Babu R et al Proc S Afr Sug Technol Ass (2017) 90: 489-495

REFEREED PAPER

POWDERED ACTIVATED CARBON (PAC) WITH MEMBRANE FILTER

PRESS FOR SECONDARY DECOLOURISATION SYSTEM TO
PRODUCE REFINED SUGAR IN BACKEND REFINERY

BABU R, SRIVASTAVA AK, CHANDRASEKAR R AND RAO GSC

Global Canesugar Services Pvt, Ltd.

rbabu@globalcanesugar.com

Abstract

In India, most of the backend refineries currently use Ion Exchange Resin (IER) or the Activated
Carbon Process for secondary decolourisation. The problem in the IER process is the disposal of
a dark brown brine effluent. Due to stringent norms of the pollution control board, this brine
solution cannot be discharged as is. To treat the brine solution, the factory had to install a Brine
Recovery System and Brine Concentrator and Dryer to dispose of the effluent as solid waste. This
is capital intensive.

The paper deals with an innovative way to produce good quality refined sugar in Indian sugar
plants by using an energy efficient membrane filter for the Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC)
process as secondary decolourisation.

Keywords: plantation white sugar, raw sugar, refined sugar, phosphatation, carbonation, powdered
activated carbon, membrane filter.

Introduction

At present, most of the backend refineries are using Ion Exchange Resin (IER) or the Activated
Carbon process for secondary decolourisation and this process is being discarded slowly due to
the following reasons:
Stringent requirements of the pollution control board;
Treatment of dark brine effluent; and
Installation of other ancillary equipment like the Brine Recovery System and Brine Concentrator
and Dryer, which are capital intensive.

In order to overcome the above problems, the authors have introduced Powdered Activated
Carbon (PAC) with Membrane Filter Press for the secondary decolourisation. There is no effluent
in this process and the cake could be discharged as solid waste. This installation is the first of its
kind in India.

PAC treatment with membrane filters was installed in a 5 000 tons of cane per day (TCD) plant to
produce refined sugar of EEC-II grade. This plant was producing mill white sugar with only a remelt
phosphatation process.

The operating data is given in Table 1.

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Table 1: Operating Data

Parameter Details

Plant capacity 5000 (TCD)

Process adopted Defecation followed by

phosphatation

Product quality Mill white sugar

Sugar colour 50-60 ICUMSA (IU)

Refinery exhaust molasses 35 % on raw sugar

Raw sugar colour 400-500 IU

% Decolourisation 35-40 %

In order to add a decolourisation station for the production of refined sugar and reduce the quantity
of exhaust molasses, a powdered activated carbon system (PAC) for secondary decolourisation,
using a fully automated membrane press filter for the filtration process, was proposed.

The reasons for selection of this PAC process are:

Lower capital investment compared to ion exchange decolourisation system;
Environmentally friendly process;
Less floor space;
Lower cost of structure, building, pumps and tanks; and
Automatic operation through a programmable logic controller.

The membrane press filter was selected for the PAC process because of the following advantages:
Single stage filtration;
Fully automated cloth washing with a lower volume of wash water leads to effective filtering area
in each cycle;
Higher cake solids with less moisture;
Effective squeezing and drying with the introduction of membrane plate when compared with
conventional filters;
Sturdy membrane plates avoid the damages to the filtering cloth; and
Low compressed air requirement.

Process Description of PAC System with Membrane Filterpress and its Advantages

The refining process with the PAC process is illustrated in Figure 1. The filtered liquor from the
deep bed filter is heated in the heat exchanger to 85 °C and then mixed with a mixture of powdered
activated carbon and filter aid in the carbon reaction tank. The retention time in the reaction tank
is 20-30 minutes and then the liquor is transferred to the filter feed tank. Initially, the filter is pre-
coated with filter aid and then the liquid is filtered. The filtration process is continued until the filter
pre-set pressure value is achieved and then the filter undergoes draining, de-sweetening, air
squeezing, drying and cake wash cycle.

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Fig 1. Process flow diagram of the phosphatation process with the PAC system

The filter operation sequence is as follows:

Pre-coating: Required quantity of filter aid, i.e. 60 kg per filter with a slurry concentration of 0.5 %,
is prepared and pumped to filter for 15-20 min;
Production recycle: After pre-coating the membrane cloth, a production cycle is initiated and liquor
is recycled for 5-10 min until the fine liquor is free from any carbon particles;
Production: The production cycle continues in a sequence of higher flow and lower pressure
initially and the flow gradually reduces as the filtration pressure increases. Once the pressure
reaches the maximum pre-set value, the production cycle stops;
Blowback 1: This step pushes back the residual liquor present in between plates and clears the
centre feed pipe;

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Cake wash: Cake de-sweetening is achieved in three steps, i.e. centre, left side and right side
wash to ensure complete leaching of sucrose from the cake. At the end, the sweet water brix will
be less than 2.0 %;
Blowback 2: This step pushes back the residual sweet water present in-between plates, which
facilitates better cake squeezing;
Air squeezing: Compressed air is applied into the membrane plate at 8-10 bar to squeeze the
sweet water out of the cake. The squeezing action produces a dried cake compared to
conventional filter presses;
Cake drying: The squeezed cake is dried further by applying compressed air at about 6-8 bar;
Cake discharge: After the drying step, the bottom cover door opens and plates will be shifted and
shaken one by one to discharge the cake by a programmable mechanical system; and
Cloth washing: The cloth will be washed with a pressure of 40-50 bar through an automatic
washing mechanism (AWM). It can be programmed for multiple washings depending upon
requirements.

Details of the timing for the individual steps in a typical filter cycle are given in Table 2. A full cycle
is estimated to take 24 hours. Operating parameters and operating data after installation of the
PAC process are given in Tables 3-4. Plant operating conditions after installing the PAC is given
in Table 5.

Table 2. Membrane filter operating cycle timer details

Operating sequence Time

(sec)
Pre-coat recirculation 1500
Filter feed liquor 300
recirculation
Production 72000
Delay for blow back #1 200
Blowback #1 10
De-sweetening:
Centre wash 600
Left side wash 750
Right side wash 750
Delay for blowback #2 90
Blowback #2 60
Squeezing 1200
Drying:
Centre 120
Left side 120
Right side 300
Cake discharge chute open 60
Plate shifting, shaking and 5400
cake discharge
Plate closing 120
Cloth washing
Plate shifting and cloth 2700
washing
Plate closing 120
Ready for next sequence

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Table 3. Operating data after installation of membrane filter for PAC process

Parameter Details
Average liquor flow/filter 22-25 m3/h
Average liquor 440-500 m3/day
passed/filter
Temperature of the liquor 85° C
Carbon dosing 0.1 % on melt
solids
Carbon slurry 5 %
concentration
Carbon : pre-coat ratio 1 : 0.5
Pre-coat dosing 0.6 kg/m2.h per
filter
Pre-coat slurry 0.5 %
concentration
Filter production cycle 20 h
time
% Decolourisation 50-60%
Chemical cost/ Ton of USD 3.5
sugar

Table 4. Operating parameters of membrane press filter

Parameter Details
Flux rate 220 – 250
L/m2.h
Operating brix 64-65 %
Max operating 4.5- 5 bar
pressure
Cake thickness 32 mm
Pol% cake 1.5 - 2.0

There is no liquid effluent to treat and dispose. However, solid waste in the form of cake at about
2-2.5 kg/t of refined sugar output is produced and this can be mixed with press mud from the sugar
plant for disposal. The operating cost incurred for treating the dark brine effluent with Brine
recovery system, Brine concentrator and Spray dryer will be USD 0.4/ton of sugar whereas the
cost incurred for disposing the solid waste is USD 0.02 USD/ton of refined sugar.

The advantages of using a membrane filter for the PAC system over other filters include:
Membrane filter operates at higher liquor brix, up to 64-65, when compared to other filters that
operate at 55-60 brix;
Single unit that does the coarse, fine filtration, de-sweetening, squeezing, drying and cake
discharging and washing;
Single stage filtration with disposal of solid cake;
Lower sweet water generation;
Sugar losses in cake are less than 2.0 % and moisture of the cake is 35 %.
Less pre-coat requirement, i.e. 0.6 kg/m2 per filter compared to the other filters of 1.0 kg/m2.h per
filter;

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Facilitates prolonged filtration with even 1:0.5 ratio of carbon to body aid when compared to 1:1
ratio for other filters;
Complete operation is in auto mode; and
Good quality sugar colour around 25 IU and very low sediments in final sugar due to tight filtration.

Performance data for the refinery after the installation of PAC with membrane filter press are given
in Table 5.

Table 5. Plant operating condition after installation of PAC system

Parameter Details
Plant capacity 5000 (TCD)
Process adopted Defecation followed by phosphatation and
PAC processes
Product quality Refined sugar
Sugar colour 25-30 IU
Refinery exhaust 15 % on raw sugar melt
molasses
Raw sugar colour 400-500 IU
% Decolourisation in 35-40 %
Phosphatation
% Decolourisation in PAC 50-60 %
system

Future Opportunities

The operating cost of the PAC process is higher than the ion-exchange resin process for
decolourisation. However, it is anticipated that, if a carbonation process is used for clarification,
the cost difference could be minimised. The factory that this study was conducted in is planning
to replace the existing phosphatation process with a carbonation process using the same type of
membrane press filter. As the decolourisation in carbonation will be 15-20 % higher than with
phosphatation, a further reduction in carbon dosing, which will reduce the operating cost of PAC,
is expected. The present operating cost of phosphatation with PAC is USD 5.7/ton of refined sugar
and the operating cost for the carbonation with PAC is USD 3.67 /ton of refined sugar. This is due
to lower operating costs of carbonation and lower dosage of carbon in the PAC process.

Conclusions

For the first time in India, membrane press filtration technology has been used for the PAC
treatment process. This system, with full automation in 16 sequential steps, is working extremely
well. The results obtained suggest that this is the best process to be adopted for secondary
decolourisation.

With proper process monitoring and control, the raw sugar colour can be maintained between 500-
600 IU. Such good quality raw sugar requires good clarification and mild decolourisation to
produce refined sugar. Carbonation, followed by the PAC process option with new membrane
filters, is more feasible because of lower operating costs and sturdy processes. The installation of
the membrane press filter has advantages such as lower investment, lower space requirement,
high brix operation and lower sugar loss in filter cake. The proposed process is environmentally

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friendly and does not generate any liquid waste. In case of any variation in raw sugar colour, the
dose of the PAC shall be adjusted to maintain the required quality of refined sugar.

Acknowledgement

We thank the management of Vijayanagar Sugar for their cooperation and providing the
opportunity to undertake the trials.

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