American Crystal Sugar Company

In an effort to evaluate the use of biomass as a fuel to reduce fuel cost and emissions, EAPC studied the conversion of two natural gas fired sugar beet pulp dryer furnaces to a biomass fuel.

EAPC provided a feasibility cost study for the use of sugar beet pellets, a coproduct of sugar processing, as a fuel to fire these furnaces. The study involved providing a conceptual design and cost for a pneumatic conveying system to transfer pellets from an existing point in the product flow and storage system to a new filter receiver and new bunker which feeds the pulp dryer furnaces. An evaluation of each pulp dryer furnace refurbishment requirements needed to burn the pellets on the moving grate was conducted. This project also includes an ash handling system, establishing the requirements for repairing the ash hoppers, installing new ash crushers and the installation of piping used to transfer the ash to the silo.

Mechanical, electrical, and structural engineering were used in this study. The mechanical portion of the engineering involved defining the requirements for the refurbishment of the pulp dryer furnaces and the associated equipment. A pellet supply system and ash handling system were defined as well as equipment locations and tie-ins. The electrical portion of the engineering involved defining the requirements for instrumentation, wiring, I/O and programming. Motor feeds and MCC equipment requirements were also defined. The structural portion of the engineering involved defining various equipment supports as well as a new platform.