Installation and commissioning of a pan seeding system at CAHSA in Honduras
In the beet sugar industry, pan seeding systems have been established for a long time. BMA has now successfully applied the process in the cane sugar industry.
Pan seeding system for better quality
Compan?ia Azucarera Honduren?a S.A. (CAHSA) opted for a pan seeding system from BMA for its Santa Matilde sugar factory. What was unusual about this project was that the Honduras plant processes not sugar beet, but sugar cane.
The first stage of crystal growth, typically in pan boiling, here takes place in cooling crystallisation. This makes for gentle crystal growth and prevents the formation of aggregates and fine crystals in the crystallisate.
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.
Tailoring a winning formula
BMA has taken the known benefits of beet sugar production and successfully applied them in sugar cane processing. We have now installed the first ever pan seeding system in a cane sugar factory in Central America. We are also responsible for automation, a key factor in ensuring the plant will achieve its intended capacity.
BMA project services
- Detailed engineering and technological assistance
- Supply of the core components
- Intensive support of the operating team during project implementation
- Commissioning including mechanical, measurement technology, automation, and technological aspects
- Customer service beyond installation of the pan seeding system, e.g., optimisation and customisation of product crystallisation, centrifugation and drying
Dr Andreas Lehnberger
BMA AG
engineering@bma-de.com