MODELLING WATER USE IN SUGAR MILLING

摘要

The use of water is an important economic and environmental issue for many chemicals plants. InNorth Queensland, the sugar industry has placed a particular emphasis on both the conservation andreduction of clean water and the control of treated wastewater released to the environment. In order toeffectively manage these issues and ultimately to minimize water used in the plant and released fromthe plant, a quantitative description of process water flows in the sugar industry has been developed.The process model uses a combination of measured variables (both online and scheduled data) andfundamental balances to determine predictions of the inlet water and outlet water flows. Significantinternal water cycles are modeled. Total wastewater flows have been estimated over the duration of thecrushing season using the model. Process units and stream flows that hold the greatest potential forminimizing wastewater and reducing water consumption were identified. The uses of the model forimproving traditional optimization and targeting strategies in resource minimization are discussed.