2010 SPRI CONFERENCE

ABSTRACTS of PRESENTATIONS

Sugar Processing Research Institute, Inc.

Iberville Suites/Ritz-Carlton Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

March 28-31, 2010

Abstracts are presented in alphabetical order according to first author.  Abstracts of commercial presentations follow this section according to first author. 

Impact of Sugar Cane Juice Chemical Composition on Clarification and VHP Sugar Quality, Henrique Amorim, Fermentec, Antonia Pizzinato Sturion Street 1155, Jd. Petropolis, 13420-640 Piracicaba SP, Brasil, Tel: 55-192105-6100, Fax: 55-192405-6101, E-mail: amorim@fermentec.com.br

It is well known that the sugar cane composition affects clarification and sugar recovery and quality. However, it is not well known the levels of such variables in clarification and VHP sugar quality. This research was performed in a sugar and ethanol plant in Brazil which crushes 4 millions ton of cane per season and 25,000 ton per day. Fifty four samples were collected in first extraction juice, dosed juice and clarified juice during several weeks and also samples of the VHP sugar, were analyzed. The juices were analyzed for sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactic acid, acetic acid, dextran and minerals. S was analyzed for solid impurities, turbidity and color. Positive correlations were found between phosphorus and clarification efficiency and VHP color. The lactic and acetic acids, as well glucose and fructose in juice, correlated negatively with sugar quality (increase color). Dextran interferes in clarification and affects Honig-Bogstra indice. Knowing better the variables that affect clarification and sugar quality, it is possible to improve the process.

Raceland Raw Sugar Corporation: Fiber fuel – 1st Phase, Neville Dolan, Plant Manager and Chief Engineer, Raceland Raw Sugar Corp, Raceland, LA, Raceland Factory, 159 Mill St., Raceland, LA 70394, Tel: 985-537-3533, Fax: 985-537-7779, Email: rrscneville@bellsouth.net

Over the past 5 years Raceland Raw Sugar Corp. has been investigating numerous ways to broaden their production horizons by utilizing the by-products from the present sugar process as a feedstock for the production of renewable fuels and other alternative products.

This paper gives an overview of the company commitment to this effort and a brief summary of various investigations to date. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the Fiber Fuel option using excess Bagasse (Fiber). Process details pertaining to the 1st phase of the U.S. Department of Energy co-funded Briquette Plant, which is installed at the Raceland facility, the plant expectations and preliminary test results will be discussed.

Methods Matter – Wither Sugar Methods in the Twenty-First Century?, Mary An Godshall^a, Tere P. Johnson^b and Marianne McKee^a

^aSugar Processing Research Institute, Inc., New Orleans, LA, ^bSugarcane Growers Cooperative of Florida, Belle Glade, FL

In the early Twentieth Century, the sugar industry was in the forefront of methods for quality control in sugar production, for example, pH control, a necessity provoked by the labile nature of the product. In fact, the Carbohydrate Division of the American Chemical Society arose out of the sugar industry. What method to use for any particular situation has been a constantly moving target, as methods have evolved and proliferated. With the world becoming smaller and more interconnected, the need for modern, standardized methodology has never been greater. It seems that today there is no excuse to be using toxic chemicals (lead) or outdated gravimetric copper reduction methods (USP method for invert in white sugar), and yet these methods persist and are required by various official bodies. This talk will discuss areas where there is still a need for better methods in the sugar industry, with an emphasis on the U.S. sugar industry.

Growth Analysis of Different Sweet Sorghum Varieties and Determination of Optimum Harvest Time for Biomass and Bio-Ethanol Production, Ye Htut¹, Nyo Nyo Aung². Win Mar Lay³, and San Thein⁴ 1,2 & ⁴ Dy. Managing Director, Assistant Manager, General Manager, Sugarcane Development Department, Myanmar Industrial Crops Development Enterprise (MICDE), Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Myanmar, ³ Department of Botany, Bago degree College, Ministry of Education, Myanmar, e-mail:4usanthein@gmail.com.

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. variety sweet Moench) crop has been proved to be one of promising feed stocks for bio-ethanol production. In Myanmar, sorghum is conventionally grown for feed and grain and integration of sweet sorghum in those growing areas could offer a commercially viable production of bioethanol even at the community level. This study was conducted in the Pyinmana Sugarcane Research Center, Sugarcane Development Department during 2008-2009, with the objectives of investigation the biomass and ethanol productivity of different varieties in different planting seasons and determination the optimum harvest times for biomass and bio- ethanol production. The study consists of two field experiments in the cool season and rainy season. Crop growth was examined at the different stages viz, milky stage, soft-dough stage, hard-dough stage and maturity stage. At the harvest time, juice weight and yield of stalk and grain were recorded. Sugar quality attributes were measured, then, total sugar % was computed and finally, theoretical ethanol production was calculated.

The four growth stages at cool planting season were reached in (77-80 DAS), (82-88 DAS(, (93-100 DAS) and (107-115 DAS) for milky stage, soft-dough stage, hard-dough stage, and maturity stage of the panicles respectively. Those of rainy season were reached in the periods (90-95 DAS), (97-104 DAS), (107-114 DAS) and (117-122 DAS). Among tested varieties, the maturity time of NTJ-2, S-35, and ISCV -93046 were earlier than M-81-E and Della. The best stalk yields of all varieties attained at the milky stage for cool season and that for rainy season was at hard-dough stage. Rainy season yield was six times higher than that of cool season in stalk yield and two and half times in grain yield. The best juice yields of all varieties attained at the milky stage and soft-dough stage for cool season and that for rainy season was at hard-dough stage. Stalk juice yield of rainy season was eight times higher than that of cool season. The highest total sugar percent and ethanol productivity of all varieties was attained at the milky stage for cool season and that for rainy season was at hard-dough stage. Ethanol productivity of rainy season was estimated to be 605 gallons per ha which was nearly ten times higher than that of cool season (67 gallons). Further improvement in ethanol yield from sweet sorghum stalk could be possible through better selection of varieties and juice extraction equipments.

Water Management in Sugar Factories, Dr.G. M. Jenekar Email: gulabraojenekar@yahoo.co.in, O.P.Thaval, B.Tech (Sugar Technology), Email: othaval@yahoo.co.in, Department of Sugar Technology, S.G.G.S.Institute of Engg. &Technology Vishnupuri, Nanded 431606, India

Day by day as the population load is increasing drinking and irrigation water is becoming scarce. At present the sugar factories consume huge quantity of underground water hence there is a need for proper planning for conserving this dependence on the ground water could be reduced/eliminated and how if not for drinking at least for irrigation, more water could be contributed by the sugar factories which could eventually be treated to supply drinking water for the factory community surrounding the factory.

The conventional water demand of 2500 TCD plant is said to be between 50,000-60,000 gallons per day i.e. 1 to 2.5 million liters for a sugar mill producing 150 to 300 tones sugar per day. The idea is to reduce this water consumption by closed water system such that ground water is required only for initial start of the factory.

Processing Sweet Sorghum In Sugarcane Mills: What We Know, What We Don’t Know?, Sarah E. Lingle, USDA-ARS, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, LA, 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70124, Tel: 504-286-4488, Email: Sarah.Lingle@ars.usda.gov

Sweet sorghum is an attractive biofuel crop for many reasons. It is widely adaptable, grows fast, and stores sugar in its stalk like sugarcane. Its short maturity time, 90 to 140 days, and ability to regrow for a second crop in some situations increase the sugar yield from sweet sorghum on an annual basis. In sugarcane growing areas, one or two crops of sweet sorghum could be grown and harvested to be processed by existing sugarcane mills before the sugarcane harvest season starts. Because the crop is seasonal, storing the product will be desirable. One way to store the sugar from sweet sorghum juice is to make syrup. Most of what we know about processing sweet sorghum juice to syrup comes from efforts in the 1970s and early 80s to make raw sugar from the crop. Sweet sorghum juice differs from sugarcane juice in that it is lower in purity,

The SPRI Method for Rapid Analysis of Starch in Raw Cane Sugar, Marianne McKee, Ronnie Triche, Mary An Godshall, and Charley Richard

Sugar Processing Research Institute, Inc., New Orleans, LA

Sugar Processing Research Institute (SPRI) has developed a simple, rapid, and quantitative starch test for use with cane juice and raw cane sugar samples. Starch that occurs naturally in the cane plant can lead to many problems in the refinery if present in concentrations of approximately 250ppm or higher. These problems include filterability issues arising from gelatinized starch granules, higher phosphate levels in clarified liquor using phosphatation refining, and poor filterability after clarification in carbonatation refining. Many methods exist for measuring starch in raw sugars, but no standard method is in use throughout the international sugar industry. These methods, while oftentimes accurate, are not rapid. The time required to complete the analysis of the SPRI Rapid Starch Method is 15-20 minutes and multiple samples can be analyzed at once. Very small amounts of reagents are required and the equipment needed is already present in most mill laboratories. The rapid method correlates well (>95%) with methods currently used in the industry. Raw sugars with starch concentrations ranging from 80ppm to 600ppm were tested using the SPRI rapid starch test and the SPRI standard starch test. The correlation was 0.98 for the two methods. This paper will discuss the SPRI rapid starch method details, equipment requirements, correlation between current methods and the rapid method as well as results of a collaborative study on this method.

Floc Prediction in Refined White Cane Sugar: The SPRI Rapid Floc Test, Marianne McKee, Ronnie Triche, Mary An Godshall, and Charley Richard, Sugar Processing Research Institute, Inc., New Orleans, LA

As a result of research conducted by SPRI, a rapid test to predict floc formation in refined white cane sugar has been developed. The test is based on the association SPRI has discovered between an absorbance ratio (AR) and floc potential. Numerous refined white cane sugars have been tested in our laboratory and a strong correlation exists between the AR ratio and the currently used 10-day floc prediction test. A white sugar solution is prepared and filtered to remove turbidity. The absorbance is measured at two different pH levels. The ratio of the absorbances is known as the Absorbance Ratio (AR). SPRI has studied many quality parameters of white sugar such as pH, color, turbidity, and total polysaccharide but AR seems to be the quality parameter which correlates best to the floccing potential of the sugar.

Testing for Organic Matter in Raw Cane Sugar, Marianne McKee, Ronnie Triche, Mary An Godshall, and Charley Richard, Sugar Processing Research Institute, Inc., New Orleans, LA

Recently it has become obvious that some amount of organic matter can and does make its way through the clarification and crystallization processes in the raw sugar factory from samples tested in different parts of the world. While this has been seen before it would appear that more examples of this problem are now appearing. This may be due to raw sugar factories attempting to push more cane material through the factory than what the capacity of the equipment can handle, problems associated with the clarification equipment, or it may be due to a higher level of green cane harvesting throughout the world. In any event, when this situation occurs, problems in the refinery have been seen. At the present time, there is no readily available method for measuring organic matter in raw cane sugar. Tests conducted at SPRI provide a quick method to measure this amount of organic matter and provide a technique for determining when problems may occur as a result of this issue.

Flow Characteristics Of C-Massecuite In Cooling Crystallizers, Keith Miller, Vadim Kochergin, Audubon Sugar Institute, Louisiana State University AgCenter, 3845 Highway75, St.Gabriel, LA, 70776, keith.kmill23@gmail.com, vkochergin@agcenter.lsu.edu

Advantages of vertical crystallizers in the cane sugar mills are well-known; however their performance is not as good as it is expected. Attempts to evaluate flow characteristics of vertical crystallizers have been made in the past. Results indicated that short-circuiting of massecuite lead to reduced residence time. Tracer testing has been performed in a Louisiana sugar mill to compare flow characteristics in a horizontal (Blanchard) and a vertical crystallizer. Tests were performed using zinc sulfate as a tracer, where samples were collected on an hourly basis for over 50 hours. Temperature profiles in the crystallizers were evaluated along with crystal size distribution in the C-massecuite. Early tracer breakthrough was detected in the vertical crystallizer. The presence of multiple peaks indicates potential parallel flow and/or dead zones within the crystallizer, especially in the downflow section. Residence time in Blanchard crystallizers also appeared to be shorter than the estimates. Despite lower massecuite temperature achieved in the vertical crystallizer , molasses exhaustion was better after the Blanchard crystallizer. The Nutsch purity of C-massecuite in the latter was several points lower as compared to vertical crystallizers. Cooling profiles in both crystallizers followed a “straight line” pattern that is considered suboptimal for best molasses exhaustion. Modifications in vertical crystallizers are recommended to improve its performance.

The Impact of Sugar Crop Composition on the Production of Sugar, Energy and By-Products, Charley Richard¹, Marianne Mckee1, Ronnie Triche¹, Anna Hale² and Mary An Godshall¹, ¹Sugar Processing Research Institute, New Orleans, LA, Tel: 504-286-4343, Fax: 504-282-5387, Email: spri@ars.usda.gov ²USDA-ARS Sugarcane Research Unit, Houma, LA

Previous data published by SPRI has demonstrated important compositional differences in juice samples from different harvest treatments as well as various species of Saccharum. In breeding material around the world, varieties with extremely high levels of some of these parameters such as brix as well as fiber can be found. Based on this variability, development of new varieties, development of sustainable production practices and improved processing techniques becomes important considerations for the future. This paper describes some of these variables, their importance and the need for interdisciplinary communication as industries consider sugar production, energy production or production of other products. It is theorized that similar differences may occur among various parameters for sugarbeets and sorghum and similar evaluations should be made in these potential energy and sugar crops.

USDA-ARS Efforts In Expanding The Region For Growing Sugar Cane And Complimentary Sugar Crops For Bioenergy, Ed Richard, Jr., USDA-ARS Sugarcane Research Unit, Houma, LA 70360, Tel: 985-872-5042, Email: Edward.Richard@ars.usda.gov

There is an urgent need to develop second generation feedstocks to supply the additional 16 billion gallons of non-corn biofuels required in 2022 under the Renewable Fuel Standard passed in 2005. As part of the final regulations for the implementation of these standards, EPA has designated sugarcane ethanol as an advanced low carbon renewable fuel that can lower greenhouse gas emissions by 50% and ultimately can help the world mitigate against climate change while diversifying America’s energy resources. Much of the needed expansion in biofeedstock production will come from the southeastern U.S.(SE) as this area has the highest rates of net primary productivity (NPP, essentially the net increment of annual growth) due to long growing seasons and generally abundant rainfall. Increasing emphasis in the conversion of plant material to fuel is being placed on the production of “drop-in” biofuels such as butanol, diesel, and jet fuel that can be used directly in existing engines. Though efforts to convert cellulosic crops and residues such as bagasse to these drop-in fuels are evolving, they are not nearly advanced as is the conversion of sugar to these fuels. As sugar cane is grown further from the equator in Louisiana, cold tolerance is an important trait in the USDA-ARS’s sugar cane breeding efforts at Houma, LA. Cold tolerance is primarily gained by crossing high sugar-producing varieties with sugar cane’s wild relative, Saccharum spontaneum, and from its near relatives Miscanthus and Erianthus. Early-generation hybrids from these crosses are cold tolerant and have high biomass yields, but their sugar:fiber ratios are too low for them to be considered as new varieties for the sugar industry without further backcrossing to sugar cane varieties. This does not preclude them from being grown as bioenergy feedstocks where both the sugar and fiber could be converted to fuel opening the door to expanding acreages of sugar cane outside the traditional cane growing areas of the SE. A recent estimate based on the success of growing these high fiber sugar cane varieties in an number of states in the SE is that an additional 3.8 million acres could be planted from Texas to the Carolinas. Biorefiners want to be able to process feedstocks over the entire year; hence USDA researchers at Houma are also exploring the growing of complementary sugar-containing crops with the higher fiber sugar cane varieties. Crops being evaluated include sweet sorghum and tropical maize that would be planted and harvested on an “energy plantation” prior to the start of the sugar cane milling season and tropical beets that could be planted in the fall and harvested and processed 12-months later with the sugar cane. Results from these evaluations will be presented.

Louisiana Institute for Biofuels and Bioprocessing, John Russin, Associate Vice Chancellor, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. PO Box 25100, Baton Rouge, LA 70894, Tel: 225-578-6395, Fax: 225-578-7869, Email: jrussin@agcenter.lsu.edu

This paper will introduce the newly established Louisiana Institute for Biofuels and Bioprocessing. Louisiana is uniquely positioned for production of biofuels because of its diverse agricultural and forestry production sectors. Having this institute provides a one-stop shop which will help strengthen our ability to bring in outside funding and broaden the research. The institute has tremendous potential to foster economic development in the state.

Louisiana’s Sugar Industry “Heritage and Horizon,” Jim Simon, American Sugar Cane League, Thibodaux, LA USA, 206 East Bayou Rd. Thibodaux, LA 70301, Tel: 985-448-3707, Fax: 985-448-3722, Email: jsimon@amscl.org

Sugarcane production in Louisiana…From 1750 to today, the make-up of our industry has changed drastically. Through numerous cycles of growth and constriction sugar production has always been a leading driver of our State’s economy.  The recent past and the immediate future are proving to be quite an interesting time for America’s first sugar farmers and millers. This paper will provide a brief look at what the future holds.

A New Sugar Refinery For Louisiana, Jack Thompson, Plant Manager, Louisiana Sugar Refining, LLC, Gramercy, LA 70052, Tel: 225-869-5521, Email: jack.thompson@imperialsugar.com

This paper describes the creation of what will be North America’s newest sugar refinery, Louisiana Sugar Refining LLC, a joint venture between Sugar Growers and Refiners, Inc. (SUGAR), Cargill Corporation, and Imperial Sugar. Details of the history of the project, the organizational structure, the construction schedule and the integration of existing infrastructure into the new refinery are discussed.

Keynote Address from the Award Winner

Sugar Crystal: A Chameleon, Prof. Giuseppe Vaccari, University of Ferrara, Dipartimento di Chimica, Via L. Borsari, 46, I-44100 Ferrara, Italy, Tel: 39-532-240-706, Email: vcg@unife.it

What kind of comparison can be found between sugar crystals and chameleons? Apparently none, but when we look at sugar crystals, a lot of questions could emerge, such as:

Do the crystals have the same shape?

How many faces do they have?

Do they all have the same number of faces?

How many faces would they have?

Is the relative area of the various faces always the same?

Is it possible that some faces appear or disappear?

What is the effect of temperature, supersaturation and composition of the solution?

Do the crystals have the same color?

Where is located the color of the crystal?

Is the color of the crystal uniformly distributed?

Are colored substances chemically bonded to the crystals?

Is there a correlation between the color of the crystal and the color of the growing solution?

What are the effects of “spontaneous nucleation” and “seeding”?

Which are the differences between single crystals, twins and conglomerates?

Do large crystals and small crystals have the same shape and the same color?

Why can crystals have different gloss?

What are the differences between beet and cane crystals?

Can we obtain good crystals from very impure or colored solutions?

Which is the shape of the crystals when we use alternative technologies which replace the traditional purification of the juices?

If we try to give answers to these questions, we realize that sugar crystals can have different shapes, different sizes, different color depending upon the environment in which they exist and in which they have been grown. As a consequence, we can realize that there is an ideal correlation between sugar crystals and chameleons. In fact, also these latter have different sizes, shapes and color depending upon the environment in which they are and live.

The Impact of New Sugarcane Varieties on Sugar and Ethanol Production in Brazil, Alexandre Vialou, Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of Maryland, College Park, New Orleans, LA 70117, Tel: 504-322-2479, E-mail: avialou@arec.umd.edu

Brazilian crop breeding institutions have achieved over the years the reputation of having ‘conquered’ tropical agriculture. Yet, few economic studies have paid particular attention to the role of crop breeding in the spread of agriculture in the Brazilian ‘cerrados’. I hypothesize that breeders have focused on certain traits as a means of overcoming pedo-climatic limitations to crop production. To that effect, I estimate the impacts of different seed traits using a regression technique on sugarcane farmland values. Preliminary results suggest that the release of new sugarcane varieties have been particularly successful in regions with adverse soil and climatic conditions.

The Role of Sugarcane in Our Future: The Grand Challenge, Gail Wisler, National Program Leader for Horticulture and Sugar, USDA-ARS

Robert Fireovid, National Program Leader for Biofuels; USDA-ARS, Jeff Steiner, Senior Advisor for Bioenergy; Office of the Chief Scientist, USDA.

The Biofuels Interagency Working Group – co-chaired by USDA, DOE, and EPA, and with input from many others – was established by President Obama in May of 2009 to develop a comprehensive approach to accelerating the investment in and production of American biofuels and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. The first report of this Working Group, Growing America’s Fuel, outlines a new U.S. Government strategy for meeting or beating the country’s biofuel targets. The report is focused on developing short-term solid government solutions supporting the existing biofuels industry, as well as accelerating the commercial establishment of advanced biofuels and creating a viable long-term market by transforming how the U.S. Government does business across Departments and through strategic public-private partnerships. The report, authored by group co-chairs, Secretaries Vilsack and Chu, and EPA Administrator Jackson, lays out a strategy to advance the development and commercialization of a sustainable biofuels industry to meet or exceed the nation’s biofuels targets.

An aggressive, outcome-driven approach has been designated as the means to achieve the goal of producing 36 billion gallons by 2022, as established by Congress. The focus of development efforts will be on five classes of feedstocks: perennial grasses such as switchgrass, Miscanthus, and mixed native grasses; energy cane, a biomass form of sugarcane; biomass sorghum; oil seed crops and algae, including canola and camelina oil seeds; and woody biomass from fast-growth trees and wood residues. To deliver on this ambitious goal, scientists are forming new partnerships that build on advances made in sugarcane research, toward supply chains that cover all stages of development; from genomics research and germplasm identification, to cultivar development and sustainable production, and delivery and processing of biofuels. For example, USDA will coordinate with DOE to enhance work underway through DOE’s Regional Feedstock Partnerships and the Bioenergy Research Centers. The goal of this partnership is to develop sustainable feedstock production and harvest systems designed for continued high performance across a range of geographies, thereby providing opportunities for contributions from both farm and forestlands and diversified economic benefits to many rural areas across the country.

Sugarcane and energy cane, both well suited to enhanced production in the southeastern United States, will play an important role in the future of bioenergy development efforts, for which USDA research has become increasingly relevant. Since sugarcane was first introduced into the United States, USDA-ARS, together with university and private industry partners, have engaged in productive research that has had a significant impact on sugarcane quality and production. Recent accomplishments for sugarcane will complement the new emphasis on energy cane, consistent with the goal of ensuring sustainable yields using the highest quality biomass in a interdisciplinary, multi-state approach. Some of these efforts include incorporating increased cold tolerance traits into sugarcane, improving tolerance to flooded conditions and marginal soils, and increasing pest resistance. These achievements have given energy cane a head start toward the challenge for our future independence on foreign oil.

SHORT COMMERCIAL PRESENTATIONS

Process Imaging Technology to Optimize Production and Improve Quality Control, Thomas M. Canty P.E., J.M. Canty Inc., North American Headquarters, 6100 Donner Road, Lockport, NY 14094-9227, USA, Tel: 716-625-4277, Fax: 716-625-4228, E-mail: todc@jmcanty.com

Process imaging and control has been used successfully throughout Food processing for several years. The technology was first used to view crystal growth and help with seeding and crystallization. The advancement of digital imaging and constant improvements in digital processing hardware and software makes applications in crystallization seeding, centrifuge level, clarifier turbidity, black spec detection and online particle sizing of powders and liquids the preferred option as opposed to a luxury. This allows viewing of all aspects of the process from the control room. Digital process of the images provides a closed loop control signal to the DCS to optimize the process reduce product cost and improve quality. A detailed discussion will be presented on automatic crystallization control using a microscopic Sugarscope with an Ethernet camera signal that is digitally analyzed for seed concentration and sugar crystal growth rate. The seed concentration measurement will optimize particle size automatically to increase yield and centrifuge performance. Centrifuge cameras are also presented to view and control batch and continuous centrifuges for level, wash color and cake detection to improve recovery and speedup operations. Online color cameras at packaging will be discussed in relation to particle size, color and black spec detection to improve product quality and reduce the cost of lab analysis. Ethernet turbidity cameras operate at high temperature and pressure to measure turbidity real time to control the liquor quality. All of this has been made possible through the use of Fused glass sight glasses that have been added to vacuum pans in the past to eliminate leaky and failing windows.

Process Deviations in the Sugar House Detectable by On-Line Colorimeter, Only, Bjarne Nielsen, Neltec Denmark A/S, Egegaardsvej 2, Bevloft DK-6541, Denmark, Tel: 45-745-145-45, Fax: 45-745-146-41, E-mail: BCN@neltec.dk

Process variations in the sugar house can spoil good crystals without warning. The usual precaution is to maintain a large safety colour margin to the upper accepted limit. This is very costly. The Neltec ColourQ automatic colorimeter has been developed to enable immediate reaction to process variations in pans and centrifugals, thus eliminating the need for a large safety margin and at the same time preventing sugar outside specs from reaching the drier and the silo. Many examples show how the colorimeter highlights problems in the centrifugals and pans - problems that could not be detected in due time by any other method. By reduced water spraying in the centrifugals and prompt correction of process problems, better molasses exhaustion has been achieved - without compromising the sugar quality. A cane mill has found a way to infer the pol from the colour measurement. By applying the results from the colorimeter to an automatic control of spray water the sugar gets a very uniform quality. Reduction of excessive water spraying in the centrifugals has in many cases released a significant fraction of the sugar house capacity and in some cases enabled more than 10% increase in the sugar house throughput. Tests in many sugar factories have proven a very good correlation with ICUMSA solution colour. More than 100 of the colorimeters have been installed worldwide in well known and respected cane and beet sugar factories.

6X To 12X And Finer, With Dust Explosion Protection, Michael Prior and Tomas Johansson, The Fitzpatrick Company, 832 Industrial Drive, Elmhurst, IL 60126, Email: Mike.Prior@Fitzmill.com

With a single installation, regular fine sugar and ultra fine ground sugar cane be produced. Special emphasis on dust explosion protection makes the system safe and compliant.

Flow Pattern Analysis in A Turbo Filtering Processing Of Insoluble And Colloidal Matter Of Clarified Cane Juice And Syrup In A Standard And Special Situation, Attillio Turchetti, MECAT Filtrações Industrias Ltda, Rd. BR 060 Km 213+150m – Bloco B, Centro – Abodia de Goiás, CEP: 75345-000 Brasil, Tel: 55-62-3503-1155, Fax: 55-62-3503-1155, Email: mecat@mecat.com.br

The way to manage the Turbo Filtering Technology by a Relationship – MECAT – CLIENTS – monitoring the work of Turbo Filters Operating, till now 160, one time monthly, by Mecat Technical Assistance,  Laboratory of Physic, by clients quality control laboratories and Production Engineer.

USA 2010 Sugar Processing Research Institute, Inc. 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Phone: 504-286-4343, Fax: 504-282-5378 E-mail: spri@ars.usda.gov

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