Sugaronline Journal - Recent developments in the sugar industry Page 1 of 5

Recent trends in extraction technology

Summary

As we enter the new millennium, many exciting developments are taking place in industrial processes in general,
and the sugar industry in particular. This paper, one in a series examining changes under way in the modern
industry, presents a summary of current trends in beet and cane transport, reception, milling and diffusion. The
data it is based on were collated towards the end of 1999, and updated versions of these reports are in
preparation. In the meantime, we hope that readers will find the following information useful, and invite suppliers
of equipment used in the industry to notify us of recent developments involving their products.

Beet and cane transport and reception

Major advances are being made in the fields of molecular biology, precision agriculture and agricultural
management systems based on satellite navigation facilities 1,2. The introduction of these systems is likely to
proceed at a very variable pace in different parts of the world, but there is little doubt that they are already
profoundly changing beet and cane agronomy. Reviews and updates of all these aspects will appear in
Sugaronline Journal in the near future. This review is concerned with beet and cane transport and extraction
following harvest. Readers interested in beet harvester performance are referred in the meantime to two reviews
in English3 and German4. Various developments in cane harvesting have also been presented 5,6,7 . The use of
computerised systems for disseminating practical information is also becoming steadily more important 8,9.

Systems facilitating remote beet agronomic analysis, in conjunction with GPS locations of
trucks and other machinery, route planning, and communication between control-centres and
drivers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, better integrated, and more readily available
10,11,12 . Several interesting developments in beet reception have also been described
recently. Sadam Zuccherifici, for instance have developed an instrument to improve the
reliability and reproducibility of tarehouse operations. The machine automatically positions the
beet, identifies the top (using a camera, and advanced image processing software), cuts it,
then discharges the beet 13 . Tracking systems are also becoming increasingly sophisticated,
with the use of bar codes and other innovations 14 .

Another practice that is becoming more widespread is the use of dry feeding beet washing
lines. Maguin of France, for example, have supplied Amalgamated Sugar's Mini-Cassia factory
in Idaho a complete, 18,000 short ton (16,400 tonne) per day line. This includes a dry feeding
drum washer, two stone catchers, two fork type weed catchers, a screening belt type trash
remover with trash/chip separator and a final washer. Reported benefits include prolonged
slicing knife life, more efficient trash removal and reductions in wastewater production.
Meanwhile, a new FCB finishing beet washing drum ("trommel"), has become available,
featuring internal perforations to allow the beet to progress in a thin layer (and to permanently
rotate inside it) and the use of a rubber-like material on internal parts to reduce beet
deterioration. Suiker Unie's factory at Groningen reports that washing efficiency has increased,
and costs have fallen using this system.

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FIGURE: Maguin washing line at Amalgamated Sugar’s Mini-Cassia factory

Of course, problems can begin long before the beets are sliced. The soil delivered with them for instance, needs
to be minimised for efficient processing. Danisco Sugar have been making significant advances towards tackling
this problem in their "Cleaner Beet Project", designed to limit the amount of soil delivered to the factory to just
0.2% w/w beet15. The company does not believe that current methods of wet handling, soil dumping, and
purification of flume and wash water purification will be practical in the future. Their investigations are focusing on
the development of improved lifting systems, new high-sugar, easily-cleaned beet varieties and field-based fluid
cleaning systems. Undesirable processes can also affect beets during storage, such as the mummification of
exposed beets in beet piles. However, it has been shown that this difficulty can be significantly reduced by
covering the pile with lime mud 16 .

The use of GPS and computerised agronomy/transport control systems is also being intensively explored
increasingly in the cane sugar. Access to prompt, reliable data is essential for this purpose, for which an in-field
Data Acquisition System for monitoring prime movers and trailers, developed by the Mauritius Sugar Research
Institute, may prove useful 17. However, modifications may be required since the shocks and vibrations that
inevitably occur in the field necessitate frequent re-calibration.

Elsewhere, wide-ranging amendments to harvesting and transport systems have been

introduced, such as the long-distance transport system produced at South Johnstone sugar
factory in Queensland 18 . Here, the cane is loaded in the field into aluminium bins by high-lift
tippers, and taken by truck to automated transfer stations, which shift the containers to rail
wagons for transport to the mill. Various mills have also started using advanced systems
integrating field telemetry, automatic just-in-time transport scheduling and fully automatic
weighing and reception systems 19 . A novel idea with applicability to sugar estates is the
stabilisation of earth roads using polymeric emulsions 20 .

Extraction

Several significant innovations in cane juice diffusion have emerged in recent years, the most important of which
may be the Riviere extractor21, which continuously extracts juice at ambient temperature, in three stages. In each
phase, air is displaced by the upward flow of displacement juice, and enriched juice is displaced by lower Brix
juice from the succeeding stage. The total process time is said to be just two minutes, and extraction efficiencies
of 98% have been reported in laboratory tests. Meanwhile, sugar factories considering switching from milling to
diffusion will be interested in the successful integration of a diffuser into an existing factory at Mumias, Kenya 22 .
The possibility of improving diffusion using microwave technology has also been reported23.

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Figure 2: 350 TCH FS Tongaat-Hulett cane diffuser at Mumias Factory, Kenya'350 TCH FS Tongaat-Hulett cane diffuser at
Mumias Factory, Kenya

Exciting advances have also taken place in cane milling technology. The most notable recent step forwards was
probably the development of self-roughening surfaces for cast iron rollers, by Abrasion Resistant Materials Pty.24,
which have provided maintenance-free grip for entire seasons in which more than a million tonnes of cane were
crushed (see our ‘Product News’ pages). Also, Edwards Engineering of the USA have introduced a handy top roll
flotation gauge, designed to alleviate or eliminate top roll positioning problems. If the roller becomes canted due to
variations in cane mat thickness, immediate and accurate adjustments can be made.

A range of innovations have also been applied to beet extraction, like the durable system for synchronizing the
worm screws of extractor drives presented by Grabka et al.25 . A number of improvements have also been
introduced to BMA’s Tower 2000 extraction towers, in which juice is drawn through re-configured corrosion-
resistant side screens, accelerating juice throughput while reducing the risk of contamination, and maintenance26.
A new extraction tower has also been developed by BWS Technologie of Germany, with a diameter of 12.4 m,
and a height of 25.1m. This system will be installed, together with a new cossettes mixer (25.1 m long and 6.7 m
in diameter) at the sugar factory in Lilles, France, and will handle 14,000 tonnes of beet per day. Sophisticated
process control systems are also being developed for diffusion stations 27.

Figure 3: Extraction system (cossette mixer and tower) from BWS Technologie

Disinfection

Disinfection and avoidance of contamination will always be primary considerations for the sugar industry, but they
are tasks that have become especially significant in the USA recently, since regulations have made the use of
formaldehyde virtually impossible. Thus, trials of potentially alternative agents have been conducted by Minn-Dak

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Farmers Cooperative, leading to the conclusion that hydrogen peroxide was the best option, followed by
glutaraldehyde, dithiocarbamates and ammonium bisulphite 28 . Researchers at the Amalgamated Sugar Co.,
however, suggest that synergistic use of several biocides may be more cost-effective29 . Ultra-violet (UV) systems
can also be used for disinfection in a variety of applications30.

Clearly, computerised process control is starting to play an increasingly important role in disinfection strategies.
Willems et al., for instance, used a "Rapid Automated Bacterial Impedance Technique" together with statistical
methods to generate data on-line. The results were used to distinguish between processes under control from
those that were not being controlled, to define microbiological parameters and to assist in process management,
according to current Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. Furthermore, integrated systems
are looking increasingly attractive, in which defoamers, clarifying agents, biocides and other agents are added at
optimal points and dosages 32 .

Finally, dextran formation will continue to be problematic, and monitoring it will be significant both for estimating
sugar losses, and for identifying where they have occurred. The use of monoclonal antibodies appears to have
promising applications for this purpose, in both the cane and beet sectors 33 .

References

1) F.O.Licht’s Guide to Equipment and Services for the Sugar and Allied Industries 1998/99.

2) Zuckerind., (1997), 122 , 7, 548.

3) Kromer et al., Zuckerind. (1998), 123, 10, 816-822.

4) Kromer, Zuckerind. (1999), 124, 2, 99-104.

5) de Beer & Purchase.' Paper presented at the 23rd ISSCT Congress, New Delhi, February 1999.

6) Fuelling. Proc. 21st Conf. Australian Soc. Sugar Cane Tech., 1999, 28 – 32.

7) Freyou.' LSJ, 1999, 101, 428 - 433.

8) Pillay et aL: Poster presented at the 23rd ISSCT Congress, New Delhi,

February 1999.

9) Giles: Paper presented at the 30 th Gen. Meeting. Am. Soc. Sugar Beet Tech., Orlando, USA, February,
1999.

10) Reitmeier et aL: Paper presented at the 30th Gen. Meeting. Am. Soc. Sugar Beet Tech., Orlando, USA,
February, 1999.

11) Telck: Paper presented at the 30 th Gen. Meeting. Am. Soc. Sugar Beet Tech., Orlando, USA, February,
1999.

12) Rush et al.: Paper presented at the30th Gen. Meeting. Am. Soc. Sugar

Beet Tech., Orlando, USA, February, 1999.

13) Zama. Paper presented at the 21 st General C.I.T.S. Assembly, Antwerp, Belgium, May, 1999.

14) Miranowsky & Carlson. Paper presented at the 30th Gen. Meeting Am. Soc. Sugar Beet Tech., Orlando,
USA, February, 1999.

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15) Hansen et al.: LS.J., 1998, 100, 530 -533.

16) Duncan et al.: Paper presented at the 30th Gen. Meeting. Am. Soc. Sugar Beet Tech., Orlando, USA,
February, 1999.

17) Pyneeandee et al.: Paper presented at the 23rd ISSCT Congress, New Delhi, February 1999.

18) Koppen et al.: I.S.J., 1998, 100, 64 – 67.

19) Dinces et al.: Proc. 21st Conf. Australian Soc. Sugar Cane Tech., 1999, 468 – 473.

20) Bishop et al.: Proc. 72nd Ann. Congr. S. African Sugar Tech. Assoc., 1998, 309 – 315.

21) Walsh.' Proc. 72nd Ann. Congr. S. African Sugar Tech. Assoc., 1998,173 -180.

22) Birkett.' I.S.J., 1999, 101, 99 – 104.

23) Lin et al.: Proc. Sugar Processing Research Conf., 1998, 543 – 549.

24) Kroes; I.S.J., 1999, 101, 401 - 408.

25) Grabka et aL: I.S.J., 1999, 101, 184 - 186.

26) Bosse & Hempelmann: Paper presented at the 30th Gen. Meeting. Am. Soc. Sugar Beet Tech., Orlando,
USA, February, 1999.

27) L'Ind. Sacc. ItaL, 1999, 92, 2, 39 - 44.

28) Benson & Carson; Paper presented at the 30th Gen. Meeting. Am. Soc. Sugar Beet Tech., Orlando, USA,
February, 1999.

29) Fowers & Lloyd: Paper presented at the 30th Gen. Meeting. Am. Soc. Sugar Beet Tech., Orlando, USA,
February, 1999.

30) Stother, I.S.J., 1999, 101, 361 - 363.

31) Willems et al.: Paper presented at the 21st General C.I.T.S. Assembly, Antwerp, Belgium, May, 1999.

32) Opelka et al.: Paper presented at the 30th Gen. Meeting. Am. Soc. Sugar Beet Tech., Orlando, USA.

33) Opelka et al.: Paper presented at the 58th Ann. Meeting Sugar Industry Tech., Estoril, Portugal, May, 1999.

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