challenge

The main production activity of Colombian sugar company Ingenio Pichichi is processing sugarcane, providing a variety of sugar products to domestic and foreign customers. Sugar factories attach great importance to environmental protection and efficient operation, pursuing high profits. The sugar factory processes about 4300 tons of sugarcane every day, producing various sugar products such as honey products, raw sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, etc. Due to the huge production volume, optimizing production and preventing expensive products from leaking into the production process has become crucial. The on-site laboratory of the sugar factory collects data to help the factory make decisions that can improve production efficiency and save costs.

Processing sugarcane into marketable products requires a series of process steps, including crushing, clarification, filtration, evaporation, crystallization, and centrifugation. In the evaporation stage, a multi-stage distillation system is required to concentrate the sugar juice. The boiler provides a clean steam source for the first stage, and the steam generated in the first stage enters the next stage before continuing with other steps. The steam generated in the final stage is condensed into condensate by the pressure condenser and collected in the cooling tank. The condensed water from each stage will be collected in the cooling tank and used as cooling water in the future.

In order to protect equipment such as boilers and condensers, condensed water must not contain sugar or sugar juice to avoid product loss and reduce factory profits. Therefore, it becomes very important to quickly and effectively monitor product leaks or operational failures. Early detection of product leaks can help operators stop, change, or improve operations in a timely manner, avoiding damage to equipment or increased costs.

　　Solution

In the past, sugar factories used methods such as pH, conductivity, alkalinity, Brix Degree, and HPLC analysis to detect product leaks. Under normal circumstances, sugar molecules do not ionize and their pH value is neutral, so most of the above methods are not suitable for detecting sugar leaks. In the production process of high temperature and high pressure, sugar molecules will decompose into destructive compounds that can cause sedimentation, corrosion, and scaling. In addition, when sugar molecules decompose, they will lose their original HPLC characteristic peaks. This requires factories to have a fast, reliable, and accurate method to monitor sugar.

Sugar is a carbohydrate composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. By measuring the total TOC parameters and accurately quantifying all organic compounds in the solution, sugars can be easily detected. The working principle of a TOC analyzer is to oxidize organic molecules into carbon dioxide (CO2) and then detect the emitted CO2. The Ingenio Pichichi sugar factory purchased a Sievers * InnovOx laboratory type TOC analyzer (see Figure 1) to characterize and analyze the system. This helped the sugar factory establish control limits for steam, condensate, and cooling water, thereby assisting in optimizing production processes and increasing production profits. TOC should be monitored at the following locations:

·The inlet water of the first boiler

·Condensed water generated at each stage

·Inlet and outlet of cooling tank

The Sievers InnovOx laboratory analyzer uses supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) and non dispersive infrared (NDIR) detection techniques to monitor carbon concentrations ranging from 50 ppb (µ g/L) to 50000 ppm (mg/L). The expected conventional TOC value for sugar factories is approximately in the range of 200 to 500 ppm, but in the event of operational failure or product leakage, the carbon concentration can reach a peak TOC value of 5000 to 20000 ppm.

　　Conclusion

TOC analysis is a simple and accurate analytical method that can detect product leakage events that cause expensive equipment damage and production losses. Colombian sugar company Ingenio Pichichi needs to improve the monitoring and performance of its water system. The evaporation stage of the crushing process, including the repeated heating and cooling stages of uninterrupted steam and condensed water, is a frequent stage of sugar leakage. The Ingenio Pichichi sugar factory used the Sievers InnovOx laboratory type TOC analyzer to monitor TOC during the critical stages mentioned above, achieving profit targets while also meeting environmental and operational goals.