Ethanol And Sugar Industry Working Together To Take Advantage Of Renewable Energy
Can you imagine a time when two industries create a new energy balance by using resources from each factory to supply the raw materials for the other. This is happening between Illovo Sugar Mill and the Dwangwa Ethanol plant. The ethanol plant is located right next to the sugar mill and uses the molasses that is the effluent matter created after sugar production. The dried bagasse, or crushed cane left behind after juice extraction is used as the fuel to supply the boilers that produce steam for the Illovo plant. With new economisers in the boiler system, Illovo can now also meet the steam requirements of the ethanol plant as well as its own needs. This would mean that no coal burning, a valuable fossil fuel, would be necessary in the ethanol plant. Any carbon dioxide produced through ethanol production is naturally absorbed by the cane fields surrounding the factory, and thus is a negligible pollution factor. The effluent created by the ethanol plant can be used as organic fertilizer in irrigation of the cane fields as it has a rich nutrient quotient. The dried solids and sludge is currently used by local farmers as organic manure in their gardens. The partnership of these two industries means that apart from the diesel and petrol used in the machines that bring the cane in from the fields, they are rapidly moving into a completely sustainable partnership using only renewable resources. Good news for the environment. And perhaps one day, ethanol fuel would be used also to power these machines, leaving a legacy of total sustainability in this ethanol-sugar set-up. Please go to the ETHCO website to find out more about renewable energy.
