Monday, April 19, 2010
6-09

Algae production and sugar cane mills: Is there a synergy?

Vadim Kochergin1, Donal Day1, and Mark Suhr2. (1) Audubon Sugar Institute, Louisiana State University AgCenter, 3845 Highway 75, Baton Rouge, LA 70776, (2) MS Process International, p.o.box 426, Hutchinson, MN 55350

Production of fuels and chemicals from renewable sources requires energy for both primary processing and water management. Integration of emerging technologies into existing processing infrastructure allows significant cost reduction by utilization of capital assets. Algal production gravitates towards energy producing facilities because the feed material is a very dilute water suspension of biomass. Cane sugar mills produce power, electricity and steam from renewable fuel, bagasse, which is a cane residue after sugar extraction.  Depending on the fiber content of a sugar cane variety and plant configuration a typical cane sugar mill can produce 15-30 % of bagasse in excess of sugar production requirements. Sugar cane mills are not only a source of power and steam, but are also capable of supplying carbon dioxide as feed for algal growth. Additionally, most cane raw mills have readily available ponds for that can be used for algal production. Because of relatively short cane harvesting and processing season in the USA, domestic sugar mills do not have sufficient incentives to optimize their power production within the existing cost structure. This situation will change if additional revenues are generated as a result of integration of additional technologies, such as algae production. Data will be provided in the presentation on existing and potential energy generation   in the cane mills that may be applied for algal production. Heat and material balances of cane mills utilization and available evaporation and solid-liquid separation facilities will be presented illustrating the availability of utilities for algal production.

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