Planned Projects for the 2007/08 Grinding Season Vadim Kochergin Presentation at the Audubon Sugar Institute Annual Operations Seminar April 17, 2007, Baton Rouge, LA

Education and Background M.Sc., Ph.D. Chemical Engineering Mendeleyev Chemical Engineering University, Moscow, Russia Professional Engineer (Idaho license #8124) McGinnis Institute -Beet Sugar Development Foundation, Fort Collis, Co

Experience and Specialization Unit operations - solid-liquid separations, membrane filtration, industrial chromatography, crystallization, sugar conditioning, ion exchange, decolorization, liquid-liquid extraction, distillation New process development in the beet and cane sugar industries from bench – scale to commercialization. Factory technical support. Organization of multidisciplinary R&D study groups sponsored by the sugar industry and US DOE (cost shared projects)

Cane / Beet Juice Purification Process

Raw Juice Pretreatment Solid Waste Mud Treatment Membrane Filtration Softening Evaporation ChromatographyExtract crystallizationRaffinate evaporation Regenerant Treatment Retentate Treatment Direct White Sugar Production Principle Flow Diagram (Beet or Cane Juice) White sugar quality complies with the industry standards

Benefits of Softening Process in a Cane Mill Energy savings( in case of cogeneration) Additional evaporation capacity-potential for throughput increase Eliminate or reduce evaporator boilouts Reduced chemical, labor and maintenance cost Improved crystallization procedures Potential color improvement due to lower delta T Potential improvement in boiling time and raw sugar quality New equipment designs are available that may benefit cane sugar operations

Pilot Softener – New Design ( ARi)

Ideal Design Principles Uniform residence time for any portion of the liquid introduced to a clarifier Minimize turbulent eddies in the clarifier Inlet and outlet points are distributed uniformly over the cross-section. Deviation from vertical flow causes capacity reduction Low cross-sectional velocity is important (not clarifier height) Efficient defoaming is important

An “Ideal” Clarifier Uniform Inlets Mud Overflow Liquid outlets connected to a header

Survey and Optimization of Seed Preparation Procedures for Low Grade Boiling in Louisiana Sugar Mills Project approved by the American Sugar Cane League for 2007/08 season

Importance of Crystal Size Distribution

Influence of Particle Size Distribution On Centrifugation Process Screen Direct sugar loss- fines breakthrough Indirect sugar loss- more wash required to purge molasses

Work Plan 1.All sugar mills -Evaluate seed preparation procedures and characteristics of seed (particle size, etc.) -Take samples from mill pans –evaluate quality of crystals and corresponding molasses purity 2.ASI - Experiment with ball mill-optimize time for uniform seed preparation 3.Boil pan with good seed (ASI or mill boiling) 4.Evaluate potential benefits for good seed preparation 5.Develop recommendations for the Louisiana mills

Impact of Molasses Losses on Louisiana Industry… Recovery of just one point of molasses purity will result in an additional tons of sugar – equivalent to $2.6 million/year statewide Sugar quality improvement is expected as a result of more uniform crystal size – benefit to refinery operations

Proposed project ( based on the technical discussions during mill visits) Study of Raw Sugar Storage: Conventional vs. Improved quality

-VHP (very high pol) and up -VLC (very low color)- less than a ICUMSA color. -Low moisture content -Less invert sugars How is it going to change in storage?

Factors affecting raw sugar storage Moisture content (and ambient moisture) Ash Invert, Particle size distribution Others? A detailed proposal can be submitted

Where we as an Industry want to be in 5 years? Do we know everything we need today or we need more research? What do we need to learn to make good decisions for the future? Organize a joint ASCL and ASI technical committee that will prepare a five year strategic plan and outline a list of projects of interest Make sure that ASI projects fit the general plan

Suggested general directions Sustainability of Louisiana cane sugar industry? Improvement of raw sugar quality? Energy self-sufficiency? Optimization of cane crop utilization for sugar production and beyond? Test applicability of new technologies/process improvements? (more can be added…)