Marc Vandemoortele and Jean-Pierre Laurent
DSEC, Belgium
This paper explores the benefits of a properly automated batch pan operation. By avoiding water additions to the pans, the steam consumption is reduced while the sugar crystal quality improves in terms of colour. The proper control of the supersaturation improves the mean aperture (MA) and CV of the crystals. Results achieved in a typical Thai cane sugar factory show that the global steam consumption was reduced by 11% from 430 kg steam / t of cane to 384 kg steam/ t of cane. This was achieved by implementing proper batch pan automation and the use of syrup in the melters instead of water or clear juice. The absence of water additions during the boiling cycle ensures that the crystal surface is neither dissolved nor degraded. Consequently, the colour inclusion in the crystals is reduced due to abolishing the water addition, leading to an improvement of the final colour of the sugar (as studied by Mackintosh 1971). This paper traces batch pan automation history, pan automation techniques, and explains the specific aspects to be considered and the results from a project.