Energy performance comparisons and enhancements in the sugar cane industry

In this study, energy-related operational parameters for modern and traditional (conventional) sugar mills are analyzed, with the goals of identifying improvements in energy efficiency and potential for surplus electricity export. Results show that the power-to-heat ratio of modern and traditional mills is clearly distinct, lying in the ranges of 0.3–0.5 and 0.04–0.07, respectively. Modifications under consideration for the traditional mills include the following upgrades: electric drives and higher capacity back-pressure turbine (case 1); high-pressure boiler, condensing extraction steam turbine and electric drives (case 2); and improvements in case 2 plus bagasse drying (case 3). The thermodynamic impact of these modifications shows that more power is generated as the modification becomes more advanced. Case 1 exhibits a modest increase in cogeneration efficiency (4%) as compared to the base case, while the cogeneration efficiency increase is more marked for cases 2 and 3 (21% and 31%, respectively). Surplus power was studied in a regional context, where it was found that the contribution of 19 retrofitted sugar mills in nine Brazilian regions could supply 30% or more power as compared to current installed power capacity. The economic analysis showed that levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) was lowest for case 1 (11 USD/MWh) and highest for cases 2 and 3 (58 USD/kWh).