A pilot-plant facility to process sugarcane juice into sugar and molasses has been developed under a limited

budget at the Southern Regional Research Center of the United States Department of Agriculture in New "-6R IICallll.i:lll.

Louisiana (LA).. The batch plant (27.9 m2) includes juice heating, clarification, evaporation, vacuum pan boiling, and
centrifugation equipment.. Juice is collected from factories or other research facilities, transported to the pilot-plant
and processed.. A walk-in cooler is available close to the pilot plant to store juices, factory products, and pilot plant
products at refrigerated or freezing temperatures, if necessary.. Design characteristics and operational procedures
are described.. This pilot-plant will be used to conduct research projects, complement factory research trials, as
well as research processing innovations.. Juices from other sugar crops, including sugar sweet sorghum, and
tropical maize can also be processed..

Keywords: centrifugation, crystallization, evanoratton, juice clarification, pilot sugar processing

En el Centro Regional Sur de tnvestiqacion (Southern Regional Research Center), del Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos, en Nueva
Orleans, Luisiana, se desarrollo, con un presupuesto lirnitado, una planta piloto para producir azucar y melaza a partir de juga de caria de azucar. La
planta por lotes (27,9 m 2) incluye el equipo para el calentamiento, clanficacion, evaporacion, ebullicion en tachos al vacio y centnfuqaclon del jugo.
EI juga se recoge de fabricas 0 de otras instalaciones de investiqacion, se transporta a la planta piloto y se procesa. Proximo a la planta pilato esta
disponible un enfriador para el almacenamiento de los productos de las fabricas 0 de la planta pilato a temperaturas de refriqeracion 0 congelado,
sequn sea necesario. Se describen las caracteristicas de disefio y los procedimientos operativos. Esta planta pilato se utilizara para lIevar a cabo
proyectos de lnvestiqacion, pruebas de investlqacion complementarias de las de la fabrica asl como investiqacion en innovaciones de proceso.
Tarnbien se pueden procesar jugos de otros cultivos azucareros incluyendo remolacha azucarera, sorgo dulce y rnaiz tropical.

Uma instalacao de planta-piloto de processo do caldo da cana de acucar e rnelaco foi desenvolvido sob um orcarnento limitado no Southern
Regional Research Center do Departamento de Agricultura dos Estados Unidos, em Nova Orleans, Louisiana, EUA. 0 lote de planta (27,9 m2 )
inclui aquecimento, clareamento de caldo, evaporacao, fervura em panela de pressao, e equipamentos de centrifuqacao, 0 caldo e recolhido nas
fabricas ou em outras instalacoes de pesquisas, transportado para a planta-pitoto e processado. Um refrigerador fica disponivel perto da planta
piloto para armazenar caldos, produtos de fabrica e produtos da planta-piloto a temperaturas refrigeradas ou de congelamento, se necessario.
Caracteristicas de design e procedimentos operacionais sao descritos. Esta planta-piloto sera utilizada para conduzir projetos de pesquisa, ensaios
complementares a investiqacao de tabrica, bem como pesquisa de inovacoes de processamento. Caldos de outras culturas para producao de
acucar , incluindo beterraba, sorgo doce e milho tropical tarnbem podem ser proesssados.

a sister research facility (Sugarcane Research Laboratory) 1 hour

A facility to undertake the various unit processes in syrup and raw
sugar manufacture on a pilot-plant scale is an important research
tool. Figure 1 illustrates the flow chart of a newly developed
pilot plant at USDA-ARS-Southern Regional Research Center in
New Orleans for sugarcane juice. The pilot plant was also built
to process juice from other crops, such as sweet sorghum juice
into syrup for later fuel ethanol production. The USDA-ARS has
from New Orleans in Houma, LA, where they have a 3-roller mill
for producing juice from sugarcane stalks. Thus, production of
juice was not a major objective in the initial development of this
pilot plant.
One major reason for the development of the pilot plant is to
research the effects of juice collected from different, controlled
consignments of sugarcane from either a factory tandem mill
or diffuser or research facility, on downstream unit operations
 Design and operation of a pilot-plant for the
processing of sugarcane juice into sugar at the
Southern Regional Research Center in louisiana

and final sugar quality. Another important reason for the pilot sugarcane has to be processed at the factory to purge and
plant is to determine how variance in feedstock quality affects refill the front end of the factory to ensure that the mixed juice
the different processes and how to mitigate their occurrences. collected is representative of the consignment. Conversely,
Examining the effects of different quality cane on downstream when performing an experiment with a research facility, enough
unit operations at factories is impractical due to the huge harvested sugarcane has to be processed through roller milts to
amounts of cane required (over at least 2-days of processing) to minimally fill the juice tank.
perform an experiment. However, when performing a simulated This paper presents the design and operation of a batch pilot
factory study with the pilot plant, only enough harvested plant that includes a juice heater, clarification tank, calandria
Roberts-type evaporator, calandria
Figure 1. Process flow diagram of Figure 2" Top view schematic of the
vacuum pan, and basket centrifuge.
the pilot plant for sugarcane juice pilot plant drawn to scale
A continuous pilot plant would have
far exceeded our limited budget.
The facility requires approximately a
minimum of 40-50 gal (151 to 190
L) of mixed juice to yield the major
intermediate products of flocculated,
heated, limed juice (FHLJ), clarified
juice (CJ), mud, final evaporator
syrup (FES), A-massecuite, A-raw
sugar, and A-molasses. By recycling
the A-molasses into the vacuum
pan, Band C strikes can also
be undertaken.

The sugar processing pilot-plant

facility is part of a larger pilot plant
Figure 3. Photograph of pilot plant facHity in the basement of the Southern
Regional Research Center (SRRC) in
New Orleans. All of the pilot-plant
equipment is batch and closely
situated in an approximate 300 ft2
(-27.9 m2) area in the basement of the
larger pilot-plant wing of the SRRC
(Figures 2 and 3).

The larger facility of SRRC is able

to provide 5 to 30 psi (34-207 kPa)
regulated and 5 to 100 psi (34-689
kPa) unregulated steam. A piping
and instrumentation diagram of the
pilot plant is illustrated in Figure 4.
The steam to the sugar processing
pilot plant is supplied by the facility
boiler, a 200 hp (150 kW) Hurst
(Coolidge, GA) Boiler with operating
pressure range of 80 to 120 psi (550­
830 kPa). The steam pressure to the
evaporator and the vacuum pan are
reduced using Spence (Coolidge, GA)
steam reducers (regulators) Model
No. D50. maximum inlet pressure 200

Figure 4" Piping and instrumentation diagram of the pilot plant
All the valves shown are manual valves.
T represents a temperature gauge,
P, a pressure gauge,
pH, a pH probe,
Sf the speed of the centrifuge,
Q is a sample port for quality and composition testing.
A dashed line to a gauge represents an electronic
connection while a solid line is a physical connection.
Figure 5" Schematic of the juice heater and clarification
tank (not to scale, supports not shown)
Design operation of pilot-plant
proces.sing of sugarcane juice into
Southern Regional Research Center
psi (1380 kPa), outlet pressure range 3 to 15 psi (21-103 kPa),
and pipe size 0.75 in. (0.019 m). The steam reducers allow the
operator control of the steam pressure necessary for uniform
operation of the evaporator and vacuum pan. The steam piping
downstream of the regulator was 0.75 in. (0.019 m) black iron
threaded piping supplying the evaporator and vacuum pan with
constant and uninterrupted steam.
The in-house vacuum system was considered too variable
for reliable set-point operation and could not produce the
vacuum pressure required for operation of the evaporator and
vacuum pan. Instead, vacuum is produced by a rotary type
Elmo Reitschle (Schopfheim, Germany) vacuum pump capable
of 28 in. Hg (95 kPa) and a 1200 ft3 h' (34 m3 h') volumetric flow
rate. The voltage to the pump is on a keyed switch to prevent
unintended usage.
Juice heating occurs in a 70 gal (265 L) full capacity tank shown in
Figure 5. The stainless steel tank is positioned 86 in. (2.2 m) above
the ground supported by four legs fastened to the cement floor.
The tank dimensions are 24 in. (0.61 m) diameter x 36 in. (0.91
m) height. The tank was coated with wh ite, protective enamel
paint containing insulating ceramic paint additive by HY-TECH
(Melbourne, FL) (2 Ibs qal' or 0.24 kg L-1 paint).
Copper tubing of 0.625 in. (0.02 m) diameter, is used as a
heating coil inside the tank. The coil starts at the top of the
tank \f\fith a diameter of 18 in. (0.46 m) and descends with a
 Design and of pilot-plant the
processing sugarcane juice into sugar at the
Southern Regional Research Center in Louisiana
Figure 6.. Schematic of the mini-evaporator manufactured by Honiron"
(not to scale)
pitch of 4 in. (0.1 m) and completes 6.5 revolutions before
exiting at the top of the tank (Figure 5). Steam pressure in the
heating coil is controlled by a steam regulator and valve, and
monitored by a pressure gauge. At the end of the coil there is
a steam trap for condensate, and this condensate then returns
to the house condensate system. The tank is mixed with a
Neptune (Neptune, NJ) electric motor 0.05 hp (0.04 kW) with
a three prong, 3 in. (O.OB m) propeller offset from vertical with
an adjustable angle. The removable lid for the juice heating
tank was cut to allow the stirring motor shaft, steam lines, and
temperature probe to be present. Temperature in the tank is
monitored by a stainless steel thermocouple probe of 25 in.
(0.64 m) length, descending from the lid and connected to an
Omega (Stamford, CT) DPiB display. Juice pH is monitored by
an InPro™ 4BOO/120/PT1000 combination pH probe (Mettler
Toledo, Griefensee, Switzerland) at the bottom of the tank
connected to a Mettler Toledo (Columbus, OH) M300 display.
The tank is filled from an elevated balcony by draining juice
from 5 gal (18.9 L) buckets with a Dayton (Niles, IL) electric
drum pump (1 hp or 0.7 kW) into a funnel of 12 in. (0.30 m)
diameter attached to PVC tubing of 78 in. (2.0 m) length and
2.5 in. (0.064 m) diameter. The tank is gravity drained through
a 2.5 in. (0.064 m) pipe into the clarifier.
The clarification tank is situated below the juice tank and
elevated 18 in. (0.46 m) from the ground supported by four
legs fastened to a platform (Figure 5). The clarification tank is
70 gal (265 L) full capacity with dimensions of 24 in. (0.61 m)
diameter x 36 in. (0.91 m) height with a 6 in. (0.15 m) conical
bottom (Figure 5). The tank was fabricated
from stainless steel and jacketed with 2 in.
(0.05 m) fiberglass insulation with reflective
backing. The flocculated, heated and limed
juice (FHLJ) enters the top of the tank. The
pH is monitored by an InPro ™ 4800/1201
PT1 000 combination pH probe (Mettler Toledo,
Griefensee, Switzerland) contained within a
plastic housing of 30 in. (0.76 m) length
connected to the Mettler Toledo M300 display.
The temperature is simultaneously monitored
by a stainless steel thermocouple connected to
an Omega DPi8 display and by the pH probe.
The lid for the clarification tank has ports for
the temperature and pH probe, which descend
25 and 30 in. (0.64 and 0.76 m, respectively,
into the tank. The lid is not insulated. In order
to monitor settling, a series of test port valves
on the side of the clarification tank (Figure
5) were designed and fabricated at various
heights. The valves start from the top at 12
in. (0.30 m) with a 6 in. (0.15 m) pitch for four
valves then a 2 in. (0.02 m) pitch for the next
six valves, and lastly two valves in the conical
section with a 4 in. (0.1 m) pitch. The tank is
gravity drained by a 1 in. (0.03 m) pipe.
The pilot plant "mini" evaporator unit (55 gal or 210 L full capacity)
is based on Robert's-type calandria (rising film) evaporators
frequently operated in Louisiana and the rest of the US, and was
designed and manufactured by Honiron Corporation (Jeanerette,
LA). The general size and design of the evaporator unit are
illustrated in Figure 6. The dimensions of the mini-evaporator are
approximately 55 in. (1.4 m) height x 14 in. (0.35 m) width. The
bottom of the sight glass is 33.5 in. (0.851 m) from the floor, and
the drain valve at the bottom of the evaporator is 17.5 in. (0.445
m) from the floor. The distance easily allows for 5.0 gal (19 L)
stainless steel buckets to be placed under the evaporator to
collect syrup.
The mini-evaporator is heated by in-house steam regulated
to 10 psi (69 kPa). Steam is monitored by a physical gauge on
the steam supply line. Temperature and pressure are observed
by physical gauges mounted to the calandria. For safety, a
pressure relief valve is connected in parallel with the calandria
pressure gauge. Condensate is returned after a steam trap,
whilevincondensable gases can be vented by two valves at the
top of the catandria. House cooling water is supplied to the
condensor at a rate of 12 gal rnirr' (45 L rnin') at ....68 OF (....20
°C). Temperature of the fluid within the evaporator is probed
just above the calandria tubes. Pressure is gauged near the top
of the evaporator. Another pressure relief valve is connected in
parallel with the pressure gauge on the evaporator. To adjust
vacuum pressure, a needle valve is located near the top of the
evaporator. A hose fitting and valve are located on the side of
the evaporator that allows tap water to be added for dilution and
cleaning. A quick connect flange with valve at the bottom of the
 Design operation of pilot-plant for the
processing of sugarcane juice into at the
Southern Regional Research Center

Figure 711 Schematic of the vacuum pan manufactured by Honiron" specifications are the same as for the evaporator
(not to scale) (see Figure 4). The piping is in parallel and
valves select the destination of the working
fluid. The temperature, pressure, and vacuum
bleed are located in similar positions on the
vacuum pan as the evaporator. In addition to the
physical gauges for temperature and pressure,
a stainless steel nub-type thermocouple and
Omega pressure transducer are in parallel. The
pressure transd ucer is powered by a voltage
transformer. The electrical signals are then
transformed to digital information by a National
Instruments (Austin, TX) USB-6008 data
acquisition device and interpreted by LabVIEW
software. A hose connection with valve identical
to the one present on the evaporator allows tap
water to be added to the vacuum pan. Similar
to the evaporator, a quick connect flange with
valve at the bottom of the vacuum pan allows
a hose connection that can be used to add the
syrup when vacuum is present. The vacuum
pan contents are stirred by a mechanical
propeller present in the downtake powered by
a switchable 0.5 hp (0.4 kW) electric motor on
top of a gear reduction box. The contents of the
vacuum pan can be illuminated by a switchable

evaporator allows a hose connection that can be used to add the

juice when vacuum is present. The evaporator unit is mounted on
a common stand 0.66 m off the ground, with locking casters for
easy movement if required (Figure 6). The tank was coated with
brown, protective enamel paint containing an insulating ceramic
paint additive by HY-TECH (Melbourne, FL) (2 Ibs gal-lor 0.24 kg
L-1 paint).
Plans are in place to add an in-line radio frequency probe that
reports a signal proportional to the Brix of the contents. Current
microwave probes designs are too large for installation in the
mini-evaporator. The juice or syrup Brix is currently monitored via
the stuffing box by a handheld refractometer.

A pilot plant "mini" vacuum pan (34 gal or 130 L full capacity)
containing a Robert's-type calandria (rising film) tubes that
are conventionally operated in Louisiana and the U.S., was
also designed and manufactured by Honiron Corporation. The
pan has a mechanical circulator and condenser (Figure 7) and
was manufactured from steel (Plate SA-36, Pipe SA-53 Gr. B
and Tubes SA-240 Type 304). The dimensions of the pan are
approximately 1.0 m height x 0.4 m width. The bottom of the sight Colobservers control the wholewidth of
glass is 33.5 in. (0.851 m) from the floor, and the drain valve at the conveyor, displaying simultaneously
the bottom of the evaporator is 17.5 in. (0.445 m) from the floor. trends in colour in ICUMSA and the
The distance between floor and drain valve easily allows a 5.0 gal sugar image in reat-time, with brown
(19 L) stainless steel bucket to be placed under the vacuum for sugar lump detection. Recorded video
massecuite collection. sequencing enablesthe analysis and
The mini-vacuum pan is heated, pressure regulated, and
interpretation of production issues.
cooled by the same steam, vacuum pump, and house water
as the mini-evaporator. The steam; vacuum; and cooling water
 Design and operation of a pilot-plant for the
processing of sugarcane juice into sugar at the
Southern Regional Research Center in Louisiana
light opposite the sight glass.
The unit was also mounted on a common stand 25 in. (0.66
off the ground with lockable casters for easy movement if
required (Figure 6). After a commercial sand blast, the unit was
primed with lead and chromate free primer, and was finally
coated with brown, enamel protective paint containing an
insulating ceramic paint additive by HY-TECH (Melbourne, FL)
(2 Ibs gal-1 or 0.24 kg L-1 paint).
Plans are also in place to add an in-line radio frequency
probe that reports a signal proportional to the Brix of the
contents. Current microwave probe designs are too large for
installation in the mini-evaporator. The syrup or massecuite
Brix is currently 'monitored via the stuffing box by a handheld
refractometer.
Centrifugation of uncooled massecuites is undertaken with an
Ametek (Paoli, PA) basket centrifuge model Mark III (12 in. or 0.30
m diameter, 220 volt, 1 hp or 0.7 kW) made of stainless steel that
was purchased used. The speed is adjusted manually and ranges
from 1200 to 2900 rpm (250 to 1400 x g). The centrifuge is 0.33 fP
(9.34 L) with a 59 lb (26.8 kg) full capacity. It is securely mounted on
an elevated steel work bench with locking casters. A removable lid
with view port is secured in place by locking bracket. The authors
recognize that IEC Model K basket centrifuges are frequently used
in the Louisiana sugar industry, but scarcity of operational baskets
for the Model K centrifuge prevented its acquisition.
Massecuites (at least 0.75 gal or 2.8 L) are carried by a
downward pointing nozzle that drains into a 5.0 gal (19 L)
stainless steel bucket. Depending on the size of the crystals in
the massecuite formed in the pilot plant vacuum pan, an AlB
(0.87 x 4.4 mm slots) or C centrifugal screen (0.19 x 1.84 mm
slots) is placed inside of the centrifuge basket. The screens were
cut out from the less worn areas of used factory screens, kindly
donated by Kevin Pontlt, Lafourche Sugars LLC. A steel backing
screen with mesh size 0.125 in. (0.00318 m) is placed between
the perforated basket and the centrifuge screen of choice.
For ease of handling and transport of juice to New Orleans, it
is collected in 5 gal (18.9 L) containers. Biocide (Busan 881TM,
Buckman Labs., US) is added to stop deterioration over the 1-2
h transportation time; the concentration of biocide is determined
by preliminary experiments. In New Orleans, if necessary the
juice and other factory products, e.g., syrup, massecuites, can
be stored in a Polar King (Fort Wayne, IN) Model H1416 walk-in
cooler very close to the pilot plant. The walk-in cooler internal
dimensions are 158 x 191 in. (4.04 x 4.85 m) and the temperature
range capacity Is -4 to 41°F (-20 to +5°C).
Clariflcation of sugarcane juice in the pilot plant is by the hot lime
clarification process that is now the major process of choice in
the U.S (Eggleston et el., 2003). However, it is also possible to
study other clarification processes using this equipment, for not
only sugarcane juice but juices extracted from other sugar crops
including those favored for ethanol fuel production (Andrzejewski
and Eggleston, 2010). The juice (minimum amount of -40 to 50
gal to prevent overflow problems in processing and also ensure
uniform contact with heating elements) is heated in the 70 gal (265
L) tank that feeds into the clarification tank below (Figure 5), with
10 psi (69 kPa) steam with constant stirring. The heating produces
a 2.3°F min' (.... 1.3°C min') rate of rise in temperature. Temperature
and pH of juice inside the tank are monitored using sensors,
respectively. The juice is allowed to be heated to 205°F (96°C) and
then limed to pH 7.3 with milk of lime (MOL) or lime saccharate
(-11 baume). A safety ladder is needed to pour the lime treatment
into the tank. The limed juice is then heated to boiling and allowed
to boil for 1 min to remove all the air bubbles (flash heating is
not possible as this is not a pressurized tank). After the steam
and electric mixer are tumed off, the flocculant (StockhausenTM
polyanionic solution 0.1 %; 5 ppm) is added and well mixed by hand
stirring using a paddle. The flocculated, heated, limed juice (FHLJ)
is then immediately gravity fed into the clarification tank below by
opening the valve at the bottom (Figure 5).
The FHLJ is allowed to settle for approximately 1.5 h in the 55
gal (210 L) clarification tank. (Less than 1.5 h was not sufficient
for acceptable clarification). The rate of settling can be monitored
via the test port valves on the side of the clarification tank (Figure
5). A sample is collected in a test tube at specified intervals and
observed in front of a bright lamp located near the workbench
(Figure 2), then placed in a test tube rack. Mud is gravity drained
from the bottom valve, weighed, and assayed. The clarified juice
formed is fed into a holding tank, or can be stored for <24 h in
the walk-in cooler.
The rnlnl-evaporator is shown in Figure 6. Clarified juice (-15 Brix)
is fed into the evaporator at the bottom by suction until it covers
just above the calandria tubes (-8 gal or 30.3 L). The clarified juice
is then boiled under -15 in. Hg vacuum (51 kPa) at ....180°F (82.2°C)
to ensure no or minimal entrainment. The Brix is allowed to steadily
increase and boiling is continued under these conditions until the
syrup is -45 Brix and, therefore, more viscous. The vacuum is then
increased to 20 in. Hg and the temperature lowered to ....165°F
(74°C) to simulate raw sugar manufacturing conditions in later
evaporators of a factory evaporation station. Eventually the vacuum
pressure is allowed to increase to 25 in. Hg at 140-150°F (85 kPa
at 60' to 66°C) with the clarified juice continuously fed into the
evaporator. When the Brix is 65, Le., equivalent to final evaporator
syrup (FES) in a U.S. sugarcane factory, the FES is dropped out
of the evaporator at the bottom (Figure 6). Note: It is possible to
manufacture syrups of a wide range of Brix's in this evaporator and
thus simulate a five-stage evaporator station.
The pilot plant vacuum pan shown in Figure 7 is operated at
150°F (65.5°C) under 25 in. Hg (85 kPa) vacuum to simulate
 Design and operation a pilot-plant
processing of sugarcane juice into
Southern Regional Research in LOlUSIC:lna

8 .. Thermal image of vacuum pan in operation using a Fluke (Everett, massecuite formed in the pilot
Ti25 IR Thermal Image camera. The numbers directly on the vacuum pan, denote the plant vacuum pan, a C or AlB
lowest, average, and highest temperatures (OF) centrifugal screen is placed
inside of the centrifuge basket.
Massecuite (at least 0.75 gal
or 2.8 L) is directly placed into
the center of the centrifuge
chamber to ensure uniform
loading. Centrifugation is started
at 1200 rpm and accelerated to
a maximum speed of 2900 rpm
over a 2 min period. De-ionized
water (75 ml) is then added
slowly with a spray bottle to
simulate industrial manufacture;
this takes 20 min. After the 20
min has elapsed, the centrifugal
speed is decelerated over a 2 min
period. The raw sugar produced
is scraped from the screen and
spread out to dry over a clean
piece of paper with the sugar no
greater than 0.4 cm thickness.

conditions in raw sugar manufacture. Feed syrup (-65 Srix FES)

is fed into the pan at the bottom by suction until it covers just
above the calandria tubes (-8.5 gal or 32.1 L). The syrup is then
boiled with constant feeding at 150°F under 25 in. Hg vacuum
and constant agitation until -78 Brix is obtained to keep the
syrup in the metastable zone and limit false grain (nucleation)
formation. Soiling is then stopped and seed crystals (88 g/88
ml isopropanol) are added into the pilot vacuum pan, also from
underneath. (Alternatively, seed crystals can be fed into the seed
crystal port shown on Figure 7). The seed crystals are allowed to
mix for 3 min with stirring for stabilization. After mixing, the pan
boiling begins again and the volume of syrup inside the pan is
increased -2-fold by adding feedstock syrup (65 Brix) to allow
the crystals to grow; the Srix of the pan syrup is maintained -78,
Le., in the metastable zone. Once the grain crystals have grown
to the mean crystal size required (and little syrup is available for
further growth) the grain produced is "cut", Le., is dropped out
of the pan at the bottom, leaving enough grain to just cover the
calandria tubes. Feedstock syrup is then (65 Brix) fed into the
pan until the volume had increased 2-fold again, and the new
mixture allowed to boil and crystals allowed to grow. Repeat
cuts and a final "strike" are dropped after further crystal growth
to the required crystal size (and little syrup was available for
further growth). As in industry, this procedure is used with
modification for different syrup feedstock. Figure 8 illustrates
a thermal image of the vacuum pan during operation. From the
image you can see the operating steam temperature, cooling
water temperature, and uniform distribution of temperature in
the equipment. Furthermore, there were no unwanted localized
heat spots.
Depending on the type and/or size of the crystals in the
Tap water is boiled at atmospheric pressure then drained from
the evaporator or vacuum pan to remove any sugar and rust
deposits prior to use. The process is repeated until boiled water
is free of particulates. The overall heat transfer coefficient (U)
is calculated for a clean evaporator and vacuum pan using the
following relationship:
q
Where q is the amount of heat provided by the steam, A the
surface area of the calandria 11 ft2 (1 .0 rn'), T; the temperature of
the steam, and Tc the temperature of the water. On average, the
heat transfer coefficient for the clean evaporator was 268 STU
hr' °F-1 ft-2 (1300 W m-2 K-1). The value is the average of three
measurements during heating from 90 to 154°F (-32 to 68°C),
when the water was hot from 154 to 186°F (-68 to 86°C), and
when the water was near boiling from 186 to 210°F (86 to 99°C) of
tap water. During heating the overall heat transfer coefficient was
190 BTU hr' °F-1 ft-2 (1080 W m-2 K-1), when the water was hot, 238
BTU hr' °F-1 ft-2 (1350 W m-2 K-1), and near boiling, 375 BTU nr'
°F-1 (2130 W m-2 K-1). The increased heat transfer is because of
the increase in natural convection of water as it nears boiling. It is
not currently possible to measure the steam condensate directly
in either the evaporator or vacuum pan as it is returned to the
house condensate system. The steam utilized was calculated via
theoretical steam flow through an orifice and steam table values
(Perry and Green, 1997).
The average heat transfer coefficients of first (1161 rrr'), second
(1161 rn-), and third body (1161 rn") Robert's-type evaporators in
a LA sugarcane multiple-body evaporation station after cleaning
were reported to be 2084, 1542 and 712 W m-2 K-1, respectively
(Eggleston et el., 2007). These values are based on syrup and not
 Design and operation of a Dn(J[-I;JI2111
processing of sugarcane into
Southern Regional Research Center in i.ouisiana

water which caused the coefficients to decrease from the first to inspections by the SRRC Safety Officer. The pilot plant was
the third body. Nevertheless, the transfer coefficient for the clean designated a safety zone and only trained, authorized personnel
pilot plant evaporator was 1300 W m-2 K-1 and, therefore, within are allowed to use and operate the pilot plant equipment. Warning
the range of industrial evaporators. signs are posted around the safety zone. Standard Operation
The same process was repeated for the vacuum pan with Procedures were created for each piece of equipment and kept
stirring, yielding an average overall heat transfer coefficient of in a file on the work bench. All authorized personnel have to wear
233 BTU hr' °F-1 ft-2 (1320 W m-2 K-1), and 162 BTU hr' °F-1 hard hats, lab coats, safety goggles, and steel-toe shoes when the
ft-2 (920 W m-2 K-1), 251 BTU hr' °F-1 ft-2 (1430 W m-2 K-1), and pilot plant is operational. A face shield is used when decanting hot
286 BTU hr' °F-1 ft-2 (1620 W m-2 K-1) for the three temperature clarified juice from the clarification tank. A safety harness is used
regions respectively. with the safety ladder. The keyed switch for use of the vacuum
pump is a safety mechanism to prevent unintended usage. As
mentioned earlier in the design, both the evaporator and vacuum
pan have pressure relief valves. Any steam released from the vent
Operating conditions on the vacuum pan are collected by on the calandrias is routed into a collection container.
thermocouple and pressure transducer and translated to digital
information by a National Instruments USB-6009. The digital
information is simultaneously recorded by in-house software
written in LabVIEW v. 10.0 (National Instruments, Austin, TX).
The pressure and temperature graphs assist in maintaining the
set point values. The collected values are used to calculate a Numerous mixed juices from a LA sugarcane factory have already
supersaturation coefficient for the material within the vacuum been clarified in the pilot plant. A typical temperature decay
pan. Labview interpolates the supersaturation coefficient from in juice being settled across the clarification tank is shown in
empirical correlations provided the syrup purity by the user, and
Figure 9. Initially the temperature reading from the temperature/
boiling point rise calculated from the Clausius-Claperyon relation
pH probe exhibited a lag-time (Figure 9). However, the displayed
at the operating pressure and temperature (Holven, 1942). The value was still less noisy than if a thermocouple had been used. A
value is used in conjunction with handheld refractometer readings
linear decay of juice temperature was observed in the clarification
to maintain the Brix within the metastable region. tank (Figure 9). This is consistent with our calculations which
showed that 99.9% of the heat loss was from the uninsulated
top, in the linear direction, than insulated side and bottom.
With some reasonable approximations, it was shown that the
The pilot plant was subjected to safety and hazard assessment clarification tank behaves as a rod with one end uninsulated. The
information and data obtained can
Figure 9.. Typical drop in temperature of juice inside the clarification tank with be used to justify model selection
residence time for transient state heat loss studies.
The governing relation for heat
loss from the top and side of the
clarification tank, respectively,

(1 )

(2)

lib == (3)

where q is the heat loss from

the top (t), side (s) and bottom
(b), k is the thermal conductivity
of the material, A is the area, T
is the temperature, and x and r
the thickness of the material. The
approximations were: the insulated
conical bottom of the clarification
tank is a flat surface, the water
vapors condensing on the lid have
on the same temperature and heat
clarification tank transfer coefficient as the bulk fluid
would have in contact with the lid,
 Design and operation of a pilot-plant for
processing of sugarcane juice into sugar at the
Southern Regional Research Center in louisiana

and lastly the heat transfer and thickness of the metal can be
neglected when compared to the thickness of the insulation for
the side and bottom. Heat lost through the top is five orders of
magnitude greater than the through the side or bottom, thus the
model selection is Justified and confirms the linear decrease in
observed temperature.
As expected, the pH of the Juice in the clarification tank
always dropped across the 1.5 h clarification time, due to
the precipitation of alkaline salts and some acid inversion of
sucrose (Eggleston et a/., 2003). Moreover, the turbidity of
clarified Juice produced in the clarification tank was 57-148
NTU which is within the turbidity range of clarified juices
formed in LA factories across a sugarcane processing season
(....40-200 NTU; personal communication, Vadim Kochergin,
Audubon Sugar Institute, LA; Eggleston et el., 2012a). Average
pilot plant clarification results for a mixed juice produced in a
LA factory from a typical load of cane delivered by a grower
(combine harvester set with an extraction fan speed of 850
rpm), are shown in Table 1.
Quality parameters across the pilot plant after processing
typical mixed juice from a Louisiana factory (collected 21
Nov, 2010) are listed in Table 2. The mixed Juice had biocide
(a carbamate biocide used in LA sugarcane factories; Susan
881™, Buckman Labs, US) added to prevent deterioration and
sucrose losses (preliminary studies were undertaken to ensure
the correct amount of biocide was added), and the Juice was
processed immediately after it arrived at the pilot plant from
the factory situated 1.5 hours away. Sucrose purity values
measured using gas chromatography (GC) showed that, within
experimental error, there were no serious sucrose losses due
to inversion during storage or processing. The slight decrease
in sucrose across clarification is to be expected as all LA
factories incur inversion in their clarification tanks because of
the hot temperature, low Juice Brix, and long retention times
(typically 1.5 h). Chemical deterioration by inversion could be
a problem because it takes at least 3 days to process the juice
to massecuites, which means that storage of the material is
necessary. However, the lack of any serious sucrose losses
(Table 2) indicated that the cold storage facilities had mitigated
any deterioration problems.
Glucose and fructose levels remained relatively constant
across the pilot plant (Table 2). Furthermore, although the
glucose/fructose ratio slightly increased in the clarified juice due
to inversion, it remained quite constant thereafter. Ash increased
by 4.2% during clarification due to lime addition as Milk of
Lime (11 baume). Ash values increased across the pilot plant
thereafter, due to a concentration effect.
Color values in Louisiana are measured at pH 8.5 and are,
therefore, higher than ICUMSA color measurements at pH 7.0
(Eggleston et el., 2010a). Color is becoming an increasingly
important processing parameter in the US sugar industry because

Table 1. Typical clarification results using the pilot plant a

Sample Settling Av. clarified juice °/0 Turbidity Visual Mud volume Mud volume Mud density
timeh turbidity (NTU) removal floes after 18 min °/0 after 30 min 0/0 (g/mL)
LA Factory 1.5 130.2 98.3 v. large 17.7 17.7 1.121
mixed juice b floes
a SeeJuice Heating and Clarification section in the text for the method

bObtained from a Louisiana sugarcane factory operating a tandem milt. The cane was delivered with 18.9% trash (green and brown leaves plus top stalk), which is typical of mid­

season sugarcane in Louisiana (Eggleston et et., 2012a).

Table 2. Changes in quality parameters (average values) across the pilot plant after mixed juice from a
factory is processed

Quality Mixed Clarified Final

Masseeuite A A-raw Affined
Parameter juice a juice evaporator syrup
molasses sugar sugar b
Sucrose (GC) purity % 89.21 88.70 88.17 89.85 98.87
Glucose (GC) purity % 1.27 1.29 1.29 1.30 2.62 0.012 Not
detected
Fructose (GC) purity % 1.35 1.22 1.18 1.21 2.40 0.012 Not
detected
Glucose/fructose ratio 0.94 1.05 1.09 1.07 1.09 1.00
Ash % C
3.07 3.20 3.51 5.33 6.91 0.12
Oolor" CU 22667 25599 22037 24844 22793 1738 989
Starch e ppm/Brix 1745 1502 1255 1302 1727 437 439
a Mixed juice obtained from a LA sugarcane factory operating a tandem mill. The cane was delivered with 18.9% trash (green and brown leaves plus top stalk), which is typical
of mid-season sugarcane in LA (Eggleston et et., 2012a).
b Affined sugar was obtained using the Contract No. 10 Method (Anon. 1984a,b) used in the US refineries.
cConductivity (soluble) ash was determined according to ICUMSA method GS1/3/4fi/8-13 and calculated on a % Brix basis.
11 Color was measured at pH 8.5 and at absorbance 420 nm, and calculated according to the official ICUMSA method GS2/3-9 (1994).
eStarch was calculated using the rapid SPRI iodometric method (Godshall et al.• 2004) with modifications (Eggleston et el., 2010b).
 for the
DIU'l"(-1'l13Irn
into sugar at the
seumem Re!Qionai Research Center in Louisiana
the new refineries are requesting VHP (very high pol) and VLC
(very low color) raw sugars. Premiums will be given for low color
and ash values in VHPNLC raw sugars that will benefit both the
processors and growers. Typical color values across the pilot
plant are listed in Table 2 and show little variation from mixed
juice to massecuite and molasses. This is in agreement of results
by Muir and Eggleston (2009) that most of the color in the factory
comes from the sugarcane and very little, comparatively, is formed
and degraded across the factory. The A-raw sugar produced had
a 1738 Color Units (CU) which means it is a VHPNLC sugar as the
threshold value for VHP sugar is less than 2200 CU. Furthermore,
the raw sugar color is in the range of commercial raw sugars in
Louisiana (1800-2800 CU; personal communication, Olga Mow,
Chief Chemist, Lafourche Sugars LLC). Recently, using the pilot
plant, Eggleston et al. (2012a) reported that VHP raw and affined
sugar cannot be obtained commercially 'from juice extracted from
sugarcane with greater than 18.9-22.7% total trash.
Starch values across the pilot plant are also listed in Table
2. Starch concentrations in Louisiana have become more
important in recent years because of the increased production
of green (unburnt) and combine-harvested (billeted) sugarcane,
the introduction of new sugarcane varieties with higher starch
content, and dryer environmental conditions (Eggleston et a/.,
2010b). The decrease in starch in the clarified juice (Table 2) is
most likely because of the action of natural diastase enzymes in
the sugarcane itself that would have acted in the mixed juice tank
before the attained high temperatures denatured the enzymes.
These diastase enzymes may reflect, in part, the 18.9% total trash
levels in the cane from which the juice was extracted as more
amylase is contained in green trash tissues (Alexander, 1965).
Such levels of trash are typical in Louisiana and are even higher
in early season when the cane is more immature.
A new pilot plant at USDA-ARS-Southern Regional Research
Center in New Orleans has been developed under a low budget
(total cost with accessories is < US$130,000), and is now fully
operational. The pilot plant has already been used to manufacture
A-raw sugar and affined sugar from mixed juices of different
quality collected from a Louisiana factory (Eggleston et a/.,
2012a) and to study the effects of impurities on crystallization
(Eggleston et al., 2012b). This pilot-plant will be used to conduct
research projects, complement factory research trials, and
research processing innovations. Each piece of equipment can
be used to investigate specific unit operations and the use of
processing aids. The evaporator and vacuum pan can also be
taken to a factory and used to study juice streams there. Juices
from other sugar crops, including sugar beet, sweet sorghum,
and tropical maize, can also be processed as long as they have
been preserved properly. Our future vision for the pilot plant is to
upgrade sensors, software, and add a pilot plant scale fermenter
for ethanol production from juice extracted from multiple sugar
crops or diluted syrup.
The authors thank Mr Tirnmy Charlet of Cora Texas factory,
Mr Duane Legendre and Greg Nolan of Leighton Sugars, and
Dr Harold Birkett of Audubon Sugar Institute for their useful
discussions. Many thanks to CELTA Corporation for helping to
install the equipment and to David Daniels for discussions of
safety issues. Mention of trade names or commercial products
in this article is solely for the purpose of providing specific
information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement
by the US Department of Agriculture.
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