More revenue thanks to co-generation

Energy efficiency that has paid off

Following an energy study and the detailed planning, a 5-effect evaporator station from BMA was commissioned at the Uttur cane sugar factory in 2012. That was the first step. Next, in 2013 and 2014, the evaporator station was expanded and the sugar house upgraded. In the last step to date, a vertical vacuum pan (VKT) for A-product sugar of “Plantation White“ quality and a plant for seed massecuite production through cooling were built. These will be commissioned during the 2015 campaign, improving operations even further.

But the focus is still on efficiency: as well as increasing the daily cane processing rate, the factory now needs considerably smaller volumes of bagasse during the campaign, thanks to the energetically favourable factory concept that relies on BMA equipment. This bagasse can be used outside campaign periods for the generation of power, which is fed into the local grid. Selling electricity is a lucrative sideline, which has quickly paid for the new evaporator station.

To increase the sugar output further while also generating more power, a new VKT was installed in 2014. Using a 4-chamber system and starting off with seed massecuite, A-product sugar is crystallised continuously, keeping steam consumption at a much more even level. As a result, far less than 30 % of steam on cane are required for sugar production. That is achieved with the consistent exploitation of small temperature differences between the heating steam and the vapour, both in the multi-effect evaporator station and in the vacuum pans.