Waste from Sugar Industry

In some agricultural industries, large concentrations of biomass waste can be utilised for power and heat production, thereby providing access to modern energy services. The sugar industry produces significant amounts of bagasse that can be incinerated and secure a basis for its own power and process heat production while delivering excess power to the grid.

Description of technology

Biomass primarily refers to agricultural residues that may be converted into electricity and steam through direct combustion – usually of solids. Such generation involves the construction of a boiler, a steam turbine a generator and auxiliary facilities such as a water demineralisation plant, a cooling tower, air pollution control devices and a storage yard. In some cases the cooling tower may be replaced by a heat exchanger, allowing the utilisation of waste heat when there is a demand for low-temperature process heating (e.g. for drying) where the power plant is located. Very often such power production replaces captive diesel power generation at the plant thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. One of the most common examples of biomass-based power generation is the incineration of sugar cane waste (bagasse), which is an excellent fuel. Such projects are also cost-effective solutions to the disposal of the waste.

Biomass energy projects can be built in a wide range of sizes and for a wide range of applications. Projects can be as large as 100 MW power stations generating both electricity and heat but are typically 15-30 MW in size. Biomass energy projects are also technically feasible in much smaller sizes, but are rarely commercially viable below 8-10 MW, depending on availability and pricing of biomass residues.

Sub-type

• Bagasse Power

Methodologies

• Bagasse Power
  • Large Scale
    • ACM0006
    • ACM0002
    • AM0015
    • AM0036
  • Small Scale
    • AMS-I.B.
    • AMS-I.C.
    • AMS-I.D.
    • AMS-II.B.
    • AMS-II.D.
    • AMS-III.E.
    • AMS-II.F.