The challenge to design a state of the art greenfield sugar refinery – an African experience

Abstract

Numerous requirements are the challenge designing a state of the art sugar refinery. Local conditions have to be considered, starting from the landscape features, the size of the available plot of land and its infrastructure as well as the availability, quality and price of water and energy carriers. For most process steps, various technologies are available. It is necessary to make an ideal choice, one that harmonizes best with the location and the project parameters. Decisions such as whether to install a steam or gas turbine, the installation of a single or multi effect evaporation unit or the best juice purification concept have to be made as well as thoughts given to a possible sugar conditioning and the storage system, etc. This paper, with reference to a green-field refinery in Lagos Nigeria designed in detail by IPRO, describes the essential decision making steps concerning the definition of process technology and energy concept of the plant. The main technologies as well as the layout will be explained, considering future extensions. Qualified value added design and the application of modern tools are prerequisites for success and minimize the demand of time and cost for the construction phase quite considerably.