DETERMINATION OF THE OPTIMAL XYLITOL PRODUCTION CAPACITIES BY EXTRACTING JUICE OF THE FILTERS IN A SUGAR PLANT

Abstract

Introduction:
Sugarcane is an alternative source of energy with great potential for the production of derivatives, so it is necessary to accelerate the diversified development of this industry. 
Objective:
To optimally design the capacities of a xylitol plant, produced by fermentative way with sugarcane bagasse, taking as main raw material the leftover bagasse coming from a sugar plant of Villa Clara province, Cuba.
Materials and Methods:
The statistical software Statgraphics Centurion was used to obtain models of the raw sugar production process stages, using data plant during the harvest period. Material balances were applied to these data to obtain models representing the quality of intermediate products and final sugar, with juice extraction from the filters. The models are aggregated to obtain the global models of the process knowing with these the benefits of the extraction of filter's juice in purification stage and the leftover bagasse for each extraction percentage.
Results and Discussion:
625 tons/year of xylitol will be produced, requiring 6250 tons/year of bagasse. The optimum extraction rate of juice from the filters is 80%, reducing steam consumption by 5.16%. Sugar and molasses losses are outweighed by gains from xylitol sales.
Conclusions:
The extraction of juice from the filters in a sugar plant is satisfactory for sugar quality and energy balances, providing surplus bagasse for obtaining xylitol.