RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT REFINED SUGAR DRYERS

IN SUGAR-CANE MILLS OF VIETNAM

Bui Trung Thanh. MSc. Deputy-director of agricultural engineering investment

consultant company (AGRINCO)
Nguyen Huy Bich. Msc Head of planning division of AGRINCO

1. FOREWORD

The main products of Vietnamese sugar-cane mills are refined sugar (RS) and crude sugar
(yellow sugar-cane(YS). The rate between RS and YS depends on constituent syrup,
syrup floating equipment, syrup boil processing, additional bleach chemistries, crystalline
time and syrup separating centrifugal procedure. Nomally the YS rate is about 30 % and
RS rate is about 70%
A popular sugar- cane mill can produce the yellow crystalline product only for selling. In
fact, consumption capacity of the YS is very less so that most of popular mills get the
yellow crystalline back for the boil process again or accumulation to sell for poor farmers.
Normally, the moisture of crude sugar-cane is 3,5 %, so it is not neccessary for drying
while the moisture of refined sugar-cane (RS) which get out the A centrifugal is 0,5% -1,5
%. Basing on recent classification, if the moisture of sugar-cane is under 0,06 %, it will be
classified as the super class. Similarly, the moisture of first class is under 0,07% and the
second class is under 1,2%).
The final product should dry to meet the standard moisture before packing for storage,
transportation, and consumption.Because of this, it is necessary for the sugar-mills to
equip dryer for drying.

1. White crystalline sugar-cane drying processing

The drying process can split in to three period
- The first stage is the constant rate period (surface evapotranspiration)
formidable evapotranspiration strength between hot air and moisture on the crystalline
surfaces.Hot air receives moisture from sugar-cane crystalline continually. The drying rate
of this stage is highest than other.
- The second stage is the falling rate period (moisture diffuse stage)
The crystalline surface of sugar-cane is dried, evapotranspiration is slow down, then
moisture from inside of crystalline isdiffuse to out side and continuos evapotranspiration.
The pressure of hot air is nearly equal evoporating moisture pressure of crystalline sugar-
cane. The drying rate is slow down in the end of the second stage.
- The third stage is equilibrium moisture content (EMC)

1
 Moiture(%)
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Time(minute)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

The equilibrium moisture content is defined as the moisture content of crystalline after it
has been exposed for a long period of time on a particular environment with relative
humidity and temperature. At the period of time the vapor pressure of sugar-cane is equal
to the vapor of the hot air. The evapotranspiration process is nearly stop.
The drying process for refined sugar-cane is on the curved line of figure 1.

3. Analysing the main factors influence drying rate

3.1. The drying layer thickness and sizes of crystalline.

The large layer thickness and small crystalline size are influenced diffuse moisture from in
side to out side. Envapotranspiration and drying rate decrease continuously

3.2. Moisture rate of crystalline.

The trouble A centrifugal machines or low experience operation technician get out low
products, moisture rate of crystalline is higher or undurable. Normally moisture standard
of sugar-cane is 0,7 to 1,5% after running out the A centrifugal machine. Besides moisture
of sugar-cane depend on the breed crystalline size during crystalline process.

3.3. Moisture of hot air

The higher the hot air temperature is, the lower the relative moisture is and the faster the
evapotranspiration of refined sugar-cane is. In fact, the sugar-cane drying is as same as
the cereal drying. The drying temperature is limited for each kind of grain product.
Example paddy, the drying temperature for merchandise is under 60 OC and for seed is
under 40 OC.
The hot air temperature for sugar-cane drying is under 80 OC. If It is over 100 OC, the
natural white colour of sugar-cane is changed to the yellow. The quality of final product
get bad so it will effect to price of RS.

3.4. Kind of dryer

Kind of dryer is one of factors that decides to drying rate and final product quality. The
different dryer get out different drying rate and quality.

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4. Research and development refined sugar-cane dryers in Vietnam
Some of the requirements for Vietnamese sugar-cane dryer are simple structure, easy
operation and maintenance, and low power consumption.Specially It is synchronous with
the production assembly line and using heat of drying from sugar-cane processing.

4.1 The rotary drum dryer

The drum dryer is common for chemistry production plants. The drum dryer is simple
structure, It consist of a cylinder which is set slanting 3O- 5 O. Flights is set in side the
cylinder. The flat flight with no lip in the feed end, flight with 45-deg. lip Flights in the
middle with 90-deg and to showering the sugar-cane grain through the hot air stream
during passage though the cylinder. The flights design is changed along the dryer length
with spiral form. The inlet head and the breeching get fastened each terminal of the
cylinder. Specially the heat transfer is supplied at the outlet of product. The feed chute,
exhaust tube and cyclone separator are attached the inlet head of dryer. The drum is

Ambient air get in

Dried drum Cool drum

Hì nh 2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10
hot air
Khí thaû i 8
11

12
The figure 2- the rotary drum dryer

1: Cyclone 7: Breeding
2: Fan 8: Hotair
3: Screw 9: Drum
4: Chute 10: Fan
5: Drum 11: Conveyer
6: Lip 12: Motor

Figure 2: The rotary drum dryer

revolute about 3 to 5 rpm, sugar-cane is oppositely moved with hot air direction during
drying and the pressure in side is required from (-)25 to (- )50 mm Hg. The structure of
the rotary drum dryer is the figure 2.
The first advantage of the rotary drum dryer is controlled time to retain sugar cane in the
cylinder so that sugar-cane moisture obtains requirement easily.
During drying, sugar-cane is blended strongly, crystalline grain is broken or abraded much.
Grains is not beautiful, the colors is dark. There is so much pieces of sugar-cane is born
during dying, people should separate pieces by the screen and broke them to reproduction.
The rotary drum dryer has developed in sugar-cane mills such as Kien Giang, Thoi Binh-
Ca Mau, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Phan Rang, and Bien Hoa- Tay Ninh sugar-cane mills.

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4.2 Vibrative dryer
The structure of Vibrative dryer is based on the vibrative conveyor. It consist of a frame
of vibrative conveyor is divided in to two chambres by separated plates. The top chamber
contains sugar-cane and the under chamber contains drying air. At the under chamber is
separated two parts, The first one contains hot air, the other one is received ambient to
cool sugar-cane after drying. There is a cone hat to cover on the conveyor and connect
with the exhaust tube and cyclone separator. Hot air is supplied by the U tube heat transfer
is attaches the frond of dryer. The principle of the Vibrative dryer is described figure 3.

Supplying material 8 exhaust air gets out

Ñöôøng nguyeân lieäu
Ra quaït huùt
Khí thaûi
10
9 Khí thaûi
7
1

Khí noùng
Hot air2
get in Ambient air

3 4 5 6
Figure 3 - The vibrative conveyor dryer
1: Hot air supplying door 6: Dischargement door
2: Frame 7: Cool chamber
3: Vibrate motor 8: Exhaust air chamber
4: Coolair door 4: Drying chamber
5: Leg of dryer 5: Hopper

Figure 3: The vibrative dryer

Agricultural engineering investment & consultant company (AGRINCO) belongs to the

Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture& Rural Development has researched and developed most
of sugar-cane mills which were supplied and transferred by China such as Daclac, Tri An,
Ben tre, ViThanh, TraVinh, and SocTrang sugar-cane mills. The dryer is designed and
modified from the vibrative conveyor, which is used transportation the finished products
from the A,B centrifugal machines.
On drying, refined sugar-cane is both to keeps in touch with heat from the separated
plates and to receives hot air from step gates of separated plates directly. Refined sugar-
cane is moved along the conveyor during vibration.
Humidity air evaporates of refined sugar-cane and Sugar powder are get out through
exhaust tube.
The dryer is designed and modified on the vibrative conveyor so that its investment is low.
The broken crystalline grain rate is lower than the rotary drum dryer, the colour and grain
size of sugar-cane is more beautiful and whiter.

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4.3. The fluidized dryer
The fluidized dryer is also designed and reformed on the vibrative conveyor of the sugar
mill. The dryer consist of three chambers.
- The first one is received and distributed material sugar regularly on the wideness of
conveyor.
- The second one is fluidized dryer. It includes two chambers which is separated by a
screen with many holes that their size are super small. Material sugar is on the screen,
hot air is under screen. The hot air chamber has three curve separated walls to
distribute hot air regularly during drying.
- The last one is cool chamber. Its structure is alike the drying chamber. This chamber is
received ambient to cool dried sugar.
All other parts of the fluidized dryer is like the vibrative dryer such as heat mass transfer,
exhaust air chamber, sucked fan, and cyclone separator.
The principle described the figure 4.
exhaust air gets out
12 10 11 10 9

13

Hot
1
air 2
get in 3 4 5 6 7 8
Ambient air
Finished product
H ìn h 4 - M a ù y s a á y ñ ö ô ø n g k ie å u ta à n g s o â i
get out
1/ In le t d o o r 7 / V o b r a t iv e m o t o r
2/ Fram e 8 / D is c h r g e m e n t
3/ Leg 9/ Cool cham ber
4/ A ir d is t r ib u t o r 1 0 / E x h a u te c h a m b e r
5/ D is t r ib u tiv e V a lv e 1 1 / F lu id iz e d d r y in g c h a m b e r
6/ C o o l a ir in le t d o o r 12/ H opper
1 3 / D is t r ib u t iv e c h a m b e r

Figure4: Fluidized dryer

During drying, material sugar is moved little by little from the first chamber to the second
chamber. Hot air is adjusted by the air valves of the flow heading part with its pressure is
from 1100 Pa to 1120 Pa, pressure of exhaust air is (-) 1400Pa and gas velocity of fluidity
is from 0,2 to 3m per second. Hot air ( gas) goes through super small leaks of the screen.
The layer of sugar is fluidized state and the frame of dryer is vibrating countinuously. At
this time drying sugar layer is float on the screen and moved to the terminal chamber.The
surface evapotranspiration of sugar grain and humidity transfer to hot air is fast and
strongly to equilibrium state at the end of the drying chamber. Dried white sugar-cane

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continues to move in a cool air flow of the cool chamber to cool to stored temperature.
Exception screen material and manufactured technique is specially and complexly, the rest
parts of the fluidized dryer is manufactured simply
Because of sugar-cane is moved and floated during drying, sugar-cane grain is get in
touch with screen seldom so that crystals is not broken, the colour of sugar-cane is white
and beautiful.
Comparison the other drying principle for sugar-cane, investment of the fluidized dryer is
higher, the structure and operation technique is more complicated so that the technician
should have good skill. The fluidized dryer is manufactured and transfed in the Binh Dinh
and Test & line- Nghe An sugar mills.

5. The auxiliary components

Tube heat transfer and cyclone separator are the two auxiliary components of the sugar-
cane dryer.
5.1. U tube heat mass exchanger
Almost sugar mills are using steam to supply heat for sugar-cane processing so that energy
for drying is get on from the heat mass transfer equipment. the U type heat exchanger is
designed to sugar-cane dryer. Because drying air temperature is under 90 O c so that the
thinkness of tube is 3mm and the stationary tube sheet is about 14 to 17 mm. The heat
exchange area is 36m2, and capacity of the blower fan is 16 000m3 per hour , pressure
1500Pa

5.2 The Cyclone separator

There is a cyclone separator that is joined to the dryer for collect sugar powder during
drying. People can design and choose one of two kind of cyclone separator. The wet
cyclone separator is better than dryed cyclone while it collects sugar dust. However the
manufactured material is better and maintenance should be permanently. Operating cost
of wet cyclone is higher than dried cyclone. In fact AGRINCO designed and manufactured
dried cyclone to equip for sugar cane dryers. The dried cyclone is more simple and cheap
price.

6. Conclusion and discussion

- It is necessary to dry refined sugar to standard moisture before packing in weather
condition of Vietnam. In fact some sugar mills of Vietnam has not yet to pay attention
this problem. They use ambient to dryer sugar on the way transportation from the A
Centrifugal machine position to the separated Screen position ( the temperature of
product at the A centrifugal machine is under 80 O C). Actually, sugar moisture is
decreased little. This sugar-cane drying process is as cope with customers temporarily.

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- The vibrative dryer is more advantage than the others. Its investment is lower.
Exception the heat transfer should be equipped newly, In Chinese sugar mills, people
can reform and supplement some auxiliary parts only.
- Do not pack finished product when its temperature is high.
- Do not store the crude sugar-cane and the dried white sugar in a storage
- Do not load over 25 bags of product on a column
The storage should be ventilated, the temperature is under 38OC and relative air humidity
is about 70 %

REFERENCES

1. JAMES E.WIMBERLY,1983 Technical handbook for paddy rice post harvest

industry in developing countries, IRRI publishing.

2. JOHN H.PERRY, Chemical Engineers’ Hand book, Mc Graw-hill book company new
york-San francisco- Toronto Lon don Sydney