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Abstract
For cane juice extraction, two systems are used worldwide: milling
tandem or diffuser. In Brazil, the preference has been for the mills
solution. Data from the 2004/2005 milling season shows that, out of a
total of 347 mills in operation, 341 use mills and 6 the diffuser,
corresponding to 1.7% of the extraction systems. Since 2003, the
sucro-energy industry in Brazil has grown considerably, from 320
million tonnes of processed cane to 620 million in 2010/11, and new
Greenfield projects were implemented. In 2011, 455 mills had already
decided on the extraction system, with 32 mills using diffusers built or
contracted, representing 7%. Therefore, there has been a significant
increase of diffusers and a growth even more expressive if we
consider only the Greenfield projects defined since 2004: 108
decisions have been made, and 25 diffusers have been built or
contracted, accounting for 23.1% of the choices. Given the typical
characteristics of the sugarcane industry in Brazil, with plants
designed for expansion and high milling capacities, one of the factors
that contributed to the increased choice for the diffuser solution was a
new product, the chainless modular diffuser, which is expandible and
more easily applicable to process large amounts of sugarcane. This
paper presents a technical comparative review of both extraction
systems, milling and diffusion, their basic characteristics, operational
data, recommended use for one or other system, and ratio of
investments and costs between milling tandem and diffusers.. Taking
into account that the sector will continue to grow in Brazil forecasted
to reach up to 1.2 billion tonnes of cane in the 2020 season and nearly
100 new Greenfield projects to be implemented this work seems to
be opportune and may serve as a guide for future decision-making on
extraction systems, mills or diffuser, either for the new mills or
expansion of the existing ones.
Introduction
Extraction of sugarcane juice began in the first half of the 16th century in the Brazilian
territory with the purpose of supplying sugar to the European countries and the incipient
domestic market. The expedition of Martin Afonso de Souza, in 1532, started cane cultivation
and implemented the first sugar mill in the state of So Paulo, the Engenho Eramos (a small
mill producing sugar and rum), in So Vicente. After that pioneer unit and to reduce transport
costs, sugar was produced in states nearer to Europe, in the current states of Pernambuco,
Bahia and Rio Janeiro. In this initial stage, the mills installed in So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro
states already showed the ability to make the sugar industry a profitable activity.
The first mills had a similar design, based on family farming activities. For centuries
sugar mills have evolved: initially, juice extraction was achieved by low efficiency and low
capacity mills driven by animal traction and/or water wheels; later by steam machines; and
finally they were mostly driven by steam turbines. (UNICA, 2012). This structure remained
until 1975, when the Brazilian government launched the ProAlcohol Program.
The National Alcohol Program ProAlcohol was implemented to reduce the countrys
vulnerability to the oil crises. The goal of this program was to use ethanol to replace gasoline
from petroleum as a fuel for Otto-cycle engines in light vehicles. This program was supported
by the World Bank and led to the expansion of sugarcane crops and juice extraction units,
which began to meet the juice demand for sugar production in addition to the volumes
required to produce anhydrous ethanol to be blended with gasoline, and hydrous ethanol to be
used exclusively in 100% ethanol-powered vehicles (E100). Soon after the second world oil
crisis in 1984, national production of light vehicles reached its peak with 95.4% of the
engines running on hydrous ethanol. With the softening of the oil crisis and domestic
problems in the Brazilian economy, the production of ethanol-powered vehicles began to
decline in 1989, and production fell to the minimum level of 1.02% of new vehicles running
on hydrous ethanol in 2001. (UNICADATA, 2012)
In the early ProAlcohol period, focus was on capacity increase, without major
technological advancements but, in the second half of the 1980s, capacity increases came
from the combination of increased capacity of juice extraction and processing equipment with
technological improvements, which ensured higher extraction yields and better extraction of
the sugars contained in sugarcane, associated with major technological advancements in cane
cultivation with the introduction of new and more resistant cane varieties.
With the advent of the flexible-fuel technology (Flex) for light vehicles in 2003, which
can run on both hydrous ethanol (E100) or gasoline C (E18 to E25), a new phase of high
demand for sugarcane took place in order to produce fuel ethanol. Ethanol was used as a fuel
and additive to gasoline, replacing more polluting substances, such as MBTE and lead. This
phase is marked by the ethanol production in a free market: the final consumer dictates
demand and decision on consumption, based on the economic advantage offered by each fuel.
The free market requires that high-performance and high-capacity extraction systems are
implemented, so that economies of scale and the optimum use of the feedstock can be
attained. The consolidation of the Flex technology occurred simultaneously with the Brazilian
regulation of electricity exports to the domestic grid and the global acceptance of
sustainability principles for energy generation and utilisation.
From 2006, the sustainability concepts, in their broad aspect, especially with the
introduction of mechanical harvesting of green cane, became a key impact factor on the mills
and juice extraction systems: the mills should process a new raw material, chopped cane with
high contents of vegetable and mineral impurities. This is the current situation, in which some
paradigms regarding burned and clean sugarcane have already been broken, and a new
learning process has began, of how to handle the new raw material, coupled with
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requirements for a high economic performance, consistent with the free market but yet
compliant with the principles of the green economy.
Figure 1 shows the evolution of sugarcane milling in Brazil in the past decades, and
the projections made by the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy MME/EPE for 2021
(MME/EPE, 2012).
Cane Processed - millions ton/crop
1.200
1.000
800
600
400
200
0
1981
1986
1991
1996
2001
2006
2011
2016
2021
Year
Fig. 1 Brazilian sugarcane production and perspectives (UNICA, 2012 and MME/EPE,
2012)
Figure 3 shows how the mill units perform extraction in successive and gradual
compression stages. The combined arrangement of a series of mills forms what we call
milling tandem or milling train, where imbibition water is added in counter-current to the
bagasse as shown in Figure 4. The combination of imbibition with mechanical crushing
allows attaining extraction rates similar to those of diffusers. (Wever and Oliverio, 2006)
In Brazil, implementation of the new mills follows, almost in its totality, a phased
construction schedule in which investments in the industrial sector are compatible with the
agricultural sector i.e., according to the amount of cane that can be supplied, requiring that the
installed capacity be implemented in phases and expansible in the medium term. In this
context, juice extraction by mills allows more flexibility, because it just requires additional
mill units and/or the replacement of the first and last mills to achieve a significant capacity
increase. In our view, this was the main reason for the markets almost rejection of extraction
performed by diffusers until 2005.
In the 2004/2005 crop, a total of 347 mills were in operation, 340 of them using mills,
and the other 7 using diffusers, besides two other diffusers being built. In 2005/06, a total of
347 mills were in operation, and 46 new mills were designed, built or started operations in the
period.
Data collected shows that from 1967 to the end of 2005, 10 diffusers were acquired, of
which 1 is inactive, 7 in operation, and 2 being built, totalling 9 diffusers. In 2007, 13
additional units were acquired. Therefore, it was during the 2005/06 crop that the decision on
the type of extraction was made, mill or diffuser. In this period, extraction by diffusion had a
unit increase of 144%, and of 305% if expressed in nominal processing capacity, making the
2005/06 crop a milestone marking the end of the almost total rejection of diffusers in Brazil.
The same data shows that 371 mills using mill tandems were operating in the said milling
season, representing 94% of the operating extraction systems, i.e., an absolute supremacy of
extraction performed by mill tandems. Figure 11 below summarises the data collected
(Olivrio, 2011).
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11
Note: Typically, sugar extraction is reached 90% in leaching and 10% in diffusion
Process Parameter
CANE DIFFUSER
Chain and Modular Diffuser
Mill
Attain good
extraction rates with
Cane preparation
85% preparation.
(Voigt, 2009)
Accepts greater
amounts of fines or
small particles.
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Required juice
evaporation
Typically lower
imbibition requires
lower thermal energy,
as steam consumption
and/or waste heat
recovery from
process stream.
13
Operates at 60
Thermal energy Celsius. Requires
in the system as lower thermal energy
steam demand in extraction
Required electric
power for drive
Bioelectricity
available for
exports
Biological
contamination
(Mackrory,
1984)
Lower concentration
of mineral impurities;
higher homogeneity
Bagasse quality
of bagasse particle
sizes, higher moisture
stability.
Electricity
generation /
bagasse
moisture
Bagasse moisture is
more stable and,
independent of the
level of impurities in It may require two complete dewatering mills
bagasse feed; it
to achieve the same stability obtained with mill
ensures more burning tandems.
stability in
conventional boilers
and in turbogenerator operation.
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Sugar
production
Ethanol
production
Variation in
cane feed
Operational
flexibility
can be removed from service without stopping the whole set. In the case of chain diffusers,
such kind of damage requires stopping the whole system, though such occurrence is less
probable. Table 2 is a summary of the main maintenance differences or requirements for both
systems.
Table 2 Comparative installation and maintenance requirements between mills and
diffusers
Characteristic
Installation
requirements
CANE DIFFUSER
Chain diffuser
Modular
Building and overhead Building/overhead crane not required. Requires
crane for maintenance less foundation work. Installation area is similar
are required
to the mill tandem area.
Mill
Off-milling
season
maintenance
Maintenance
every 3 to 5
milling
seasons
Maintenance
every 10
milling
seasons
Weld repairs /
adjustments or
replacement of
scrapers / trash plate
Lubrication of
bearings and
gearboxes / large size
motors
Replacement of
scrapers / trash plates /
bearings sealing;
restoration of roller
ribs and welds
replacement
Replacement of rollers
/ pinions / bearing
bushings every 3-5
milling seasons
Checks on the
hydraulic system and
tracks in easier access
area.
Inspections on the
chains system / pins /
drive bushings; pumps
Inspection on tracks /
drive hydraulic
system; pumps
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Mixed juice
treatment
Weld
electrodes
consumption
Lubricant oil
consumption
Cost of
investment in
extraction
Allows to obtain
mixed juice for ethanol
and absolute juice for
sugar
Considered as 100%
(typically 8 - 10 g/t
cane)
Considered as 100%
(typically 3g/t cane)
Considered as 100%
Considered as 100%
Maintenance
costs
Considered as 100%
Assembly
costs
Traditional level, as
commonly used in
mills
Operational
costs
(*)
If regularly submitted to appropriate preventive maintenance, the period for total replacement of chains can be
extended to 15 20 years.
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References
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Wever H. and Olivrio J.L. (2006). Mtodos de Extrao de Caldo; Banco Nacional de
Desenvolvimento Econmico BNDES; DEDINI, 16 -10-2006.
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