Roshan Lal Tamak1, Harsh Vardhan1, Vineet Kumar Mishra1 and Ram Mohan Singh Chauhan2
1DCM Shriram Ltd – Sugar and Distillery – HO, Gurugram Haryana India; roshantamak@dcmshriram.com, harshvardhan@dcmshriram.com, vkmishra@dcmshriram.com
2DCM Shriram Ltd – Loni Hardoi, UP, India; rammohansinghchauhan@dcmshriram.com
The sugar industry is an energy-intensive industry, with significant energy costs associated with the evaporation process. A novel energy saving scheme is introduced by integrating mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) technology into the evaporation stages of sugar production as the syrup concentrator. MVR technology utilizes a mechanical blower to recycle and recompress the vapour, which is then reused as a heating medium, thereby drastically reducing the need for external steam. Implementing MVR technology in the sugar industry can lead to substantial energy savings and enhanced environmental sustainability. Case studies and simulation results demonstrate the potential energy savings and economic benefits, supporting the feasibility and effectiveness of MVR integration in improving the energy efficiency of sugar production processes. The plant’s capacity was expanded from 6,900 t cane/d to 8,800 t cane/d without increasing steam usage or adding a new boiler. This was achieved by implementing a scheme that integrates MVR with FFEs, reducing steam consumption from 42% to less than 32% on cane. The additional 1 MW power required for the MVR was offset by using surplus power available at the plant. Shifting the vapour bleeding to the lower stage vapours and utilization of waste heat for juice heating has significantly contributed to reducing the process steam demand.