1. INTRODUCTION
Although
world prices for sugar and petroleum products have shown spectacular variations
since 1973, the long term outlook is very likely to be a gradual increase in
the price of all fossil fuels and stagnation, at best, for the price of sugar. This
gloomy prospect explains, to a large degree, the renewed interest in the
byproducts of the sugarcane industry which has developed in the last ten years
and which has shown that the optimal use of byproducts can provide a
non-negligible support to the sugarcane industry, although it could not, by
itself, completely redress the difficult situation sugar is presently
experiencing. The
four main byproducts of the sugarcane industry are cane tops, bagasse, filter
muds and molasses (Figure 1). If
we accept that the present world production of sugarcane has reached the 60
million tonnes level, then the quantities of these byproducts produced yearly
are approximately the following:
|
Cane tops
|
200 million tonnes
|
(fresh weight)
|
|
Bagasse
|
60 million tonnes
|
(bone dry weight)
|
|
Filter muds
|
5 million tonnes
|
(air dried weight)
|
|
Molasses
|
16 million tonnes
|
(at 80 percent DM)
|
Reliable
statistics are not available to show the detailed end uses of these byproducts
on a world basis, but although their utilization will be considered later in
more detail, as a very rough picture of their trade we can say that at
present cane tops and filter muds are largely ignored; that bagasse is used
internally mainly as fuel to generate steam in the sugarcane factories and a
small fraction to produce pulp and board; and that molasses is exported either
as such for animal feed or after transformation as rum, potable alcohol or
industrial alcohol.
2.
VALUE UPGRADING AND PRICE LEVEL OF BYPRODUCTS
There
are many end uses to which the byproducts of the sugarcane industry can be put
- probably more than 150. But many of them, under present technological and
marketing conditions would be of negligible economic interest. Figure 1
presents about 38 end-products which we consider as potentially important or
which have proved, under normal circumstances, of economic interest. It
should be pointed out that, as a general rule, maximum value upgrading goes
with more complex processing characterized by capital intensity, sophisticated
technical know how and competitive markets. Maximization of profits is not
automatically linked with process complexity and depends much more often on
advantages local conditions or the proximity of a remunerative export market. Although
“small” may be rarely “beautiful” when dealing with byproducts, the simpler
operations are often the more profitable. As
an example, molasses can simply be exported as such and earn some US$ 25 to 30
per tonne. However, by transforming the molasses into citric acid (worth say
US$ 1 600 per tonne) about 330 kg of citric acid worth US$ 528 would be
obtained from one tonne of molasses, i.e. about 18 times more than the previous
operation. We must point out however that it is generally much easier to find a
market for 30 000 tonnes of citric acid (worth US$ 750 000) than it is to find
a buyer for 10 000 tonnes of citric acid (worth US$ 16 000 000). The market
price of the byproducts of the sugarcane industry varies from country to
country with cyclical increases and decreases.
i.
Cane tops have no real market value.
They can be compared to fair quality fodder with an average feed value, when
fresh, of about 2.8 megajoules of metabolizable energy per kilo of dry matter.
However cane tops should be collected and transported from the cane fields to
the feedlot and their value to the cane producer could probably be no more than
US$ 10 per tonne of fresh cane tops.
ii.
The price of bagasse is generally
related to its fuel value. Thus since 1 tonne of mill-run bagasse can be
replaced by 0.173 tonne of fuel oil, worth US$ 80/tonne or again by 0.263 tonne
of bituminous coal worth US$55/tonne, it can be said that bagasse is worth
between US$ 13.8 and 14.5 per tonne (mill-run weight, 50 percent moisture
content) and a figure of US$ 15 can be used as a rounded representative
average.
iii.
Filter muds have no set market value
and since they are used almost exclusively as fertilizer, it is reasonable to
utilize their fertilizer value which stands at present at about US$ 10 per
tonne of air dried filter muds (30 percent moisture).
iv.
Molasses is traded on the
international market and its price fluctuates appreciably from year to year.
The average FOB price New Orleans for 1985 was US$ 64.33 per tonne (at 79.5°
Bx).
3.
MAIN UTILIZATION OF BAGASSE
Bagasse
is the fibrous residue of the cane stalk left after crushing and extraction of
the juice. It consists of fibres, water and relatively small quantities of
soluble solids - mostly sugar. The average composition of mill-run bagasse is
the following:
|
Fibre (including ash)
|
48.0
|
percent
|
|
Moisture
|
50.0
|
"
|
|
Soluble solids
|
2.0
|
"
|
The
fibre consists mainly of cellulose (27 percent), pentosans (30 percent), lignin
(20 percent) and ash (3 percent).
The
calorific value (CV) of bagasse is given by the formula:
Net
CV = 18 309 - 31.1 S - 207.3 W - 196.1 A (expressed in kJ/kg)
where
S = soluble solids % bagasse
W = moisture % bagasse, and
A = ash % bagasse,.
S = soluble solids % bagasse
W = moisture % bagasse, and
A = ash % bagasse,.
If
W = 0, S = 2 and A = 3, then the net CV of bone dry bagasse = 17 659 kJ/kg.
If
W = 50, S = 2 and A =1 1/2 then the net CV of mill run bagasse = 7 588 kJ/kg.
Bagasse
is used for the generation of steam and power required to operate the sugar factory.
A typical factory producing raw sugarcane require, per tonne of cane, about 35
kWh and 450 kg of exhaust steam. Much progress has been achieved lately and,
with continuous operation of the pans, crystallizers and centrifuges and an
efficient evaporation station, a modern raw sugar factory can now operate with
30 kWh and 300 kg of exhaust steam per tonne of cane. Such a factory can save
50 percent of the bagasse it produces and this bagasse can be used to produce
electricity for the grid or saved as raw material for the production of paper,
board, furfural, etc.
a)
Electricity
The
more straightforward solution is to produce electricity from the bagasse saved
via a high pressure boiler and condensing turbo-alternator. This solution has
found favour in a number of cane producing countries such a Hawaii, Australia,
Reunion and Mauritius and with modern equipment some 450 kWh can now be
produced per tonne of mill-run bagasse. A typical example of this use is given
in Table 1 and if mill-run bagasse is priced at US$ 15 per tonne, electricity
can be generated on a year round basis, at a cost of approximately US cents 6
to 8 per kWh, which should prove competitive with the ruling price of
electricity in most Third World countries. To
be economical, the generating station must work on a continuous basis, say at
least 7 800 hours yearly. This will imply bagasse storage to be able to
generate during the intercrop period. Various methods have been tried: dry and
wet bulk storage, bale storage and pelleting. Dry
bulk storage has proved uneconomic and is not suitable for large tonnages. Wet
bulk storage does not apply and is utilized when bagasse is to be used for pulp
production. Pelleting is still being tested in Hawaii and in Mauritius, but
appears expensive per tonne of bagasse handled. Thus bale storage, which is
presently the most widely used method seem the reasonable choice, although it
requires a substantial storage area and can lead to annual losses of 10 percent
of more of the bagasse stored. The
generation of electricity from surplus bagasse is undoubtedly the easiest and
best utilization of this byproduct for most cane-producing Third World
countries. However, as local conditions vary extensively the possibility of
utilizing surplus bagasse to produce particle board, paper, furfural, or
methane will be briefly considered.
(b)
Particle board
The
production of particle board from bagasse is a well-proven technology but it
has to compete with plywood and fibreboard. Its main difficulty is the high
cost of imported synthetic resins which serve as a binder to the bagasse fibres
composing the board. Also the board's optimal thickness is about 15 mm and
further it cannot be used for outdoor purposes so that its main market is
limited to inner partitions and furniture. In
the last few years a process has been developed in the Federal Republic of
Germany whereby Portland cement replaces the urea formaldehyde resins, which
enables this cement-bonded particle board to be used for exterior walls,
roofing, etc. and thus increases significantly its market appeal. Note however
that the bagasse utilized should not contain more than 0.5 percent of sugar on
a bone dry basis. Otherwise the end product would not be satisfactory. Table 2
gives some indication of the comparative economic data for resin and cement
particle boards made of bagasse.
(c)
Paper
Good
quality wrapping and magazine paper can be produced with a high percentage of
depithed bagasse as raw material. The availability of a fair size internal
market, sufficient surplus bagasse and fair quality industrial water are the
usual constraints, apart from the high capital intensity of paper plants and
the necessity to handle polluting effluents. Up
to now the production of newsprint from bagasse has proved difficult and
uneconomic, but there are constant advances in technology and bagasse newsprint
may become feasible within the next ten years, especially if mixed with a fair
percentage of waste paper. Also the production of magazine or note paper on a
small scale has been investigated by Western (1979) and the experience gained
in India seems to confirm the feasibility of plants producing as little as 15
tonnes of bleached pulp per 24 hours. The
process generally favoured for the production of bagasse pulp is the Kraft
process using sodium sulphate. The actual sulphate cooking liquor contains a
4:1 mixture of caustic soda and sodium sulphide. Typical yield on bone dry
depithed bagasse, to be expected with the Kraft cooking process is 48 percent
for the final bleached slush pulp. Production cost, with depithed and 90
percent dry bagasse at US$ 30/tonne, would be around US$ 340 per tonne of
bleached slush pulp. Water requirements would be about 200 m3 per
tonne of pulp. Indicatively, the capital cost for plant and equipment would be
about US$ 12 million for a 50 TPD factory. The
production of pulp and paper from bagasse is not advisable as the main use of
byproducts by Third World countries, unless very favourable local conditions
exist. It is a relatively demanding technology best approached after gaining
experience with simpler bagasse processing as called for in electricity
generation or particle board manufacture.
(d)
Furfural
Furfural
is a colourless, inflammable, volatile, aromatic liquid produced from a number
of plant materials containing pentosans - in the case of bagasse, 90 percent
being xylan. With acid hydrolysis the xylan yields xylose which subsequently
loses 3 water molecules to form furfural according to the following simplified
equation:
|
C5H8O4
+ H2O
|
---- C5H10O5
|
---- C5H4O2
+
|
3H2O
|
|
Xylan
|
Xylose
|
Furfural
|
In
practice about 25 tonnes of mill-run bagasse are required to produce 1 tonne of
furfural.
Furfural
has many industrial uses, one of them being as a selective solvent for the
refining of lubricating oils and another as an intermediate in the production
of nylon 6.6 and resins used for moulding powders. Furfural
on hydrogenation yields furfuryl alcohol which can produce inexpensive,
heat-stable and corrosion-resistant resins. Furfuryl alcohol is also used in
the pharmaceutical, fungicide, insecticide and solvent fields. Table 3 gives a
summary of production variables of furfural from bagasse. Capital
cost for a 5 000 tonnes/yearly plant, generally considered as the minimal
economic capacity, would be about US$ 9 million and the production cost about
US$ 450 per tonne of furfural. It
should be noted that about 35 tonnes of steam are required to produce one tonne
of furfural, hence the importance of utilizing the lignin rich hydrolysate
which is left over from the process to generate steam in a special boiler. Low
pressure steam will be available as surplus and could be used in an adjoining
distillery. Furfuryl
alcohol is produced by the catalytic hydrogenation of furfural. Starting from
bagasse, a plant to produce 4 500 tonnes yearly of furfuryl alcohol would cost
US$ 12 million to US$ 13 million and would require some 150 000 tonnes of
mil-run bagasse. The production cost would be about US$ 1 250 per tonne of
furfuryl alcohol.
As
stated earlier, the production of furfural and/or furfuryl alcohol from bagasse
for the production of pulp and paper is relatively complex. The two newcomers
to this activity, namely South Africa and the Philippines, have had some
initial problems but while the former overcame them and in fact has doubled its
initial production capacity, the latter has not been able to find remunerative
markets and has been out of production for the last three years.
For
the time being, therefore, production of furfural from bagasse should not be
given high priority on the list of byproduct industries to be developed by
Third World countries.
(e)
Methane
Much
has been written on the production of methane or biogas and very often
sugarcane producers have been under the impression that a good opportunity was
being lost in the production of an economic gaseous fuel from their surplus
bagasse. Methane
(CH4) and carbon dioxide are the main gaseous products of the
anaerobic methane fermentation of waste and cellulosic materials. Theoretically
1 kg of cellulose would produce 415 litres of methane, but in practice the
process is less efficient with a complex three-stage reaction operating in
cascade and not always easy to manage. Cellulose
is, normally, easily digested by bacteria. However when it is combined with
lignin, as in bagasse, it is degraded only with great difficulty. Hence a
biogas digester in the sugar industry should be planned to operate mainly on
distillery stillage or feedlot effluents with a small addition of surplus pith,
and not on bagasse as the only or main raw material. It
is important, within the digester, to keep the ratio of carbon to nitrogen at
about 25:1 and that of carbon to phosphorus at about 150:1. The sludge should
be kept slightly alkaline, at about 7.5 pH, and the temperature should be
maintained at about 35°C. The retention time would be about 20 days. Biogas
has a calorific value of about 22 000 kJ per kg (which is equivalent to 27 500
kJ per m3). A
100 m3 digester can cost about US$ 50 000, with wide variations
according to the sophistication of the arrangement. It could produce some 30
000 m3 yearly and the production cost can be etimated at about US$ 4
per GJ - while as a reference point tax-free gasoline is at US$ 8 to 10 per GJ. So
while bagasse is not the proper feed for the production of biogas, other
byproducts can be considered, especially distillery sludge.
4.
FILTER MUDS
The
precipitated impurities contained in the cane juice, after removal by
filtration, form a cake of varying moisture content called filter muds. This
cake contains much of the colloidal organic matter anions that precipitate
during clarification, as well as certain non-sugars occluded in these
precipitates.
The
weight of wet filter muds (80 percent water) averages about 3.4 percent cane. Filter
mud contains, on a dry basis, about 1 percent by weight of phosphate (p2O5)
and about 1 percent of nitrogen. As a result it has been used, especially since
the turn of the century, as a fertilizer. The filter mud also contains a
mixture of waxy and fatty lipids in a ratio of 5:2 and refined wax can be
extracted by appropriate treatment by solvents. It should be noted, however,
that only 386 kg of refined wax, which could be roughly equated to carnauba
wax, can be obtained from 1 000 tonnes of cane. The process is not commercially
of interest under existing conditions and, as far as we know, only one plant is
operating presently in India and on a small scale. The
use of filter muds as animal feed has been tried by a number of sugarcane
producer territories but so far has not proved economically rewarding, the main
constraints being the magnitude of the drying process involved and the low
digestibility of the dried scums.
5.
MOLASSES
The
exportation of molasses as such is important in international trade and out of
a total world production (beet molasses included) of 35.5 million tonnes in
1985–86, some 6.5 million tonnes were exported. The main importing countries,
namely USA, Japan, Netherlands and UK, utilize the molasses largely for animal
feed.
Molasses
is the final effluent obtained in the preparation of sugar by repeated
crystallization; it is the residual syrup from which no crystalline sucrose can
be obtained by simple means. The yield of molasses is approximately 3.0 percent
per tonne of cane but it is influenced by a number of factors and may vary
within a wide range (2.2 to 3.7 percent). The specific gravity varies between
1.39 and 1.49, with 1.43 as indicative average.
The
composition of molasses varies also within fairly wide limits but, on average,
would be as follows:
|
Water
|
20%
|
Other carbohydrates
|
4%
|
|
Sucrose
|
35%
|
Nitrogenous compounds
|
4.5%
|
|
Fructose
|
9%
|
Non-nitrogenous acids
|
5%
|
|
Glucose
|
7%
|
Ash
|
12%
|
|
Other reducing sugars
|
3%
|
Others
|
5%
|
A
very large number of products can be derived from molasses. The question of
animal feed from molasses and other byproducts of the sugarcane industry will
not be considered in our presentation and we will limit ourselves to describing
briefly the main products of molasses fermentation that are of economic
importane on an international scale, namely rum, ethyl alcohol, acetic acid,
butanol/acetone, citric acid, yeast and monosodium glutamate.
(a)
Rum
Rum
is the alcoholic distillate from the fermentation of cane juice, syrup or
molasses. It has a characteristic taste and aroma. Its production derives from
a simplified, but selective, ethylic fermentation and distillation, a number of
esters and higher alcohols or “congeners” being present in the end-product. Rum
is generally produced at 76°GL and is diluted with water and sold to th public
at 33 to 40°GL. One tonne of molasses would produce about 230 litres of rum
(basis 100°GL). Table 4, based on Mauritius data, reasonably representative of
Third World conditions, shows how the selling price builds up from producer to
retailer. If the producer is also the bottler and wholesaler, the profit is
substantial and rum prodution from molasses is, by far, the most profitable
industry in byproducts utilization while being, at the same time, a provider of
revenue to the government through excise tax. Yearly consumption of rum is
probably more than 480 million litres (1985).
(b)
Ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH)
Ethyl
alcohol is amongst the most important fermentation products and is derived from
three types of raw materials:
i.
Sacchrine products - mainly
molasses, but also cane juice
ii.
Starchy products - mainly maize
iii.
Cellulosic products - mainly waste
sulphite pulp liquor.
It
is, however, still largely produced synthetically from ethylene derived from
petroleum.
Under
Third World conditions, the production cost of ethanol (the common name for
ethyl alcohol) from cane molasses in a modern and fair size distillery - of say
60 to 80 000 litres per 24 hours - would depend significantly on the price of
molasses:
- With molasses at US$ 75 per tonne, the cost of ethanol would be US cents 45/litre
- With molasses at US$ 50 per tonne, the cost of ethanol would be US cents 36/litre
- With molasses at US$ 25 per tonne, the cost of ethanol would be US cents 27/litre
With
fair quality cane molasses some 240 litres of ethanol (100°GL basis) should be
obtained from one tonne. If cane juice is utilized instead of molasses,
production would be 72 litres per tonne of cane (which is also approximately
100 litres per tonne of juice).
- With juice at US$ 20 per tonne, the cost of ethanol would be US cents 48/litre
- With juice at US$ 15 per tonne, the cost of ethanol would be US cents 41/litre
- With juice at US$ 10 per tonne, the cost of ethanol would be US cents 34/litre
An
initial estimate of the capital cost of a distillery producing industrial
alcohol with a normal capacity ranging from 50 000 to 150 000 litres/24 hours
would vary between US$ 80 and 140 per daily litre capacity, depending on
whether the distillery is annexed to a sugar factory and benefits from the
steam generating department or whether it is an independent distillery having
to provide its own energy and steam. If the end product is refined potable
alcohol (96°GL) or anhydrous (99.8° GL) alcohol, the capital cost would be
slightly higher.
One
of the main difficulties of large capacity distilleries is the efficient
handling of their effluents (also called slops, vinasse or stillage) since 13
litres of slops are produced from every litre of ethanol. The recently
developed Swedish process of Biostil, by Alfa Laval, is a great improvement
since it reduces the weight of stillage by 60 percent and is thus finding
increasing favour among alcohol producers. However
even this reduced tonnage of stillage has to be treated and the two processes
generally utilized are either evaporation plus incineration to recuperate the
potash in the stillage, or anaerobic digestion. For the treatment of 1 000
tonnes of slops per 24 hours the capital cost for the first method would be
about US$ 7 million and the net operating cost US$ 100 000 yearly. For the
anaerobic method the capital cost would be about US$ 4 million and the net
operating cost US$ 600 000 yearly. The
relatively high cost of gasoline and the recent tendency to decrease
atmospheric pollution by progressively replacing leaded gasoline by ethanol
extended gasoline has created a significant demand for ethanol, especially when
taking into consideration the large-scale Brazilian Alcohol Plan. However
conditions vary from country to country and, for a large number of cane
producing countries, present conditions indicate that ethanol is still a
relatively expensive product compared to tax—free gasoline. Figure 2 shows how
a rough choice would be made, according to the local prices of molasses (or
cane juice) and gasoline. It assumes that a vechile running on industrial
ethanol would consume 15 percent more volumetrically than when running on
gasoline.
(c)
Acetic acid (CH3COOH)
Acetic
acid is a colourless liquid with a characteristic pungent odour and a sharp
acid taste. Its density is 1 049 g/l. Vinegar is a condiment made from sugary
or starchy materials by alcoholic and subsequent acetous fermentation. It
contains at least 4 percent of acetic acid.
Acetous
fermentation is aerobic and the modern submerged fermentation process requires
the thorough airing of the vinegar bacteria - Acetobacter. From 100
litres of absolute alcohol some 950 litres of vinegar with 10 percent acidity
can be produced. The capital cost for a 200 000 litres per annum vinegar plant
is approximately US$ 500 000 for the main items of equipment. Acetic acid finds
large scale utilization in the production of acetic anhydride, cellulose
acetate, vinyl acetate, etc.
(d)
Butanol-acetone
The
butanol-acetone fermentation is a true anaerobic fermentation brought about by
various strains of Clostridium acetobutlicum. Maize and molasses are the
main raw materials used.
Butanol
(C4H9OH) is the industrial name given to N-butyl alcohol.
It is a colourless liquid with a vinous odour and a density of 810 g/l. It is
used, directly or indirectly, in lacquer solvent via its acetate and phtalate
salts and also as a plasticizer, hydraulic fluid, and intermediate. Acetone
(CH3COCH3) is a colourless, volatile, inflammable liquid
with a characteristic odour and a density of 792 g/l. It has a fair number of
uses, the main one being as a solvent. The
fermentation process produces a mixture of butanol/acetone/ethanol in the ratio
65:30:5 which is separated by distillation. Approximately 500 kg of molasses
would produce 65 kg of butanol, 30 kg of acetone and 5 kg of ethanol. The
economy of teh fermentation proces depends greatly on the cost of molasses and
of stream — since extreme sterility is required and steam usage is about half
the weight of molasses. It is generally considered that synthetic plants
producing butanol from acetaldehyde are more economical than fermentation
plants; and this is confirmed by the fact that the production of fermentation
butanol does not represent more than 10 percent of the total world production.
(e)
Citric acid
Citric acid is usually produced in the monohydrate form (C6H8O7H2O),
the crystals of which are colourless and odurless, with a sour taste and
readily efflorescent in dry air. They have a specific gravity of 1.542. The
fermentation process consists of a complex aerobic cycle and beet molasses has
had more success as the main raw material than cane molasses. The mould used is
Aspergillus niger and submerged culture fermentation is now preferred to
the surface fermentation previously utilized. Aeration and agitation of the
medium are essential and the addition of methanol appears beneficial when using
cane molasses. The yield of citric acid is about 65 percent of total sugar
used. A
plant to produce 2 500 tonnes of citric acid yearly would probably call for a
capital cost of US$ 4 million. Citric
acid is one of the most verstile of the industrial organic acids, finding
increasing uses in the food and beverage industries. Since there is no
potential threat from any “synthetic” citric acid, the production of
fermentation citric acid appears warranted in the larger cane producing
countries where molasses is available at a fairly low price, and when the local
market for soft drink, confectionery and pharmaceutical preparations is on the
increase.
(f)
Yeast
Yeasts
are complex, protein-rich, living unicellular organisms that have been selected
and isolated through research, and two strains are now mainly utilized, namely:
Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce baker's yeast and Torula utilis
to produce feed yeast.
The
assimilation of glucose in the aerobic biosynthesis of yeast can be
approximately illustrated by the formula:
C6H12O6
+ NH3 --- C6H7O3NH2 + 3H2O
In
practice the yield of yeast is much lower than the 80 percent indicated above
and does not reach more than about 54 percent (including about 8 percent of
ash).
Baker's
yeast is normally produced from molasses, grains or potatoes. Feed yeast
usually utilizes brewer's or distiller's stillage. These raw materials are not
sufficiently rich in assimilable nitrogenous and phosphorus compounds and,
usually the addition of inorganic ammonium compounds and phosphoric acid is
necessary. About
4 kg of molasses would be required to produce 1 kg of active dry baker's yeast
(92 percent dry matter). Yeast is used in bread production at about 1 percent
by weight of flour. On a dry matter basis, it contains about 44 percent
protein. About
4 kg of molasses would also be required to produce 1 kg of feed yeast (92
percent dry matter) which generally contains about 50 percent of crude protein.
In
both processes adequate and fine aeration is important and some 15 m5
per kg of dry yeast are usually required. Capital
cost for a feed yeast plant would be about US$ 500 per annual tonne of yeast
production. The production cost would be greatly influenced by the cost of
molasses and could be very roughly expressed by the following equation:
y
= 4x + 70
where
y is the price of feed yeast in US dollars per tonne and x is the price in
dollars of a tonne of molasses. Thus with molasses at US$ 50/tonne the
production cost of feed yeast would be approximately US$ 270 per tonne.
The
production of single cell protein (SCP) by microorganisms from hydrocarbons and
carbohydrates can be considered as a natural extension of feed yeast
production. Its high protein content (65 to 70 percent) and the possibility of
using such “waste” substrates as cellulose, distillery slops and other
effluents indicate a favourable commercial outlook.
(g)
Monosodium-glutamate (C5H6O4.NH2Na.H2O)
Monosodium
glutamate is an important commercial flavouring intensifier with a world
production of about 250 000 tonnes/year. It is currently produced by the
aerobic fermentation of molasses but there are also a number of synthetic
routes available for its production, especially via acrilonitrile. In the
fermentation process which is carried out in well-aerated submerged culture,
the bacteria Micrococus glutamicus is utilized with molasses as raw material.
About 4 1/2 kg of molasses are required to produce 1 kg of MSG which is worth
about US$ 2.50/kg. There are approximately 30 companies producing MSG in the
world with an installed capacity of about 325 000 tonnes/year. The larger
producers are Japan, Republic of Korea, Taiwan Republic of China and USA. It
would probably be difficult for a small sugar producing country to enter this
very competitive and well-supplied market, especially since the fermentation
technique required is fairly sophisticated.
(h)
Industrial alcohol as cooking fuel
Although
this utilization will be of little interest to industrialized countries,
bearing in mind the very large number of people who still use wood, or wood
charcoal, in open ovens to cook their meals, and the critical problem of
deforestation in many parts of the world and especially in Africa,
consideration must be given to the efficient utilization of ethanol as cooking
fuel. A
possible solution had been proposed by Moundlic (1979) but does not seem to
have received the attention it should have attracted. The ethanol cooker
envisaged consists of a fuel tank kept at constant pressure by a small volume
of compressed CO2. This causes the ethanol to flow evenly to a
vaporization burner. The
thermal efficiency is about 58 percent while that of an open wood stove
varities between 5 and, at best, 10 percent. In some African countries the
amount of wood used by a family for cooking is about 4 1/2 tonnes yearly,
producing about:
4
500 × 2 530 × 5/100 = 570 000 kcal.
The
same heating value would be produced by:
i.e.
about 188 litres of ethanol at 95°GL.
6.
CONCLUSIONS
Although
schematic and fragmentary, the preceding survey of the current uses of the main
byproducts of the sugarcane industry does indicate a few priority choices,
generally applicable to conditions obtaining in Third World countries.
i.
Surplus bagasse should be used to
produce electricity for the grid;
ii.
If the electricity supply is already
adequate, then surplus bagasse could be used for the production of cement
particle board for the local market;
iii.
Filter muds should be utilized as
low grade fertilizers in the cane fields;
iv.
Molasses should be transformed into
rum and potable alcohol, according to the local and export market requirements;
v.
Any surplus molasses left over could
be used either locally for animal feed, or exported as such, depending on the
ruling market prices and distance of transport;
vi.
If there is an excessive use of wood
as fuel for cooking which leads to rapid deforestation, a drive should be made
to produce industrial ethanol to be used in efficient pressure stoves.
It
should be stressed, as a general conclusion, that the large-scale utilization
of byproducts of the sugarcane industry, if efficiently implemented, has the
dual and important advantage of generating reasonable profits, not only for the
sugar producers themselves but also for the national economy at large, as
exemplified by cheap electricity, imports replacement, the efficient use of
local fuels and forest preservation.
REFERENCES
Balch, R. T. 1953 The lipids of sugarcane. In ed. Honig, P.
Principles of Sugar Technology, Vol. 1. Elsevier, Amsterdam pp 196–213.
Chenu, 1977 P. Alcohol manufacture in a sugar factory.
Proceedings 16th Congress ISSCT (Brazil), Impres, Sao Paulo, 1978. pp 3241–3251
Kelly, 1977 F.H.C. A feasibility study on the production of
ethanol from sugar cane. Report to the Queensland Department of Commercial and
Industrial Development, Brisbane. 212 pp.
Kort, 1969–1983 The industrial utilization of sugar and mill
by-products (a literature survey). Sugar Milling Research Institute, Durban,
South Africa. Annual Publication, approx. 200 pp.
Moundlic, 1979 J. Can fermentation alcohol be substituted
for wood as a cooking fuel? UNIDO Workshop onFermentation Alcohol, Vienna,
Austria, March 1979. Paper ID/WG 293/28, 12 pp.
Paturau, J. M. 1982 By-products of the cane sugar industry -
2nd edition, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 365 pp.
paturau, 1984 J.M. Electricity export from cane sugar
factories. F.O. Lichts Guide to the Sugar Factory Machine Industry; pp A75–A88.
Prescott, S. C. and Dunn, C. G. 1949 Industrial
microbiology, 2nd edition, 2 vols. McGraw-Hill, New York. 565 + 578 pp.
Vermas, C. H. 1979 Evaluation of fibres for the manufacture
of resin or cement bonded particle board. UNIDO Seminar on wood Processing
Industries, Cologne, Fed. Rep. of Germany, May 1979. Paper ID/WG. 293/28. 12
pp.
Weyman, M. 1974 Guide for planning pulp and paper
enterprises. FAO, Rome. 379 pp.
Western, A. M. 1979 Small scale paper making. Intermediate
Technology Industrial Services, Rugby, UK. 202 pp.
Figure
1: Byproducts of the sugarcane
industry
N.B.
The figures following each product express the saleable value in US$ of this
product obtainable from one tonne of raw material (Adapted from Paturau, 1982)
Figure
2: Price equivalence line for alcohol
and gasoline
|
Table 1: Electricity from bagasse
|
|||
|
|
|
Best
conditions
|
Moderate
conditions
|
|
1.
|
Characteristics
|
|
|
|
|
- Boiler (46 Bar A, 440°C)
capacity tonnes steam per hour
|
90
|
90
|
|
|
- Turbo-alternator (condensing at
0.10 Bar A) capacity (MW)
|
20
|
20
|
|
|
- Total capital investment for
generating station in working order (US$ million)
|
9
|
11
|
|
|
- Electricity generated yearly
(GWh)
|
150
|
120
|
|
|
- Weight of mill-run bagasse
utilized (tonnes)
|
333 000
|
266 000
|
|
|
- Acquisition cost of mill-run
bagasse (US$ per tonne)
|
15
|
20
|
|
|
- Average transport cost per tonne
of bagasse (US$)
|
4
|
5
|
|
2.
|
Cost of
electricity generated (in US$
cents per kWh)
|
|
|
|
|
- Depreciation and maintenance
(10%)
|
0.60
|
0.92
|
|
|
- Annuity repayment (0.16275 for
10 years at 10% interest)
|
0.98
|
1.49
|
|
|
- Labour and administration (US$
100 000 yearly)
|
0.07
|
0.08
|
|
|
- Transport cost of bagasse
|
0.89
|
1.11
|
|
|
- Acquisition cost of bagasse
|
3.33
|
4.48
|
|
|
TOTAL GENERATION COST PER kWh
|
5.87
|
8.08
|
|
|
|
say US cents 6.00/kWh
|
say US cents 8.00/kWh
|
|
Table 2: 50 TPD bagasse particle board plant (per tonne of
product)
|
|||||
|
|
|
Standard
resin board plant
|
New cement-bonded
board plant
|
||
|
1.
|
Inputs
per tonne of product
|
||||
|
|
Mill-run bagasse
|
3 tonnes
|
Depithed bagasse (50% H2O)
|
450 kg
|
|
|
|
Urea-formaldehyde resins
|
80 kg
|
)Portland cement
|
600 kg
|
|
|
|
Hardener
|
8 kg
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
Wax
|
6 kg
|
Chemicals
|
25 kg
|
|
|
|
|
|
Water
|
250 kg
|
|
|
|
Labour
|
8 man-hours
|
|
6 man-hours
|
|
|
|
Fuel oil
|
60 kg
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
Steam
|
1 000 kg
|
|
1 000 kg
|
|
|
|
Electricity
|
200 kWh
|
|
200 kWh
|
|
|
|
Depreciation
|
12% of production cost per tonne
of annual production
|
12% of capital cost per tonne of
annual production
|
||
|
|
Repairs, maintenance,
administration overheads and other charges
|
7% of production cost
|
7% of production cost
|
|
|
|
2.
|
Economics
|
||||
|
|
Capital cost
|
US$ 5.0 million
|
US$ 9.0 million
|
|
|
|
|
Production cost
|
US$ 200 per tonne of board
|
US$ per tonne of cement board
|
||
|
Table 3: Furfural from bagasse (Basis 1 tonne furfural)
|
|||
|
Consumption
|
Production
|
||
|
Bagasse (bone dry)
|
12.5 tonnes
|
Furfural (99%)
|
1 tonne
|
|
Steam
|
35.0 tonnes
|
Acetic acid
|
550 kg
|
|
Water
|
70.0 tonnes
|
Hydrolysate residue (bone dry)
|
6.75 tonnes
|
|
Power
|
875 kWh
|
|
|
|
|
|
(This residue has 63% moisture and
a net calorific value of 5 442 kJ/kg)
|
|
|
Labour (3 shifts of 8 hrs)
|
216 man-hours daily
|
|
|
|
Maintenance
|
10% of production cost
|
Secondary steam (125°C saturated)
|
7.5 tonnes
|
|
Overheads
|
10% of production cost
|
|
|
|
Depreciation
|
10% yearly of capital cost
|
|
|
|
Marketing (containers, etc.)
|
|||
|
Table 4: Cost structure of rum production and marketing (in
Mauritius)
|
|||
|
|
|
|
US$ per
litre of rum (40°GL)
|
|
1.
|
MANUFACTURE
|
|
|
|
|
(i)
|
Molasses (US$ 25/tonne, 230 litres
alcohol at 100°GL equivalent, after dilution, to 575 litres rum at 40°GL)
|
0.04
|
|
|
(ii)
|
Other costs
|
0.04
|
|
|
(iii)
|
Profits
|
0.10
|
|
2.
|
BOTTLER
|
|
|
|
|
(iv)
|
Cost to bottler
|
0.18
|
|
|
(v)
|
Bottling costs (glass bottle, cap,
labour, etc.)
|
0.20
|
|
|
(vi)
|
Excise duty (paid to government)
|
1.40
|
|
|
(vii)
|
Profits
|
0.45
|
|
3.
|
RETAILER
|
|
|
|
|
(viii)
|
Cost to retailer
|
2.23
|
|
|
(ix)
|
Profits
|
0.55
|
|
4.
|
PUBLIC
|
|
|
|
|
(x)
|
Retail price to public
|
US$ 2.78 per litre
|
En
los últimos diez años se ha observado un aumento del interés en la plena
utilización de los subproductos de la industria de la caña de azúcar como
reacción al alza de los precios de los combustibles fósiles y la baja del
azúcar.
Se
dispone de cantidades suficientes de los cuatro subproductos principales, a
saber cogollos, bagazo, cachaza de filtro prensa y melaza, a precios moderados,
para poder llevar a cabo importantes actividades agroindustriales.
Se
consideran diversas industrias posibles, excepto las de piensos que serán
examinadas por otros oradores, y parece las actividades que ofrecen más interés
para los paÃses del Tercer Mundo son las siguientes :
i.
la generación de electricidad con el
bagazo excedente para abastecer a la red nacional; si el suministro de
electricidad es suficiente, puede utilizarse para fabricar tableros de
partÃculas de bagazo aglomeradas con cemento;
ii.
la utilización de la cachaza como
fertilizante en los cañaverales;
iii.
la transformación de la melaza en
ron o alcohol potable para el mercado nacional y de exportación;
iv.
si existe un grave problema de
deforestación, la producción de alcohol industrial a base de melaza como
combustible para cocinar en sustitución de la leña.
También
se consideran otros usos posibles de los subproductos en otras nueve industrias
y se indican los principales datos económicos (papel, furfural, metano, alcohol
etÃlico, ácido acético, butanol-acetona, ácido cÃtrico, levadura, glutamato
monosódico).