Increasing the efficiency of sugar production by optimizing technology

The main raw material for the production of sugar in our country is sugar beet. If the increase in the efficiency of milk production depends on the quality of the fodder beet, which differs from the sugar beet in the size of the fruit, then indicators such as sugar content and the degree of contamination are very important for the production of sugar. The weight of the beetroot root intended for animal feed can reach 10-14 kg in the harvest years, whereas the maximum weight of the sugar beet root is 0.6 kg.

To find the problems that affect the increase in the efficiency of sugar production, it is necessary to consider the principal technological scheme of its production. Below, we will also present data that will help us understand how improving the efficiency of crop production (in this case, beet growing) affects the reduction of losses in the production of sugar.

Before beet processing, beet passes quality acceptance, then preparation for feeding to the plant, which consists in preliminary cleaning. After washing, the beet is weighed on special scales and fed to beet-cutters to produce chips of a certain size. Increasing the surface of the chips helps to obtain more juice, but the shavings are more quickly abraded and more difficult to process, therefore the chip size should be regulated by the regulatory documentation for a particular production, based on the technical characteristics of the equipment used.

Further on, a diffusion plant produces a diffusion juice (sugar molecules, and non-sugar molecules are dissolved in water). The temperature of the juice from 70 to 75 ° C ensures the coagulation of protein molecules and the release of sugar from the cells, thanks to its dissolution in hot water. Sugared swarf - beet pulp - is separated and sent to the consumer. Sugars dissolved in water - diffusion juice - are fed for cleaning.

The purpose of the purification is to remove the suspended substances and dissolved nonsugars from the diffusion juice, neutralize the acids contained in it and discolor it. The main reagent used for cleaning is lime milk. Milk is being prepared in a special department of the sugar factory. After dosing the lime milk into the juice, the mixture obtained (lime-sugar solution) is saturated (saturated with carbon dioxide).

The saturated mixture is filtered through a cloth, again saturated and filtered. During these operations, chemical decomposition and precipitation of nonsugars occur. Purified juice is fed to evaporation to thicken the juice and obtain a syrup. The thick syrup thus obtained is fed into vacuum apparatuses (due to the lowering of the process pressure, it is possible to lower the boiling point of the syrup). In vacuum units, the syrup is subjected to boiling and condensation by evaporation to a supersaturated state.

To initiate the process of crystallization of sugar in a thickened mass, the required amount of fine crystals of sugar powder is dosed. Crystals are formed, and with further boiling, their growth begins to a size from 0.5 mm to 0.9 mm. As a result, it turns out utfel - a mixture of the remaining syrup with sugar crystals. The yield of the final product depends on the duration of melting of the massecuite and the content of sugar crystals in it.

Hot wafers are sent to sieve drums for centrifugation, where the separation of sugar crystals from hot syrup occurs. The syrup is returned to the process for obtaining the massecuite, and the sugar crystals are washed with water to remove yellowing. Then they are sent for drying with hot air. Dry sugar is dispersed into fractions, which are supplied for storage or for packaging and packaging.

At each stage of sugar production, any deviations (from the technological regime established by the documentation) can lead to appreciable sugar losses, as a result - to a decrease in the yield of the finished product and a deterioration in economic performance. Thus, the increase in the efficiency of sugar production depends on the quality of the technological process.

To date, the main causes of sugar losses during its manufacture can be attributed to contamination of root crops (up to 15%), reduction of sugar beet when it is stored (up to 3.9%), losses in various technological stages of sugar production (up to 0.7%). Calculation of the maximum sugar loss for a plant processing beets in the amount of 6.0 thousand tons / day shows that such losses, with the addition of all unfavorable factors, can exceed 190 tons / day. Therefore, increasing the efficiency of sugar production is associated with solving problems aimed at minimizing losses.

Other measures aimed at increasing production efficiency and reducing costs, should be associated with the expansion of the range of products through deeper processing of by-products of sugar production. Since the traditional use of them in the national economy (wood pulp - for the feed of livestock, molasses - in the food industry, defecation mud - for liming soil) is already ineffective.