Integrated closed loop agricultural manufacture specializing in the production of non-centrifugal (unrefined) cane syrup

Abstract

A modular and scalable sugarcane processing plant comprising a bagasse gasifier configured to receive bagasse from a sugarcane juice extraction process and produce a consumable gas, a sugarcane syrup production segment with a rated processing capacity defining a corresponding heat energy requirement, and a central heating plant configured to extract heat energy from the consumable gas. The heat energy output capacity of the central heating plant is matched to the heat energy requirement of the syrup production segment, enabling the bagasse gasifier and central heating plant to supply sufficient energy to drive the syrup production using solely the consumable gas produced from the bagasse. The invention enables the production of sugarcane syrup in a climate-resilient, sustainable and non-polluting manner.

Description

[0035] (Step 2D) According to an embodiment, a cooling tower is a specialized heat exchanger that takes in air and water, which are brought into direct contact with each other to reduce the water's temperature. When this occurs, a small volume of water is evaporated, thereby reducing the temperature of the water being circulated through the tower.

[0038] In one embodiment, the water, which enters after being heated by an industrial process, is pumped into the cooling tower. The water goes through a series of nozzles, reducing the temperature. As the water flows through the cooling tower, it is exposed to air, which is being pulled through the tower by the electric motor-driven fan.

[0037] In some embodiments, when the water and air meet, a small amount of water is evaporated, creating a cooling action. The cooled water is then pumped back to the condenser or process equipment where it absorbs heat. It will then be pumped back to the cooling tower to be cooled once again. Cooling Tower Fundamentals provides a level of basic cooling.

[0038] (STEP 2E) In one embodiment, electrical power is generated by producer-gas-fueled internal combustion engines’ electrical generators. The heat from the exhaust is recovered for further use in evaporating the sugar cane concentrate. The heat from the combustion engine coding is recovered for use in the bagasse drying process.

[0039] In another embodiment, the electrical generator output must be sized to ensure about 125% of the total electrical needs of the sugar plant.

[0040] (Step 3) According to an embodiment, once the juice is extracted, it is sent into a pre-fiitration system that separates fresh juice from impurities and all unwanted floating particles. The pre-filtration system is also powered by the cogeneration system. A low-pressure electrical pump forces the juice through a battery filter to remove impurities. The filtered juice is stored in a settling tank.

[0041] (Step 4) in some embodiments, filtered fresh cane juice is sent into a UV Reverse Osmosis system that separates the sugar from water to produce a concentrated sugar water juice, thereby reducing the evaporation time to produce syrup or sugar and thus reducing the need for energy. The water that was separated from the sugar juice flows into a basin to be reused throughout the plant. The UV Reverse Osmosis system is powered by the cogeneration system. Reversed osmosis (RO) is achieved by using a specialized membrane that, when a pressure differential is applied between the membrane faces, only water will pass through. By removing water, the sugar concentration of the juice is increased. RO is the most energy-efficient way of increasing the sugar content of a solution. Electrically powered high-pressure pumps are used to generate the pressure differential required for the RO to occur,

[0042] (Step 5) According to an embodiment, the concentrated sugar water juice is sent into a refrigerated silo with agitators to be discharged when ready to use. The refrigerators are powered by the cogeneration system. The concentrated juice is further processed through an electrically powered microfiltration unit. Micro-filtration removes all microorganisms like yeast and bacteria, thereby preventing concentrate juice degradation. Alternatively, pasteurization could also be used for the same purpose.

[0043] (Step 6) In one embodiment, to make syrup, the sugar content of the final product must be about 66.7° at the Brix scale, and the sugars produces molasses. The process includes a rise in sugar concentration by evaporation boiling and sugar cooking. The color and taste are developed through that process. In another embodiment, the typical RO process will increase the sugar content to about 35° at the Brix scale typically from a starting Brix average of 10-16 Brix; further rise in Brix must be accomplished by evaporation. Boiling under a vacuum allows for a lower boiling temperature. In turn, boiling at a lower temperature provides a syrup with less color and taste.

[0044] In some embodiments, the concentrate is admitted in a closed container under vacuum. The vacuum is maintained by an electrically driven vacuum pump, and heat for boiling is provided from a remote heat transfer fluid boiler. The heat transfer fluid is circulated from the boiler to th© container's heat exchanger.

[0045] (STEP 7} According to an embodiment, thermal energy required for boiling is generated in a pellet-fired boiler. A circulating heat transfer fluid is first heated by the OHP's internal combustion engine exhaust heat recuperator, and then the final heat transfer fluid's required temperature is reached at the boiler. Thermal energy is spent by boiling the juice and cooking the sugar. The heat transfer fluid returns to the GHP’s engine.

[0048] In one embodiment, the boiler is a standard ASME heat transfer fluid boiler, wherein the fossil fuel burner is replaced by a pellet burner.

[0047] (STEP 8) In some embodiments, a syrup evaporator's purpose is to increase the sugar concentration of the juice by boiling off excess water and caramelizing (cooking) the sugar. The syrup-making process is linear; concentrate enters at one end, travels through heat exchangers, loses water, and gains internal thermal energy. Sugar cooking occurs, and the syrup exits at the other end,

[0048] In one embodiment, a vertical evaporator is made of a cylindrical body with heat exchangers mounted inside the cylinder volume. Fresh concentrate is admitted at the top. As water is evaporated, concentrate density increases, forcing the concentrate downward. Traveling down, losing more water, and increasing internal heat causes cooking of the sugar. The syrup is retrieved at the bottom of the cylindrical evaporator.

[0049] (STEP 9) According to an embodiment, a basic filter press is made of a fiber filter maintained in place by a metallic frame. Syrup to be filtrated is pumped by an electric pump through the filter. Diatomaceous Earth (DE) also known as a filter aide is mixed with the hot syrup once drawn off from the evaporator. It is mixed by hand and or with an automatic mixing paddle to be evenly distributed with the syrup. The DE helps the syrup to flow through the filter press to ease the pressure of flow, but most importantly to give a quality finished syrup by removing any unwanted partials. The finishing precess along side the DE or with depending the syrup batch production also calls for activated carbon charcoal. DE is mixed with the hot syrup ahead of the filter press to facilitate the process by providing voids where debris can be deposited. To provide more volume, several basic filter presses are connected in parallel. To provide cleaner syrup, several basic filter presses are connected in series. (0050] (STEP 9A) In one embodiment, activated carbon is an inert product made of carbon having a porous structure with considerable inner surface area. For example, some inner surface measures are in the range of about 700-2000 m2 / g. Activated carbon can thus trap unwanted molecules present in liquids and gases in its pores by adsorption. (0051 ]      In another embodiment, activated carbon may be used in decolorization, purification, decontamination, and deodorization of a wide range of fluids. Three forms are typical: powdered, granular, and pellet. Activated carbon charcoal is also widely used in the food and beverage industry to eliminate color, odor, and undesirable flavor. It also can stabilize the syrup to prevent mold, bacterial growth from fermentation and removal of contaminates. Pending the saturation time of activated charcoal carbon, its additional use allows for color gradation of the syrup. The various gradation of syrups also relates to the odor, color and finished flavor. The lighter the syrup the more absence of flavor of molasses.

[0052]

[0053] (STEP 10) In some embodiments, the syrup must be conditioned into transport containers at a temperature above 180°F to provide pasteurization. Since heat is lost in the filtering process, reheating the syrup above 180°F is needed. Heat transfer fluid from the evaporator heating circuit is used for that purpose.

[0054] (STEP 11) According to an embodiment, the syrup must be conditioned into transport containers at a temperature above 180°F to provide pasteurization. Since heat is lost in the filtering process, reheating the syrup above 180°F is needed. Heat transfer fluid from the evaporator heating circuit is used for that purpose.

[0055] (STEP 12) In one embodiment, a great quantity of cold and hot domestic water is required throughout the process. Fortunately, RO provides a large quantity of water. RO waters and used domestic waters are sent to a greywater collection reservoir where the greywater is filtered. Needed domestic water is pumped from that reservoir and heated as needed. Excess filtered water is disposed of.

[0058] In some embodiments, the cane crushing system includes a syrup output and a bagasse output. As the cane is crushed, sugar syrup is released and extracted. The sugar syrup gathers in a tower catch basin and exits via a syrup output. While the figure shows this generally, for clarity of presentation, some at the known subsystems, such as filters, valves, pumps, or other implementation details, are not included. One skilled in the art would implement such components and subsystems according to the general system design. For example, coarse filter size, aperture sizes, catch basin size, and angle of gravity feed would be design choices that depend on the target system capacity, characteristics of the input material, and other known considerations.

[0057] According to an embodiment, the cane crushing system also includes a bagasse channel. The bagasse channel outputs the remaining material, much of which is crushed fibrous remnants of the input sugar cane. £0058] In one embodiment, a bagasse dryer receives the output bagasse material from the cane crushing system via the bagasse output channel. There, moisture and other undesirable materials are removed. Bagasse drying and conditioning (pelletized) energy is provided by the GHP. (0059] In some embodiments, GHP is fueled by bagasse pellets, using a gasification process to turn bagasse pellets into gaseous fuel that supplies a spark ignition or diesel motor that, in turn, powers an electrical generator.

[0060] The Pellet fuel is the main power (energy) like the others use bagasse as raw material for fuel, but rather than using loose bagasse it goes through a pelletizer system. The pelletizer uses the raw material into homogeneous mass and then gets feed into a gasifier co-generator system to the boiler for steam and that steam recirculates back, as per the diagram.

[0061] According to an embodiment, either a bagasse pellet-fueled evaporator or a bagasse pellet-fueled boiler provides the thermal energy required to increase the sugar content of the sugarcane juice to the needed concentration.

[0062] In one embodiment, the sugarcane sweetener process uses vacuum boiling to prevent sugar cooking by keeping a low boiling temperature.

[0063] In some embodiments, the process described herein may be used to produce various types of syrups with different characteristics by adjusting process parameters. By way of example and not limitation, the concentration of sugar in the final syrup product, known as the brix level, can optionally be varied to produce syrups of different sweetness.

[0064] The amount of molasses included might be adjusted to control the color and flavor profile of the syrup. Characteristics such as aroma and viscosity can also generally be customized for different applications by modifying factors including but not limited to the cooking temperature and time in the evaporator. [0065} By altering these parameters, this process may be used to manufacture syrups to different specifications, ranging from light-colored and mild-flavored to dark, strongly-flavored, and substantially more viscous. This flexibility allows the production of syrups tailored for various uses, such as table syrups, cooking ingredients, or industrial sweeteners.

[0066] The chemical makeup of the process can include low? GL (glycemic load) compositions. [0067} In embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a subsystem diagram for an organic cane syrup processing plant, and FIG. 3 is an organic OHP electrical plant and sugar processing plant diagram.

[0068] Based on the detailed description provided herein, a skilled artisan would be able to re-create the claimed invention without undue experimentation. The examples herein describe the key aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to allow a person having ordinary skill in the field of sugar processing to make and use the invention.

[0069] The embodiments described herein are given for the purpose of facilitating the understanding cf the present invention and are not intended to limit the interpretation of the present invention. The respective elements and their arrangements, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, or the like of the embodiment are not limited to the illustrated examples but may be appropriately changed. Further, the constituents described in the embodiment may be partially replaced or combined together.

Claims

1. A modular and scalable sugarcane and cane juice processing plant ccmprising:® a bagasse gasifier configured to receive bagasse from a sugarcane juice extraction process and to produce a consumable gas from the bagasse;« a sugarcane syrup production segment having a rated sugarcane processing capacity that defines a carresponding heat energy requirement; ands a central heating plant configured to extract heat energy from the consumable gas produced by the bagasse gasifier, the central heating plant having a heat energy output capacity matched to the heat energy requirement of the sugar cane syrup production segment;® wherein the bagasse gasifier and central heating plant are configured to supply sufficient energy to drive the sugar cane syrup production segment using solely the consumable gas produced from the bagasse;and® wherein the bagasse gasifier and central heating plant are configured to supply sufficient energy to drive the sugar cane syrup production segment using solely the consumable gas produced from the bagasse.

2. The modular and scalable cane sugar processing plant of claim 1, wherein the sugar cane syrup production segment comprises:® a cane crushing system configured to extract sugar cane juice from sugar cane and output bagasse;® a filtration system configured to remove impurities from the extracted sugar cane juice; and* a vacuum boiling system configured to concentrate the filtered sugar cane juice into sugar cane syrup.

3. The modular and scalable cane sugar processing plant of claim 2, further comprising a UV reverse osmosis system configured to separate water from the filtered sugarcane juice to produce a concentrated sugar water juice, wherein the UV reverse osmosis system is powered by the central heating plant. The concentrated juice reduced evaporation time and reduce energy consumption. The separation of water to concentrate further claims climate resiliency and sustainability with the upcycle of water as use of clean water for cleaning .

4. The modular and scalable sugarcane processing plant of claim 2, further comprising a refrigerated silo with agitators configured to store the concentrated sugar water juice, wherein the refrigerated silo is powered by the central heating plant.

5. The modular and scalable sugarcane processing plant of claim 1, further comprising a bagasse dryer configured to receive the bagasse from the cane crushing system and to dry the bagasse using heat recovered from the central heating plant.

6. The modular and scalable cane sugar processing plant of claim 5, further comprising a pelletizer configured to compress the dried bagasse into fuei pellets for the bagasse gasifier, wherein the is not limited to matching the energy production to the rest of the system.

7. The modular and scalable sugarcane processing plant of claim 1, wherein the central heating plant further comprises:® a heat transfer fluid boiler configured to heat a heat transfer fluid using heat from the consumable gas; and® a heat exchanger configured to transfer heat from the heated heat transfer fluid to the sugar cane syrup production segment.

8. The modular and scalable sugarcane processing plant of claim 1, further comprising a water cooling tower configured to cool water heated by the sugar cane syrup production segment for reuse.

9. The modular and scalable sugarcane processing plant of claim 2, further comprising a reheater configured to heat the sugarcane syrup above 180°F for pasteurization using heat transfer fluid from the vacuum boiling system.

10. The modular and scalable sugarcane processing plant of claim 1, further comprising a recirculating water filtration system configured to filter water from the sugarcane syrup production segment for reuse as domestic water in the plant.11 .A method for producing sugarcane syrup in a climate-resilient and non-polluting manner, the method comprising:® extracting sugarcane juice and bagasse from unprocessed sugarcane in a juice extraction step;® gasifying the pellet bagasse in a bagasse gasifier to produce a consumable gas;® processing the sugarcane juice in a sugarcane syrup production segment to produce a sugarcane syrup, the syrup production segment evaporation having an energy requirement;® extracting heat energy from the consumable gas in a central heating plant; and* supplying the heat energy extracted from the consumable gas to the sugar cane syrup production segment to meet the energy requirement thereof;® wherein the energy supplied by the consumable gas from the bagasse is sufficient to meet the energy requirement of the sugarcane syrup production segment.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the bagasse gasifier comprises a reactor configured for partial combustion of the bagasse under a low-oxygen atmosphere to generate a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.13.The method of claim 12, further comprising filtering, compressing, and piping the mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to a combustion engine and boiler of the central heating plant.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the central heating plant comprises:® a heat recuperator configured to extract a first portion of the heat energy from an exhaust of an internal combustion engine; and® a boiler configured to extract a second portion of the heat energy from the consumable gas to heat a heat transfer fluid circulated to the sugar cane syrup production segment.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein extracting the sugarcane juice comprises:« crushing the unprocessed sugar cane in a series of cane crushing mills to release the sugarcane juice; and* collecting the sugarcane juice in a catch basin.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising filtering the sugarcane juice to remove impurities and produce a filtered sugarcane juice.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising concentrating the filtered sugar cane juice by reverse osmosis to produce a concentrated sugarcane juice.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:* storing the concentrated sugarcane juice in a refrigerated silo; and* filtering the concentrated sugarcane juice through multiple a microfiltration unit to remove microorganisms.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein processing the sugar cane juice to produce the sugarcane syrup comprises:® boiling the concentrated sugarcane juice under vacuum in an evaporator to evaporate water until the sugar produces molasses or simply sugar to produce the sugarcane syrup; and® filtering the sugarcane syrup through a filter press with the addition of DE diatomaceous earth and pending the type of needed syrup or sugar the addition of activated charcoal carbon.20.The method of claim 19, further comprising reheating the sugarcane syrup above 180°F using the heat transfer fluid from the evaporator to the draw off tank to pasteurize the cane sugar syrup to prevent bacterial growth prior to packaging.

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