Publications

Sugar Industry International, Vol. 149, 2024

Energy input in the sugar house is a key factor in the overall energy requirement of the sugar manufacture in a beet sugar factory. The amount of water introduced via the thick juice and the quantity of wash water used in the centrifugals are crucial indicators of the steam requirement in the sugar house. Standard methods for reducing the steam requirement are, however, of limited use in practical applications. Moreover, changes in the political and economic framework call for concepts with an enhanced energy and cost efficiency in the sugar house. By combining continuous crystallization with mechanical vapor recompression, the energy requirement can be significantly reduced. In crystallization, the temperature difference between the heating steam and the vapor has to be kept low, which makes the VKT with minimum energy input particularly suitable for this process. This paper presents custom strategies for a VKT with this plant configuration, specifically regarding plant and equipment design and operation.

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INTERNATIONAL SUGAR JOURNAL, January 2022

In recent times, falling-film type evaporators have gained attention in the cane sugar industry owing to their ability to operate at lower temperature differences, a good heat-transfer coefficient at high brix, and low juice residence time in the evaporator. The falling-film type (tubular) evaporator station at the ICPL sugar mill has been in operation since 2011. The station was reconfigured in 2013 with additional heating surface area to increase the juice processing capacity and further reduce the exhaust steam consumption. After seven years in operation, a second evaluation of the evaporator performance was undertaken. One of the performance evaluation objectives was to understand the effect of scaling on the heat transfer of the first-effect falling-film evaporator over 34 days of operation without cleaning. A scaling formation theory is postulated to predict the build-up of scale for uninterrupted operation. The paper provides an insight into the operation of a first-effect falling-film evaporator in a cane sugar factory.

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Sugar Industry International, Vol. 147, October 2024

Energy efficiency is a key performance indicator for the efficient operation of a sugar refinery. Water intake via the fine liquor and the amount of wash water used in centrifugals are crucial indicators for steam demand. A range of concepts have for several decades been used in crystallization to automate the process, thus making it to a large extent reproducible. Depending on the crystal size aimed for, one- or twostage seeding processes are often applied. The water intake by wash water applied in the centrifugals can be significantly reduced by applying syrup washing. This paper describes the principles of the process steps mentioned and their importance for refinery and recovery in a sugar refinery. It also addresses the reasons why the use of these process steps is time and again called into question. On this basis, the paper presents opportunities that can result from a reassessment of precisely these process steps, taking into account state-of-the-art process monitoring methods.

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Chemie Ingenieur Technik (Wiley online library, first published: 10 June 2020)

The operating data from batch‐type pendulum centrifuges for separating sugar crystals from crystal suspensions are recorded locally during the sugar manufacturing process and analyzed in cloud‐based applications. The information obtained can be classified into machine‐related status data, separation process‐related key figures, and advanced evaluation results for the crystal suspension (massecuite) processed and the sugar produced. Such continuously available analyses could previously only be prepared in limited quantities and by experts with specialist knowledge.

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Webinar presentation prepared for the 42nd ASSCT Conference in Bundaberg 2020

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L’automatisation moderne du processus a apporté de grands progrès dans l’atelier sucre par rapport à l’époque où les sucreries étaient exploitées manuellement ou semi-manuellement. Des exemples tirés de la pratique montrent les effets de l’automatisation dans les sucreries, tels qu’ils sont constatés grâce à l’amélioration de la teneur en cristaux, de leur qualité et de la capacité de production des appareils à cuire. Avec la cristallisation industrielle, l’accent est mis sur l’amélioration constante de la conduite du processus dans le but d’accroître encore plus le rendement. Le nouveau concept présenté montre comment la conduite améliorée du processus peut réussir avec des capteurs complémentaires, tout en tenant particulièrement compte de la limite de métastabilité.

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Amélioration de la cristallisation industrielle grâce à l’automatisation. IAA – Industries Alimentaires et Agricoles 136 (2019) Nr. 7/8 (Juillet/Août), S. 26-31

L’implémentation d’un projet de développement pour l’industrie sucrière a permis d’analyser l’expérience et les attentes des utilisateurs résultant de l’usage des appareils compatibles avec l’Internet des objets (IoT). L’exemple de la commande des centrifugeuses discontinues employées dans le monde entier montre que ces aspects de la numérisation se retrouvent aussi bien dans l’appareil de commande présent sur un site que dans l’application basée sur le cloud.

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Proceedings fo the 25th AvH Symposium

Abstract

Compared with earlier times in beet sugar factories with manual or simi-manual operation, modern porcess automation is responsible for great improvements in sugar house processing. The practical experience gained in sugar factories shows the impact of automation e.g. on the improvement of crystal content and crystal qualitiy as well as efficiency of the vacuum pans.

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