The Hindu Business Line : GMR Ind plant gets energy efficiency award

In a sugar factory, a one per cent saving in process steam on cane can result in an additional generation of a whopping 6,48,000 units of power. This can be achieved for a plant with a crushing capacity of 3,600 tonnes of cane per day (TCD) for a season of 180 days.

Now, if the reduction is up to 4 per cent process steam, the factory can save about Rs 80 lakh for one crushing season.

For attaining this feat, the GMR Industries was awarded the Noel Derr Gold Medal Award on `Conservation of Steam in Sugar Industry', by the Sugar Technologists Association of India (STAI) recently.

HEAT RECOVERY SCHEME

The GMR Industries designed and implemented a waste heat recovery scheme in the sugar plant situated in Srikakulam district in collaboration with Spray Engineering Devices, Chandigarh, during the crushing season of 2004-05.

Through this scheme, the plant could reduce the process steam consumption to 36 per cent from 42 per cent on cane. The industry standard is above 40 per cent now. How did GMR do it?

According to the company, it utilised waste heat recovery from the condensate, vapours & non-condensate gases, which are normally thrown out into the atmosphere. This is the first sugar factory to achieve such low-steam consumption, it claimed.

OPEN INVITATION

GMR Industries has given an open offer to all the sugar factories in the country to see the performance of the plant, and replicate it to take advantage of the innovation. A number of factories have visited recently, they said.

The company has taken the initiative and organised a two-day seminar at Visakhapatnam in association with the South Indian Sugar Cane and Sugar Technologist Association on energy conservation project being executed by the sugar plant.

Saving energy

The company plans to further reduce the process steam consumption to a level of 32 per cent during the 2006-07 crushing season.

For the sugar industry, which in general is adopting surplus power generation to sell and make additional income for achieving financial stability, the innovative energy saving process could be useful.

More Stories on : Awards & Honours | Sugar | Andhra Pradesh

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