Cogeneration of sugarcane bagasse for renewable energy production

Bagasse is a renewable fuel and is essentially greenhouse gas neutral because the carbon dioxide produced during bagasse combustion is offset by the carbon dioxide absorbed by the photosynthesis of sugarcane in the field. With renewable electricity incentives in place, most new sugar factories are designed to be energy efficient with significant electricity export. It is likely that a typical factory without modifications for cogeneration and a good balance between high-pressure (HP) and low-pressure (LP) steam usage will have to vent LP steam due to pan stage steam requirements reducing more quickly than the boiler station can respond. Cogeneration and the development of high-value by-products from bagasse are often thought of as competing options for utilizing bagasse. However, both cogeneration and bagasse value adding require factory improvements to reduce bagasse usage and infrastructure to manage bagasse storage and transport.