Did you know that steam turbines can be a great fit for sugar processing facilities? During a recent site visit to one of the sugar factories in Kenya, I discovered that they use a steam turbine for their internal power generation. Bagasse, a by-product of sugarcane milling, is used as a feedstock for the boiler which provides steam to run the turbine. What surprised me the most was how well-suited a steam turbine is for their operations. Sugarcane is usually delivered during the day, and milling begins in the evening, making the steam turbine a reliable source of power. This site visit was a timely reminder to myself to always factor in the nature of operations of a facility when developing proposals for renewable energy and energy efficiency. Turns out, Solar PV may not always be the get-out-of-jail card that many imagine it to be! 😆 It's exciting to see how innovative solutions can be found in unexpected places! #sustainability #innovation #energyefficiency
I know of many facilities in Uganda i.e. Sugar Corporation of Uganda Lugazi - SCOUL(25MW), Kakira Sugar Limited Jinja (51.5MW), Kinyara, Masindi (40MW), SAIL (12MW) & Mayuge (9.2MW). They have implemented this Co-generation not only to their benefit but the grid as well.
Well said Irvine Koech sugar industry can also explore biogas generation and then feed it to a CHP or biogas to electricity option.
Engineer
9moThat's true. Actually a gargantuan of bagasse is produced by these sugar industries and it's become a menace to them with mountains of bagasse piled up in their backyards as observed in some sugar industries in Uganda. A few of them have sustainably utilised this waste in their fluidised bed boilers for heat generation eliminating the need for firewood and running of their steam turbines generating more than 20 MW to the grid while internally generating for own consumption and this has drastically reduced their costs of production simultaneously diversifying their revenue streams from electricity sold to the grid. It's an exciting model indeed !!!