JANUARY 2020
Citrotec® and Uni-Systems: Exclusive partnership in the difusser production in Brazil
Companies are specialist in equipment technology and manufacture, respectively, used in the ethanol production.
World-class cutting-edge technology from Uni-Systems in diffusers to produce ethanol now is fabricated in Brazil. In partnership with a north American company Citrotec® is responsible by exclusive assembly of equipment in the country.
“We are licensed in condition of exclusivity by Uni-Systems, prestigious company worldwide, to local produce of the structures components of product. The company is specialist in the diffuser’s technology, and we are specialist in manufacture. “This way, this partnership will bring to us news goals and realizations”, says the technical directors of Citrotec®, Paulo Henrique Sampaio.
Now a days, the diffuser is indispensable requirement in any factory to increase the operating profits. The Uni-Systems projects and assembly the equipment facing to sugar cane plants more than 25 years ago and holds all property rights in its technology, that is available in many Latin America countries.
Innovation
The technological concepts of the diffuser continue in constantly evolve to provide more benefits to users. For example, the company finished the development of a new mechanical concept that permits increase the width of diffuser to until 20 meters. This permits process, in a single unit, until 28.000 ton of sugar cane per day.
Today, the diffuser production taxes is the 2 to 20 meters of width, equivalent to 3.000 to 28.000 ton of processed sugar cane per day, depends of the fiber content of raw material. Each diffuser is custom designed to meet the needs of each client.
Diffuser advantages over a milling tandem
High Sucrose Extration
The practical results indicate Pol% values of the diffuser bagasse of 0.6 -1.0% against 1.8 - 2.6% of a milling set. Each 1% reduction represents an increase in gross operating revenue of approximately US $ 1 per ton of sugarcane processed per harvest. A plant that processes 1 million tons of cane per harvest generates approximately US $ 1.5 million in additional revenue per harvest, reducing Pol% in the bagasse by 1.5%.
Low energy consumption
The diffuser consumes a mechanical power comparable to that of a single milling suit. A system equipped with two drying mills then consumes approximately 35% of the energy required for a set of six suits. A plant that processes 2.0 mm tons of sugarcane per harvest is able to sell to the grid an additional amount of energy of about 9,000 MW per harvest, equivalent to US $ 750,000 at an energy sale price of US $ 80 / MW.
Low costs of operation and maintanance
The diffuser is not subject to the same wear and tear as a mill, except for some moving elements, such as pump chains and rotors. Nor does it require comprehensive maintenance between the typical harvest at a sugar mill. Maintenance costs for parts and materials are about 40% of those required for a mill with a mill. In a plant that processes 2.0 mm tons of cane per harvest, savings of around US $ 1,200,000 per harvest can be achieved with a diffuser between spare parts, labor and consumable costs, lubricants, electrodes and chemical products for disinfection, broth clarification, filtration, and sludge disposal.
High operational flexibily and steady performance
The diffuser maintains a constant performance in the capacity range between 50 and 130% of the nominal, even with raw material with variable fiber percentage. In general, its extraction efficiency remains higher than that of a milling set, even at its maximum capacity. The practical results indicate extraction above 96.5%, even operating at 150% of its projected capacity. Performance parameters such as bagasse extraction and moisture are more stable even with sugarcane with variable characteristics and with unstable process parameters, such as flow and temperature of soaking water and steam.
Increased operational reliability
The few moving parts of the diffuser are subject to small mechanical stresses, minimizing wear and mechanical failures. Critical elements, like chains, are designed for a useful life of 15 years. Unlike a milling tandem, whose parts (rolls, combs, bagasse, etc.) are subject to gradual wear, the extraction efficiency is not affected during the harvest. Our diffusers guarantee high operational continuity, with an average lost time of less than 2% per harvest.
Lower investment costs
The investment required for a diffuser system is about 85-90% of that required for a complete set of six four-roller mills. When using a single drying mill, the investment is limited to 75-80%. In addition, as it can be installed outdoors, the diffuser does not require a service building or crane. The broth heaters are part of the diffuser supply, so the extra cost to heat the broth to the clarification temperature is reduced by 40%. By providing a much cleaner filtered broth, the diffuser requires reduced clarification and filtration capacity (around 50%).
Lower installation costs
Substantial savings are achieved with civil works, since the diffuser does not require a building or solid concrete bases, typical of a mill. Assembly costs are reduced, as the diffuser installation is considerably lighter and does not require the use of heavy lifting equipment. In addition, by requiring smaller capacity heating, clarification and filtration modules, the installation costs corresponding to these components are also reduced proportionally. All electrical loads are of low power, resulting in savings with transformers, soft-starters, CCMs, cables and other connection materials.
Cleaner and safer operation
As the diffuser is contained in a totally closed protection and does not have heavy moving elements, the installation guarantees an environment with less noise, cleaner and, above all, safer for the operator. In addition, as it occurs at high temperatures, the extraction process is maintained in an aseptic environment, considerably reducing the risk of contamination and the loss of sucrose by inversion.
