Comparison of beet and cane sugar production methods and opportunities for dual production

Abstract

There are still large differences in process steam consumption, sugar recovery and plant availability when comparing sugar production from beet versus that from cane on a global scale. These are partly due to higher sugar contents and purities of sugar beet, but also due to more developed process technologies enabling a more efficient usage of steam and energy. Specific areas of a cane factory that can benefit from adaption technologies typically employed in European beet sugar production are: heat-transfer equipment especially evaporators and condensers, sugar-house work including seed magma systems by cooling and improved crystallizer designs, close monitoring and reduction of water input at all stages of the process, modern layout of the plant in order to reduce pressure drops and enable good supervision, and efficient electrical drives and automation systems. As a result, the improved factories have been able to increase significantly sugar yield and cogeneration power for sale to the national grid and have an increased profitability. Some specific examples of the technological improvements and benefits obtained in some cane factories as a result of the above measures are presented. A further example of the possibilities to process sugarcane and sugar beet in a highly efficient dual-use plant is also shown. Due to the low process-steam consumption of the plant, enough surplus bagasse is produced during the cane crop in order to be self-sufficient in fuel during the beet crop.