Bagasse Dryer Role in the Energy Recovery of Water Tube Boilers

The sugar and ethanol industry, which uses sugarcane as raw material, utilizes the by-product, bagasse, as fuel. The bagasse is fed with a moisture content of 50% (w.b). Dryers are not being used in the way it is proposed here. This article proposes the introduction of bagasse dryers connected to the energy recovery system of the boilers operating with the exhaust gases. The combination of the dryer with other thermal energy recovery devices, such as an air heater and economizer, is considered. The performance improvement is evaluated. Costs are also taken into account. Finally, an optimized solution for the boiler energy recovery system is proposed.