Raw sugar factory and refinery practice at central azucarera Don Pedro, inc, (CADPI).

Date

2011

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering

Major Course

Major in Sugar Technology

College

College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (CEAT)

Abstract

Sugarcane, an herb widely cultivated in tropical countries like the Philippines, contains glucose, sucrose, carbohydrates, waxes, fats, and minerals. Among these components, sucrose is of the highest economic importance. Sugarcane is subjected to various processes and operations in order to recover sucrose in its crystalline form, known as sugar. Central Azucarera Don Pedro Inc. (CADP,Inc.) in Brgy. Lumbangan, Nasugbu, Batangas is one of the largest sugar milling companies in Luzon. The factory has raw sugar and refined sugar as its main products and filter cake and molasses as its by- products. It provides for the sugar needs of different industries in the country as well as for the sugar demand i n its locality. About 13,000 tons of canes are delivered daily to the factory by means of trucks. Once weighed canes are dumped to conveyors and are transported to different size reduction equipments which help in achieving better juice extraction once the canes are passed through the milling tandems. Using quaternary heating system, juice from the mills is first heated to achieve good operation in clarification. To remove insoluble substances through floc formation, lime is added through intermediate liming system. Trayless and multi-tray clarifiers are used simultaneously in the factory to settle as much impurities as possible. Clear juice is sent to the evaporators while muddy juice is directed to rotary filters for further sucrose recovery. Once the syrup achieves uniform consistency, it is sent to the pan boiling system to facilitate crystallization until the sugar crystals are large enough to undergo centrifugation. Raw sugar produced is then sent to the warehouse through a conveyor system while molasses is stored in tanks. Sugar produced by the raw house is the primary material used by the refinery factory of CADPI. Refining of sugar is almost similar to production of raw sugar, only with few variations. Before subjecting to any actual refining, raw sugar is first made to undergo affination to remove any adhering film of molasses in its crystals. One of the major differences between production of raw and refined sugar lies in the clarification process. In refinery, milk of lime and carbon dioxide are used in clarifying the raw melt through series of carbonators.Afterwards, carbonate precipitates are removed by filtration. Refining also targets removal of all colorants, thus decolorization by use of resin beds is employed. Evaporation, pan boiling, and centrifugation similar to that of the raw house is then performed. Once the sugar has been dried and blended, it is kept in sealed bags and stored in warehouses.The factory also houses its own wastewater treatment plant wherein wastewater undergoes necessary chemical and biological processes to ensure that it is free of toxic and harmful chemicals before discharge. Quality of all finished products and by-products, process materials and even wastes generated are also analyzed through the Quality Control Department which houses three sections performing quality measures on different materials. These sections are the Raw Sugar Laboratory Refined Sugar Laboratory and Chemical and Micro Laboratory. CADPI is an energy-intensive plant it produces the energy required by the whole factory through the Steam Generation Plant. It utilizes bagasse coming from the mills as its fuel. Whenever shortage of bagasse is encountered, bunker oil is used as substitute. Pollution control devices are installed in the boiler units to comply with the laws and standards set by the DENR. The factory has its own feed water treatment system to ensure the quality of the water entering the boilers for safe and efficient operation. Turbo and diesel generators are also found within the factory for generation of power and electrical energy from the live steam supplied by the steam generation plant. Most sugarcane factories have been designed to the energy self-sufficient. Generated steam is consumed by cane preparation equipments, SKODA mills, turbo- generators and equipment for process heating. On the other hand, electrical energy produced is used by offices, buildings, light posts staff housing, company hospital, and motors and pumps requiring electricity. Efficiency of boiler units generally depend on the amount of heat from the fuel that is recovered in the steam produced. Four major factors affect it directly, namely, moisture content of fuel, amount of air used for combustion, extent of combustion and temperature of flue gas. Higher efficiency is achieved when fuel has lower moisture content and consumes lower amount of excess air. Furthermore, imperfect combustion should be minimized and the flue gas temperature should be at optimum to obtain efficient performance of the boiler units. Efficiency may be computed through Direct (Input-Output) Method and Indirect (Heat Loss) Method. In the former,energy gain of working fluid is compared with energy content of fuel as for the latter, difference between energy input and total heat losses is taken account. Depending on the available data, either method may be used in determining the efficiency of boiler units.

Language

English

Location

UPLB College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology (CEAT)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2011 E62 B38

Document Type

Thesis

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