MEMO
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT: To propose a replacement of the traditional cogenerations with modern, more efficient units
Introduction
In the recent past, most stakeholders in this company must have noticed that our rate of sugar production has been quite slow, even though the supply from our local farmers has been quite steady. In fact, in the past year, we have even been receiving sugarcane in excess, yet our production has been dwindling. As the production manager, I have deduced that the cause of this problem is internal: our energy consumption has been affected by the recent hiccups in the country’s electricity production. I hereby suggest that the company considers an alternative means of energy production to supplement the amounts we receive from the national grid, which has been dwindling lately. The proposed solution is “upgrading our co-generation systems from low-steam temperature installations to high efficiency co-generation units.” However, this will need to be researched before it is considered. This being a private company, the proposed research will require funding from the company director (owners) and will be conducted by selected members of the Engineering Department. By replacing our low-steam temperature cogeneration units with more efficient, modern units, we can revamp our production.
Problem
Our mill is a traditional one, and even though it has been self-sufficient through the years, our current poor production levels have led to the realization that the equipment we have in our cogeneration units is old, and they have not been allowing surplus production of power (even if not for sale to the grid, but our own use). Awareness has been created presently concerning the benefits of using more efficient cogeneration systems to improve the generation of power. Even without exporting power to the grid, we have been using massive amounts of steam, and the equipment we have seems to have gotten too old for the demand. Also, our cogeneration units use backpressure turbo generators with which, studies have shown, the energy in sugarcane is underutilized. These problems have been slowing us down.
So, the precise reason why we have to replace these traditional cogeneration units is that our production rate is currently not meeting the demand, and we have been wasting a lot of raw material given that cane production from farmers is at an all-time high. Our records show that these problems started a year ago, and the management attempted to solve it by increasing the workforce because they thought that was the problem. Well, the problem is still here; what we have added is more expenditure.
I, therefore, recommend a complete overhaul of the traditional cogeneration units and replacement with more up-to-date units. A recommendation report will follow, which will detail how the proposed systems work and in what ways they will solve the disadvantages and limitations of the traditional systems currently in use in this company.
Below is a list of references with in-depth information on the proposed modern cogeneration units. These sources were searched in the IEEE Xplore database, a credible library of standards, conferences, and journals from IEEE and IET. In the final project, I intend to research more on the environmental friendliness of these modern cogeneration units.
Bibliography
Singh, O. K. (2019). Exergy analysis of a grid-connected bagasse-based cogeneration plant of sugar factory and exhaust heat utilization for running a cold storage. Renewable Energy, 143, 149-163.
This study analyses a 16MW cogeneration plant in India. Singh did the analysis by feeding bagasse leaving the mills with 50% moisture directly into the boiler as fuel. He then uses a series of related experiments to propose a cooling system that would produce a refrigerating effect that can be sustainably used to preserve large quantities of vegetables in cold storage. This source is credible, peer-reviewed, and was retrieved from an accredited scientific database.
To, L. S., Seebaluck, V., & Leach, M. (2018). Future energy transitions for bagasse cogeneration: Lessons from multi-level and policy innovations in Mauritius. Energy research & social science, 35, 68-77.
In this article, To et al. shows how arrangements impacted the improvement of the bagasse cogeneration specialty and changes in the sugar and energy systems after some time. To do this, they used a multi-level perspective to assess the process and extract policy lessons for other nations. To et al. then conclude that local capacity and institutional context are important for managing transitions towards sustainable energy. This source is credible, peer-reviewed, and was retrieved from an accredited scientific database.
Bhutani, R., Tharani, K., Sudha, K., & Tomar, Y. (2020). Design of a cogeneration plant for sugar industries using renewable energy resources. Journal of Statistics and Management Systems, 23(1), 181-190.
This study explores the use of renewable energy sources to design a cogeneration plant for sugar industries. In the paper, Bhutani et al. center around the utilization of BIG-CC framework alongside bagasse and other sugarcane buildups like press mud in the sugar industry in India. The researchers found that with the increase in temperature and pressure of the cogenerator, the overall power output, and hence the efficiency of the cogenerator unit increases gradually. This source is credible, peer-reviewed, and was retrieved from an accredited scientific database.
Lehtinen, S. (2019). Thermodynamic and Economic Evaluation of Hybridization Biomass-solar for a Cogeneration Power Plant in a Cuban Sugar Mill, George Washington.
This investigation assesses the thermodynamic and financial presentation of hybridization of biomass-sun oriented for a cogeneration power plant in a Cuban sugar plant, George Washington. Lehtinen performed the evaluation by differing the boundaries of the warm force block and thinking about situations with 1) bagasse and marabú, 2) bagasse and sunlight based field, and 3) bagasse, marabú, and sun-powered field as warmth hotspots for the cogeneration cycle. She found that the most practical setup consolidates all the three warmth sources having the superheated steam boundaries of 100 bar and 540 ⁰C and the sunlight based field gap territory of 88,560 m2 utilizing SkyTrough collectors. This source is credible, peer-reviewed, and was retrieved from an accredited scientific database.
Singh, J. (2019). A Review of Major Challenges in the Field of Bagasse Cogeneration in Sugar Mills of India. Journal: Handbook of Environmental Materials Management, 1-32.
In this article, the status of the bagasse-based cogeneration ventures has been evaluated in an Indian setting. To achieve this, the bioelectricity generation capability of bagasse cogeneration ventures has been assessed by applying accessibility and transformation imperatives. From that point, significant difficulties with respect to guidelines and mechanical alternatives have been expounded for the effective execution of bagasse-based economical force ventures. This source is credible, peer-reviewed, and was retrieved from an accredited scientific database.