Case Study - Searing Hot Yields for RRB Sugar - InduSoft Sweetens the Bottom Line for Indian Sugar Mill - InduSoft - #1

Using InduSoft Web Studio, parameters at every step in the process are monitored for quality assurance.

RRB's engineers and operators can easily make adjustments to the system themselves; there is little need for field support.

With InduSoft Web Studio, RRB Sugar Mills can easily evaluate system efficiency, reducing the per-unit generation cost.

RRB Sugar Mills Ltd. is one of India's largest sugar producers, with a cane-crushing capacity of 400 Tons of Cane per Day (TCD). While most industries rely on external power sources to fuel their operation, sugar manufacturers can produce their own power in a process called cogeneration. As part of the process of producing sugar from sugar cane, by-products such as bagasse—a left-over fiber from the crushing and extraction process—can be employed as an eco-friendly fuel for power cogeneration. The bagasse can be incinerated to fuel a boiler furnace, which can be used to produce electricity. The power, produced by the furnace can be used in the production of more sugar cane—a net positive energy gain.

Historically, sugar mills in India were permitted to produce only the energy they needed for their own operations. Most Indian sugar companies therefore adopted the practice of installing inexpensive boilers and turbines, which also happen to be notoriously inefficient. They typically would operate only during the sugar season. After all, why invest money in an expensive, efficient system, when there's very little opportunity for a return on that investment?