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TEG Offices
Amanzimnyama Hill - Tongaat
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Tongaat Hulett Sugars’ technical resources are centred in the Technology & Engineering Group (TEG). The primary purpose of TEG is to provide equipment, design and consulting services for its sugar mills and refineries. Selected equipment design and consulting service are sold to external customers, locally and internationally
The activities of TEG include the following:-
Our team of Engineers, Chemists and Sugar Technologists offer a Process Consulting service on all aspects of cane sugar processing and technology based on a wealth of experience in the sugar industry. Processing performance at our nine operating centers ranks amongst the most efficient in the world, providing an invaluable base for our consulting services.
This department provides a consultancy service on mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, utilities and power generation aspects of a sugar mill based on the knowledge and experience gained through the operation of our own world class sugar mills.
TEG undertakes the development and/or application of new processes, equipment and operating techniques to improve the profitability of sugar mill and refinery operations.
Equipment designs and manufacturing drawings are offered for a range of sugar processing equipment as detailed below: For further information a separate document describing the Designs in more detail is available here.
TEG has developed a Rotary distribution apparatus that greatly simplifies ion exchange and industrial chromatography applications. This technology is not only useful in the sugar industry but can be applied more widely in areas such as mineral processing and hydrometallurgy.
Further information on the RDA may be requested here.
The White Sugar Mill (WSM) is a patented technology owned by UFION Pty. Ltd. which has a 50% equal shareholding by Tongaat Hulett Sugar and South African Bioproducts (SABP). The technology was developed to produce white sugar to EEC2 standard together with a high quality fermentation feedstock directly in a cane sugar mill, without the intermediate production step of crystallizing raw sugar.
To demonstrate the technology a WSM slipstream plant to handle 15% of the Felixton mill throughput, and produce white sugar was commissioned in 2006. The White Sugar Mill process as installed at FX is shown in the figure below
The processing steps that differentiate the WSM process from a standard sugar mill are shaded in the preceding flow diagram. The final products are refined sugar, fermentation feedstock (WSM molasses) and ultra filtration Retentate.
Further information is available on this process here.
Tongaat Hulett continually evaluates business opportunities. Many of these opportunities extend the value chain of the land management, farming and agri-processing capability of Tongaat Hulett. The first project to produce high purity liquid fructose was implemented at the Huletts refinery in 2008.
TEG undertakes investigations and feasibility studies for cane sugar mills and refineries including:
TEG supply experience engineers and sugar technologists to commission new equipment purchased from Tongaat Hulett or through one of their licensees. Hands on training in one of the TH factories can also be arranged when equipment is purchased.
Globally, sugar cane’s biomass is increasingly being acknowledged as a potential solution to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Many countries have recognised the value of a renewable energy component in their national energy strategies – South Africa included. The South African Government has committed itself to the use of renewable energy. Electricity generation and fuel ethanol are two examples.
Tongaat Hulett Sugar (THS) is broadening its strategic focus away from a narrow sugar definition to a much broader bio-fuels and sweetener approach. This, together with the global movement towards “green” and environmentally friendly products and processes provides an opportunity to use sugar cane as a natural renewable source to supply extracts, chemicals and material from its constituent fibres and juice. This has driven THS to reconsider the potential inherent in sugar cane, not only from a sucrose-as-sugar perspective, but also from the perspective of using the full biomass inherent in sugar cane. These developments present an opportunity for THS to diversify more meaningfully into co-generation and fuel alcohol. It is envisaged that the sugar factory of the future may produce direct white sugar/ sweeteners, electricity and fuel alcohol (ethanol), having the flexibility to switch between these three products according to relative returns.
Making electricity and ethanol from sugar cane are both well-established technologies and competitive amongst other renewable energy technologies. Looking forward, Government is likely to align itself with renewable energy as the effects of an expected increasing price trend for crude oil impact the economy and as international pressure mounts for governments worldwide to subscribe Kyoto Protocol commitments.
Electricity generating capacity in South Africa is approximately 40 000 MW, with a portion of this capacity deployed to meet non-South African demand. The DME estimates that South African demand will be 42 000 MW by 2013. The White Paper on Renewable Energy sets a target of 10 000 GWh to be achieved by 2013, which is approximately 4% of the projected electricity demand for that year.
THS currently cogenerates electricity for supply into the national grid at the Felixton, Amatikulu and Maidstone mills (approximately 9 MW in total). Historically, Felixton and Amatikulu have supplied Eskom directly, while Maidstone has supplied the Ethekweni Municipality.
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