Source: CHOU, CHI submitted to
PRODUCTION OF REFINED CANE SUGAR FROM SUGAR MILLS WITHOUT AN ATTACHED REFINERY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1015923
Grant No.
2018-33610-28508
Project No.
TEXW-2018-00763
Proposal No.
2018-00763
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
8.5
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2018
Project End Date
Jun 2, 2019
Grant Year
2018
Project Director
Chou, C. C.
Recipient Organization
CHOU, CHI
1529 BARTON SPRINGS RD APT 1
AUSTIN,TX 78704
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The one-step cane sugar process respondsto the USDA NIFA SBIR Program Priorities in regards to agriculturally related manufacturing technology and energy efficiency. The technology developed from this project will (1) reduce the energy and water consumed per cane sugar product, (2) provide an economic alternative for producing U.S. Food Grade sugar worldwide, (3) eliminate hazardous solid waste production from sugar refineries and (4) reduce overall anthropogenic carbon dioxideproduction. Process intensification is a top-priority of the United States agriculture industry in regards to national security, global competitiveness, and protecting the environment. The United States is expected to show a path forward to the rest of the world through innovation. The energy savings from full-scale implementation could create jobs by providing power for up to 138,000 new medium-sized factories. The one-step sugar technology can aid in producing economically viable United States Food Grade sugar worldwide by eliminating sugar produced by sulfitation. Water shortages in the western United States and across the world demands the efficient use our water resources in food production. Lastly, combatting climate change through the reduction of GHG emissions must be a global effort. The one-step cane sugar process addresseseach of these issues for the benefit of the public.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
20%
Developmental
70%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1320430202010%
1330410202010%
4022020202015%
4035370202015%
5012020202040%
7112020202010%
Goals / Objectives
The ultimate goal of the project is commercial production of refined cane sugar from sugar mills without an attached refinery. Thedevelopmentwill include a market survey, pilot-scale design of experiments, process development, scaling and feasibility assessment. There are four main technical objectives of the project for phase I.1) Market survey of refined cane sugar products with respect to quality, particularly color.2) Verification of the one-step process data via an ultrafiltration membrane system3) Investigate press filtration as a low-cost press filtration alternative to ultrafiltration4) Perform process development, scale-up and economic analysisPhase II will build upon the work of phase I leading a process able to beretrofitted to anexisting sugar mills.
Project Methods
There are four main technical objectives of the project for phase I.1) Market survey of refined cane sugar products with respect to quality, particularly color, will be performed. Thestudy will entail; (i)a collection of packaged white sugar products from at least five different states, (ii)Collection of white sugar products from three distributors per state and (iii)a collection of three different packaged white sugar products per store.2) Bench-scale experiments via an ultrafiltration membrane system will be performed in order to verifythe one-step process data previously produced at Audubon Sugar Institute.3) An experimental investigationof the one-step sugar process using press filtration will be performed. Press filitration would bea low-cost alternative to ultrafiltration.4) Process development for scale-up and economic analysis will be performed. A base case design of the one-step process will be performed. A professional process development software such as Aspen will be used for process development and economic analysis.

Progress 09/01/18 to 04/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The targeted audience for this project is sugar mills. This project was in collaboration with a Louisiana sugar mill. Changes/Problems:There was a personnel change from the original proposal submitted on 10/5/2017. Michael Lugo was originally going to be hired by Dr. Chou Technologies, inc. as the engineer on the SBIR project. However, he was pursuing other opportunities by the time the project was accepted in March 2018. Dr. Jeff LeBlanc and Thevu Vu, a Ph.D. student of Dr. William Chirdon at University of Louisiana, jointly filled the position originally assigned to Micheal. We have requested a no-cost extension on 2/11/2019. The no-cost extension was granted until 4/30/2020. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A Ph.D. student specializing in chemical engineering at the University of Louisiana was trained on the product. The student worked side-by-side with Drs. Chou and LeBlanc on each step (i.e. goal) of the project. He was trained on industry standard characterization methods for sugar and sugar juice, including on the Internation Commission for Uniform Method of Sugar Analysis (ICUMSA). He was trained on operating equipment including a carbonation reactor, ultrafiltration membrane system, bench-scale evaporation, bench-scale crystallization, and bench-scale centrifuge. Dr. Chou also sponsored his attendance to the 2019 American Sugar Cane Technologist (ASSCT) Meeting. Dr. LeBlanc gained experience in managing a federally-funded research project. This SBIR project was his first federally-fundedresearch project. Furthermore, he fully participated in the Larta Institute Commercialization Acceleration Program and gained valuable experience in business planning. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A brief project summary has been sent to two Louisiana sugar mills. One of the mills has agreed to host a pilot-trial one-step processin the 2019-2020 crop season. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? On goal 1, we experimentally measured the color of 30 different commercial sugar products. We measured 20 different white sugars and 10 brown sugars. The products included organic and conventional sugars. In summary, the white sugars were 33- 100 ICU, organic sugars were 120-450 ICU, and brown sugars were 1,000-4,000 ICU. On goal 2, the one-step process via an ultrafiltration membrane system was verified. The color occlusion index of sugarcane juice was lowered by the one-step process, as evidenced by a 98.6% color removal through crystallization. The color removal through crystallization of the control tests were at best 96.7%. The granular sugar product from the one-step process was food-grade with a color between 117 and 270 ICU. The yeast and mold content of the sugar product was 80 cfu/gram. The heavy metal concentration of the treated juice was 37.8 ppm. Goal 3 was omitted from the plan. Crossflow ultrafiltration membranes effectively removed turbidity from the juice, which ultimately led to the intended color removal. With crossflow ultrafiltration, we tried 0.1 and 0.02 micron pore size membranes. The 0.02 micron pore size was much more effective on turbidity removal (95.5 vs 99.8% turbidity removal). Such as a small pore size (0.02 micron) is not typically used in press filters. Therefore, crossflow ultrafiltration was deemed more appropriate. Press filtration was not further evaluated. On goal 4, we designed and specified a pilot-scale system to be implemented at a Louisiana sugar mill. The pilot site will include a carbonation unit, ultrafiltration membrane system, and falling film evaporator. The carbonation unit will be fed from the mill clarifier. The system capacity will be 100 gallons per hour of juice or 94 pounds of sugar per hour. The commercialization plan forthe one-step process was developed in collaboration with the Larta Institute. In the development of thecommercialization plan, we received five (5) letter of support from sugar producers around the world interested in building a one-step facility.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/18 to 06/02/19

    Outputs
    Target Audience:The targeted audience for this project is sugar mills. This project was in collaboration with a Louisiana sugar mill. Changes/Problems:There was a personnel change from the original proposal submitted on 10/5/2017. Michael Lugo was originally going to be hired by Dr. Chou Technologies, inc. as the engineer on the SBIR project. However, he was pursuing other opportunities by the time the project was accepted in March 2018. Dr. Jeff LeBlanc and Thevu Vu, a Ph.D. student of Dr. William Chirdon at University of Louisiana, jointly filled the position originally assigned to Micheal. We have requested a no-cost extension on 2/11/2019. The no-cost extension was granted until 4/30/2020. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A Ph.D. student specializing in chemical engineering at the University of Louisiana was trained on the product. The student worked side-by-side with Drs. Chou and LeBlanc on each step (i.e. goal) of the project. He was trained on industry standard characterization methods for sugar and sugar juice, including on the Internation Commission for Uniform Method of Sugar Analysis (ICUMSA). He was trained on operating equipment including a carbonation reactor, ultrafiltration membrane system, bench-scale evaporation, bench-scale crystallization, and bench-scale centrifuge. Dr. Chou also sponsored his attendance to the 2019 American Sugar Cane Technologist (ASSCT) Meeting. Dr. LeBlanc gained experience in managing a federally-funded research project. This SBIR project was his first federally-fundedresearch project. Furthermore, he fully participated in the Larta Institute Commercialization Acceleration Program and gained valuable experience in business planning. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A brief project summary has been sent to two Louisiana sugar mills. One of the mills has agreed to host a pilot-trial one-step processin the 2019-2020 crop season. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? On goal 1, we experimentally measured the color of 30 different commercial sugar products. We measured 20 different white sugars and 10 brown sugars. The products included organic and conventional sugars. In summary, the white sugars were 33- 100 ICU, organic sugars were 120-450 ICU, and brown sugars were 1,000-4,000 ICU. On goal 2, the one-step process via an ultrafiltration membrane system was verified. The color occlusion index of sugarcane juice was lowered by the one-step process, as evidenced by a 98.6% color removal through crystallization. The color removal through crystallization of the control tests were at best 96.7%. The granular sugar product from the one-step process was food-grade with a color between 117 and 270 ICU. The yeast and mold content of the sugar product was 80 cfu/gram. The heavy metal concentration of the treated juice was 37.8 ppm. Goal 3 was omitted from the plan. Crossflow ultrafiltration membranes effectively removed turbidity from the juice, which ultimately led to the intended color removal. With crossflow ultrafiltration, we tried 0.1 and 0.02 micron pore size membranes. The 0.02 micron pore size was much more effective on turbidity removal (95.5 vs 99.8% turbidity removal). Such as a small pore size (0.02 micron) is not typically used in press filters. Therefore, crossflow ultrafiltration was deemed more appropriate. Press filtration was not further evaluated. On goal 4, we designed and specified a pilot-scale system to be implemented at a Louisiana sugar mill. The pilot site will include a carbonation unit, ultrafiltration membrane system, and falling film evaporator. The carbonation unit will be fed from the mill clarifier. The system capacity will be 100 gallons per hour of juice or 94 pounds of sugar per hour. The commercialization plan forthe one-step process was developed in collaboration with the Larta Institute. In the development of thecommercialization plan, we received five (5) letter of support from sugar producers around the world interested in building a one-step facility.

    Publications