the drum dryer. It cools the sugar to the temperature required for storing the sugar in silos. The cooler incorporates water-cooled tubes that are located in the fluidized bed and are to discharge the released heat. Apart from its very low energy consumption, these novel fluidized bed cooler features very low space requirements, a low overall height, and the possibility to further reduce the residual sugar moisture after the actual drying process with extremely small quantities of air.
#986 SYMPOSIUM - A: IMPACTS OF CONTINUOUS CENTRIFUGAL OPERATIONS ON REFINERY PERFORMANCE
#986 SYMPOSIUM - B: SCOPE AND EFFECTS OF CURRENT REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS
#987 A JUST IN TIME APPROACH TO REFINING
M. Moodley and Z. Rambakus, Tongaat-Hulett Sugar Refinery, Durban, Republic of South Africa
The Tongaat-Hulett Sugar refinery (Hulref) receives Very High Pol (VHP) sugar from the Hulett mills situated along the north coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal during the crushing season and South Africa Sugar Terminal (SAST) during the off crop. The sugar is stored in one of the three warehouses (total capacity of 80 000 tons of sugar). On the 9th of May 2008, a fire totally destroyed two of the stores and partially ruined the third one. All the essential sugar handling equipments such as conveyors, walkways, blending and storage facilities and auxiliary equipment were destroyed. The operational recovery period, which spanned three weeks, involved making the area safe for work and re-instating essential equipment required for receiving sugar directly into the melting process. The refinery resumed production on the 28th of May 2008 with the VHP intake as a fresh ‘JUST IN TIME’ (JIT) raw sugar feeding system, entailing the conveying of VHP sugar directly into production. This paper covers the fundamental principles of the JIT system, innovative techniques employed across a variety of challenges, the internal refinery control philosophy, its advantages and disadvantages, the empowerment of staff and key production techniques employed to sustain the refinery operations at steady state.
#988 A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF FLUIDISED BED AND MULTIPLE HEARTH KILNS FOR ACTIVATED CARBON REACTIVATION
A.S. Vawda, and G.N. Kassim, Savola Sugar Middle East, Cairo, Egypt
Reactivation of granular activated carbon requires the use of a kiln which heats the carbon under controlled conditions in an oxygen deficient atmosphere. The Jeddah refinery has both the fluidised bed system and the vertical multi-hearth system while the new Sokna refinery has a multiple-hearth kiln. Multiple-hearth systems have been in the industry for many years, while fluidised beds are fairly new entrants. This paper is based on the experiences at the Jeddah and Sokna refineries and examines the performance of both systems on the basis of :
#989 IMPROVEMENTS IN CLARIFICATION AND SCALING PROBLEMS WITH HOT LIMING
Jose F. Alvarez, Alfonso Salido, Tere Johnson, and Tirso Carreja, Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, USA
A hot liming system was installed at Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida for the crop of 2006-07. Two months into the crop of 2006-07 the juice heaters began to scale and lose heat transfer capacity. Switching back to cold liming alleviated the problem but clarification was much improved with hot liming. The crop of 2007-08 resulted in the same scaling problems and again hot liming resulted in better juice clarification. For the crop of 2008-09, modifications to the juice heating scheme eliminated the scaling problem but with much improved clarification. Experimental data will be presented illustrating efficiency of proposed concepts.
#990 A SMART COLORIMETER TO TRACK SUGAR QUALITY
Bertrand Gaillac, ITECA Socadei, France
Over the past 20 years, on-line color measurement of sugar has become a key tool to control and optimize the quality of the crystallization process.
From the two techniques existing on the market, the one based on imaging technology already offered an original approach although it was only beginning.
For the last few years, imaging technology has improved a lot thanks to numeric technologies and brings potentials that industrial applications using image analysis had never known before.
The Color & Vision Division of ITECA Company has developed an original colorimeter using the latest possibilities of this technique and that is becoming a reference in the sugar industry.
This paper intends to describe this new approach of sugar on-line measurement and give examples that show how profitable this new generation of equipments is.
#991 BUILDING A SUGAR PRODUCTION PLANT AROUND PNEUMATIC CONVEYING
Jonathan Thorn, M.S. Director of Technology, MAC Equipment/Clyde Process Solutions, Inc., USA
Mechanical conveying systems are the norm when it comes to material handling in a sugar production plant. However, recent events and changes to government body policy have made pneumatic conveying an attractive alternative to mechanical means. Pneumatic conveying offers a sugar production plant several advantages that can reduce maintenance time and cost, improve cleanliness and improve plant safety. Dense phase pneumatic conveying systems can transport sugar product through enclosed pipelines with negligible increases in degradation. Integrated filtration systems allow the sugar to be delivered to its next destination in a clean and dust-free environment. Other types of pneumatic conveying help improve the efficiency of sugar grinding operations and provide similar process advantages. Most importantly, pneumatic conveying of sugar materials more easily facilitates the use of explosion protection methods advocated by the NFPA. While overall power consumption is greater in pneumatic conveying systems as compared to mechanical systems, this cost can be offset by savings in the capital cost of explosion protection devices and some long term expenses. Bolstered by other advantages such as process flexibility and small plant footprints, pneumatic conveying systems are gaining acceptance in sugar production facilities as a viable means of material transport.
Most information on color change in storage of sugar is related to refined sugar stored in silos and bins without contact with ambient air or raw sugar stored in warehouses. Little published information is available on storage of very low color (VLC) and very high pol (VHP) sugars. In standard raw sugars, color has been reported to double in six to ten months of storage. If the same holds for VLC / VHP sugars, such a rise in color may have significant repercussions for the various techno-economic scenarios.
#992 PRO AND CON OF VARIOUS DECOLORIZATION PROCESSES FOR PRODUCTION OF REFINED SUGAR
Chung-Chi Chou, Dr. Chou Technologies, USA
Over the last half a century, many industries have advanced/updated their processes to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, and yet the conventional processes are still the “norm” in the sugar industry.
With increasing energy cost and pressing environmental issues related to refined sugar production, it is imperative that sugar technologists undertake a critical re-evaluation of 1950’s/1960’s decolorization technologies with respect to their effectiveness, Namely: 1) mechanical decolorization -- affination process, 2) primary decolorization processes—carbonation or phosphatation, 3) secondary decolorization processes – bone char system, granular activated carbon process, ion exchange resin system, and powdered activated carbon process, and finally 4) crystallization process.
In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of each decolorization process is reviewed. The incompatibility and serious problems associate with combined use of phosphatation process with the “single massecuite back boiling system”, a common design of newer refineries in developing countries, are discussed in details. The redundancy and ineffectiveness in color removal using both phosphatation with decolorant and Ion exchange process are also presented.
Recommendations to stream line and simplify the sugar refining using the best available process are presented in hope for sugar refining industry to survive and prosper in the 21st century.
#993 SEASONAL VARIATIONS ON SUGARCANE TRASH QUANTITY AND QUALITY THAT DIRECTLY CONCERNS REFINERS
Gillian Eggleston, USDA-ARS-SRRC, Ryan Viator, USDA-ARS-SRL, Audry Gateuil, Agro Paris Tech, France, Windell Jackson and Herman Waguespack Jr., American Sugar Cane League, Paul White, USDA-ARS-SRL and Nathan Blackwelder, American Sugar Cane League, LA, USA
In sugar manufacture, there is a trend in the United States and world-wide to produce very high purity (VHP) and very low color (VLC) raw sugars for vertical integration from the field to the refinery. New refineries in Louisiana (LA) are expected to be operational in the next few years. One of these refineries requests lower ash concentrations in the VHP/VLC sugar for liquid sugar manufacture and short, medium, and long-term refinery strategies. Great variations in the color and quality of raw and VHP/VLC sugars exist mostly because of the range in quality of the cane supply (Muir and Eggleston, 2009, SIT paper #960). Strategies to control the quality of the cane supply will largely depend on the quantity, quality and type of sugarcane trash (leaves and top) processed at factories which, in turn, will strongly be affected by seasonal variations. This study was undertaken to ascertain the variations in juice quality parameters that affect VHP/VLC manufacture and refining across the Louisiana 3-month processing season (late Sept to Dec) in 2009. Across the season, air temperature decreased and there was slight but consistent rainfall. Juice was extracted from separated stalk (S), growing point region (GPR or top), green leaf (GL) and brown leaf (BL) tissues of three popular sugarcane varieties (HoCP 96-540, L 99-226 and L 99-233), six times between Sept and Dec 2009. For all three varieties, total trash decreased across the season but GL levels were consistently higher in HoCP 96-540, and by Dec total trash was lowest in L 99-226. As expected, theoretical sugar recovery and juice purity values of stalks increased across the season. There was a strong varietal difference for starch. Unlike in previous years with an older variety, starch processed at LA factories now increases up to the end of Nov and decreases in Dec. This suggests the need for breeding programs to include quality parameters as selection criteria. In the U.S., premiums for low color in sugar are paid on color measured at pH 8.5 whereas the rest of the world measures ICUMSA color at pH 7.0. In this study, color at pH 8.5 accentuated varietal differences in juice more than at pH 7.0 and was also more sensitive to GPR and GL colorants that are responsible for causing the color of raw, VHP/VLC and affinated sugars (Muir and Eggleston, 2009, SIT paper #960). Fiber did not vary considerably across the season for all varieties. Ash was highest in all tissues at the beginning of the season (Oct 9), decreased in the middle of the season then increased again at the end of the season. Leaf moisture, juice extraction and tissue pH variations are also discussed.
#994 SENSORS FOR CRYSTALLISATION CONTROL IN VACUUM PANS - A REVIEW OF FIVES FLETCHER EXPERIENCE OVER THE PAST 25 YEARS
Mark Taylor and Mike Getaz, Fives Fletcher, Derby, England
Boiling massecuite in a vacuum pan requires simultaneous regulation of its dissolved solids concentration, crystal content, consistency and supersaturation. A key challenge in pan boiling is measuring the necessary massecuite properties for controlling these parameters. Fives Fletcher has been supplying electronic sensors for vacuum pan crystallization control for more than 25 years and has been at the forefront of the considerable developments that has taken place in the technology during this time.
The paper reviews the developmental history of online sensors with specific emphasis on conductivity, radio frequency and microwave technology. Information on practical aspects of the use and application of these so-called ‘brix’ probes is presented.
An evaluation of the current developments is also given and includes some recommendations for controlling both batch and continuous vacuum pans.
#995 THE INSTALLATION AND OPERATION OF RAPID CONDITIONING SYSTEM FOR REFINED SUGARS AT CENTRAL AZUCARERA DON PEDRO (PHILIPPINES)
P.J. Tait, Sugar Technology International, USA, A. Blanco, Central Azucarera Don Pedro, Philippines and M. Q. Fanning, Sugar Technology International, USA
Problems of refined sugar caking have been resolved at Central Azucarera Don Pedro refinery (Philippines) through the upgrading of the sugar cooler dryer system and the installation of Short Residence Time conditioning system. The dryer modifications were operated through the 2009 season with the short residence time conditioning system scheduled for start-up during April 2010. The focus of this paper is the theory behind and the operational experience of the STi Short Residence Time conditioning system. With a dramatically shorter residence time compared to conventional sugar conditioning, this technology represents a much lower capital and operating cost approach to resolving caking in refined sugars.
#996 SIMPLIFIED REPROCESS OF RAW SUGAR WITH CRUSHING IN INDIAN SUGAR INDUSTRIES
Dr. Manoj K. Srivastava, Biodeg Chemical & Allied Industry (Sugar Div), India
In the year 2009-10 Indian sugar industries are suffering the low sugarcane cultivation and supply. Present paper deals the practical experience during the melting of raw sugar and its reprocess by simplified color reduction at an early stage. During affination specially formulated color removal agent was added in raw melt. About 25 % color reduction was noticed in raw melt. In the present investigation both sulphitation process and phosphoflotation(refinery) are taken in to the consideration in plant scale. In sulphitation process about 30 to 40 % raw sugar of the plant capacity have been melted simultaneously with low crushing due to short cane supply. Raw melt after color reduction was sent directely in the regular process. Color and special analysis of the treated and untreted melt was compared.
To achieve maximum recovery about 96%, raw melt was treated with enzymatic chemical combinations for removal of dextran and poysaccharides.
The paper describe and reviews this simplified technology via industrial case studies of 10 sugar mills. The studies are helpful to melt raw sugar with short crushing with cost and steam economy.
#997 WATER AND SUCROSE CRYSTALLIZATION
Luis San Miguel Bento, Portugal
Sucrose is highly soluble in water. At 81.9 oC a saturated sugar solution have only five water molecules per sucrose molecule. This fact is due to eight hydroxyl groups (-OH) in sucrose molecule that form hydrogen bonds (HB) with water. In saturated sucrose solutions, and at higher concentrations, three (-OH) of sucrose are involved in two intra molecular hydrogen bonds. Therefore, at these concentrations, only five (-OH) of sucrose are available to form HB with water. When solution is saturated all water molecules are HB bonded, directly or indirectly, with (-OH) of sucrose and there is no free water available to dissolve more sucrose. Further water removal from saturated solutions will provoke free (-OH) in sucrose. In these conditions sucrose molecules form aggregates through inter sucrose hydrogen bonds. In this study water arrangement in sucrose saturated and supersaturated solutions between 11.7 oC and 81.9 oC were determined. Equations for the main supersaturation coefficients: s1 to metastable zone limit and s2 to labile zone limit were calculated. Values of labile zone limits obtained with the equation for s2 agree with practical values from literature. The formation of sucrose dimmers and more complex forms are postulated considering HB energy levels of inter sucrose hydrogen bonds.
#998 ON-LINE MEASUREMENT OF CRYSTAL COMPLEXITY DURING A CRYSTALLIZATION PROCESS
A. Ferreira, Universidade do Porto, Portugal, N. Faria, BIOTEMPO- Consultoria em Biotecnologia, Lda., Portugal, and F. Rocha Universidade do Porto, Portugal
This work presents and describes a new on-line method to determine the complexity level of a crystal or a population of crystals during a crystallization process. Image analysis techniques are combined with Discriminant factorial analysis leading to results that allow the computation of the complexity of crystals through a new parameter, the agglomeration degree of crystals. With this methodology it has been possible to distinguish on-line and automatically among three different classes of crystals according to their complexity. It further describes the application of such methodology to the study of the influence of D-Fructose and CaCl2 in the crystallization of sucrose, namely on crystal size and morphology. The effect of supersaturation, growth rate and impurity concentration on the type, amount and complexity level of the agglomerates was further determined.