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Abstract
A heat pump based Freeze Concentration System (FCS) is proposed to concentrate sugarcane juice from
20 to 40 Brix in a jaggery making process. Further concentration of the juice is carried out in a boiling pan.
Inclusion analysis is carried out to estimate sucrose loss in the ice formed in a layer freezing process. A
mathematical model is developed taking in to consideration eect of time varying ice thickness on evapo-
rator temperature, compressor capacity, Coecient of Performance (COP) of the heat pump. Data on
operating parameters for a jaggery unit located at Rahu Pimplgaon in Daund District, Maharashtra was
collected through eld visits. Using this data, energy consumption of this conventional jaggery making pro-
cess is calculated. Energy balance has been carried out and Sankey diagram is drawn. Energy consumption
of the FCS is calculated using results of the mathematical model. Total energy consumption of the FCS
integrated jaggery making process is calculated. Comparison of the conventional process and FCS inte-
grated process is presented. Bagasse saving of about 1338 kg per day can be achieved using heat pump
based FCS along with bagasse red pan boiling. Further, hot spots are eliminated thereby reducing cara-
melisation signicantly resulting in improved jaggery color.
Nomenclature
Bx brix,
CL concentration of liquid phase, Bx
CS concentration of solid phase, Bx
DL diusion coecient in the liquid phase, m2/s
Ds diusion coecient in the solid phase, m2/s
K distribution coecient, DCS/DCL
r radial distance, m
t time, s
T temperature, C
e position of solidliquid interface, m
m mass of melted ice water, kg
qice density of pure ice, kg/m3
xs,ice solute mass fraction of ice, w/w
A area covered by ice on the plate surface, m2
s run time, s
Bxice sucrose concentration in ice, Bx
Bxbulk sucrose concentration in bulk solution, Bx
hl convective heat transfer coecient from juice to growing ice body, W/m2 K
ho convective heat transfer coecient on the refrigerant side, W/m2 K
tl juice temperature, C
to refrigerant temperature, C
x ice thickness, m
ki thermal conductivity of ice, W/mK
tfs thickness of the freezing surface material, m
hlat,ice latent heat of fusion, kJ/kg
Dtj time step, s
ljuice viscosity of sugarcane juice, kg/m s
mwater mass ow rate of water to be separated, kg/h
mjuice mass ow rate of sugarcane juice, kg/h
Bxj initial brix, Bx
Bxf nal brix, Bx
c specic heat, kJ/kg K
Tjuice temperature of sugarcane juice, C
P purity of sugarcane juice
d lm thickness, m
C mass ow rate per unit width of the surface, kg/m s
hjuice,20Bx, 1 C enthalpy of juice at 1 C and 20 Brix, kJ/kg
hSyrup,40Bx, 5 C enthalpy of syrup at 5 C and 40 Brix, kJ/kg
hfg enthalpy of evaporation, kJ/kg
CVbagasse caloric value of bagasse, kJ/kg
2124
1. Introduction
Heat pump based FCS is proposed to concentrate sugarcane juice from 20 to 40 Bx in jaggery
making process. The juice concentration in FCS is carried out up to 40 Bx because juice viscosity
increases considerably beyond 40 Bx, which has an adverse eect on heat transfer and sucrose
inclusion as well. Further concentration of the juice can be carried out in a boiling pan.
A unit at Rahu Pimpalgaon, Daund District in Maharashtra is considered for case study. Data
collected through the eld visits is used as a basis for calculations in this paper. Following are the
details of the data:
The heat pump based FCS uses layer freezing process. The juice ows over the refrigerated sur-
face, called as freezing surface. This surface alternately performs function of a condenser or evapo-
rator. Layer freezing of water from the sugarcane juice and subsequent melting of ice takes place
on the freezing surface. Ice is melted using condenser heat. The ice in contact with the freezing
surface will melt using the heat of condensation of part of the vapours and the rest of the ice will
slide down the vertical freezing surface. The ice collected in the lower collection bin will melt using
the rest of the condensing vapours. Incoming juice is pre-cooled to 1 C using melted water and
concentrated juice leaving the FCS. The use of heat pump facilitates rejection of a major part of
the condenser heat at about 10 C while melting the ice. The temperature lift in this case is of the
order of 20 C.
Average Distribution Coecient (ADC) for solute inclusion (solute mass fraction in ice), is de-
ned as ratio of the solute inclusion in ice to that in the bulk solution [1]. Experimental data on
the partitioning of solute between liquid phases is usually reported in terms of distribution coef-
cient K.
Test section is in the form of a C shaped stainless steel channel. It acts as a freezing surface for
layer freezing of water from the sugar solution. Refrigerant passage is provided at the bottom of
the channel. The test section is insulated.
Sugar solution was prepared adding sucrose crystals in distilled water. Experiments were con-
ducted using 20 Bx concentration solution. It was conrmed that ice formation takes place over
the complete surface. The surface of the ice layer was washed with ice water immediately after the
solution ow was stopped. This helped in removing the thin dendritic layer of ice formed in which
sucrose is entrapped. Samples were collected for inclusion analysis.
2126
3.3. Measurements
The sucrose inclusion in ice and concentration of sucrose in bulk solution was measured using a
temperature controlled bench type Abbe Refractometer with a refractive index in the range of
1.30001.7000 nD and accuracy of 0.0001 nD at room temperature. Temperature was measured
using thermocouples (K type) with accuracy 1 C and an indicator with accuracy 0.2 C, su-
crose and water weight was measured using weighing balance with accuracy 0.1 g.
Figs. 1 and 2 indicate eect of operating parameters on ADC. It is a function of freezing surface
temperature, ice growth rate, solution velocity and bulk solution concentration. Chen has pro-
posed following correlation [2]
mice
ADC 0:145 2:05xs;1 0:139 0:5 1
uS;1
ADC, that is inclusion is more at a higher ice growth rate, because growth rate of the ice front can
become too high to overtake the solute outward movement. Increase in velocity increases mass
transfer coecient. This helps solute at ice solution interface to be transported in to bulk ow
and reduces inclusion. At a lower freezing surface temperature, the driving force for ice growth is
larger, which results in increased inclusion [3]. The experimental results are in good agreement with
the Chens correlation. Fig. 2 indicates ADC value of 0.20 at 1 m/s velocity. Sucrose included in ice is
Bxice
ADC
Bxbulk
2
Bxice
0:20
20
From Eqs. (2), sucrose in ice formed is 4 Bx. That is 4% sucrose is included in the ice. Thus, ice
purity is 96%.
0.6 0.6
Average Distribution Coefficient
0.5 0.5
0.4 0.4
0.3 0.3
0.2 0.2
0.1 0.1
0.0 0.0
-14 -12 -8 -6 -4 -2
Surface Temperature oC
0.50 0.50
0.35 0.35
0.30 0.30
0.25 0.25
0.20 0.20
0.15 0.15
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6
-6
Ice Growth Rate x 10 (m/s)
Fig. 2. Eect of sucrose solution velocity and ice growth rate on average distribution coecient.
Since juice is a binary mixture, its properties change with the concentration as it ows over the
freezing surface. Freezing surface is assumed to be divided in number of segments. Mass of ice
formed and corresponding concentration of the juice is calculated in each segment. Based on this
concentration, properties of the juice such as freezing point, density, viscosity, velocity and spe-
cic heat are calculated for the subsequent segment and are used for heat transfer calculations.
Fig. 3 shows ow chart of the method.
Fig. 4 shows idealized thermal circuit [4]. Initially, freezing surface is bare, that is there is no ice
built up (Fig. 4a). The rate equation for this heat transfer qr is
tl to
qr 3
1
hl
tkfs h1o
Ice thickness in ith segment and corresponding properties of the solution at the entry of the i + 1th
segment are calculated as follows.
As shown in (Fig. 4b), equation for heat transfer q2 is
tl
q2 4
1
hl
From energy balance consideration, q1 is in excess of q2 by the amount required for the rate of ice
formation dx/dt.
q1 q2 qice hlat;ice dx=dt 6
2128
Start
No
Is Qc=Qr
Yes
Fig. 3. Flow chart of method of analysis for calculation of energy consumption of the Freeze Concentration System.
2129
t fs
Freezing
Surface Rh = t/k q r
hl
h0
Refrigerant Sugarcane juice Ro = 1/ ho
tl Rl = 1/ h l
to to
qr tl
(a)
t fs
Freezing
Surface Ice hl Rh = t/k Ri = x/k
tl
q1
t =0
h0 q2
Ro = 1/ ho
Rl = 1/ h l
Refrigerant Sugarcane juice
to
to
tl
q1
q2
x
(b)
Fig. 4. Thermal circuit representations (a) bare freezing surface; (b) freezing surface with ice formation.
Thermal energy abstraction in sub-cooling the ice is not considered. It is negligible relative to the
latent heat of freezing requirement [5].
Mass of ice is formed in the ith segment calculated as
q1 q2 Dtj
Dmice;i 7
hlat;ice
Concentration of the juice entering i + 1 segment in terms of brix is calculated as
2 3
mjuice;i 100Bx
100
i
mice;i
Bxi1 1 4 5 8
mjuice;i mice;i
The relation between viscosity and Bx in i + 1 segment is obtained from a graph of temperature,
concentration and viscosity [7] as
a
ljuice;i1 11
a b Bxi1 c Bxi1 2
Compressor of the FCS is selected based on the nominal capacity and evaporator temperature.
Nominal cooling capacity is calculated for the specications of the unit at Rahu Pimpalgaon.
Water to be separated from the 400 kg/h juice to concentrate it from 20 to 40 Brix is
mwater mjuice 1 Bxj =Bxf 200 kg=h 16
2131
Thus, concentrated juice (syrup) ow rate at the exit of the FCS is 200 kg/h. In FCS, juice is
cooled from 1 C at 20 Bx to 5 C corresponding to 40 Bx is. Total load is
Heat gain from ambient into the ice separated is, assumed to be 10% of the latent heat load, which
is 1.8 kW. Thus, nominal cooling capacity of the FCS is 23.4 kW. Assuming minimum approach
of 3 C, initial evaporator temperature is xed at 8 C. Results were computed using the above
discussed model.
Results are shown in Fig. 5, the evaporator temperature decreases through out the ice building
process. As ice thickness on the freezing surface increases, overall heat transfer coecient de-
creases because of increased ice resistance. This results in reduction of the evaporator temperature
and pressure leading to reduced cooling eect and power consumption. However, reduction in
cooling eect is much more than the reduction in power consumption leading to reduction in
the COP.
It can be seen that at 7 mm ice thickness, COP of the system is around 8. This COP value does
not take into account eect of mismatch of condenser and evaporator duties. The COP is based on
the assumption that the total heat in the condenser is rejected for melting ice only. In practice,
condenser can reject a part of the total heat (equivalent to the latent load) at 10 C for ice melting.
10.5 -7 8 28
.
-8 7 27
Ice Thickness
10.0
-9 6 26
.
Evaporator Temperature oC
Coefficient of Performance
9.5
Compressor Capacity (kW)
Ice Thickness (mm)
-10 5 25
-12 3 23
8.5
.
Compressor Capacity
-13 2 22
7.5 -15 0 20
0 15 30 45 60 75 90 105 125 135
. Time (minutes)
Excess heat, contributed by compressor power input and leakages has to be rejected to heat sink
at ambient temperature. Eect of this heat rejection on the COP is analyzed in the following
section.
Fig. 6 illustrates the cooling loads and eect of delivery of excess heat to the sink at ambient
temperature on net COP. Thus, 23.4 kW heat has to be pumped to a higher temperature. Out
of this, part of the heat (16.5 kW) is pumped at 10 C for ice melting. Since cooling COP of
the FCS is 8, power input for pumping 16.5 kW heat is 16.5/8 = 2.1 kWe. Thus, total heat deliv-
ered for ice melting is 16.5 + 2.1 = 18.6 kW which is equal to the latent load.
Excess heat (6.9 kW) is pumped to 36 C in the water cooled condenser. Cooling COP of 3.7 is
calculated for this condensing temperature using vapor cycle simulation program. Power input for
pumping 6.9 kW heat to 36 C sink is 6.9/3.7 = 1.9 kWe. Thus, total heat delivered at 36 C is
6.9 + 1.9 = 8.8 kW.
The net COP is calculated as
QR;ice QR;sink 18:6 8:8
COPnet 6:8 17
P Total 1:9 2:1
Electrical energy consumption is
Qcooling 23:4
P e;FCS 3:44 kW h 18
COPnet 6:8
Since unit works for 10 h in a day, total electrical energy consumption of the FCS to concentrate
juice from 20 to 40 Bx for the day is 34.4 kW h.
COPc = 8
Power Input
6.9 kW 16.5 kW 2.1 kWe
Heat leakage
1.8 kW
It is required to evaporate 100 kg/h water at a striking temperature of 118 C from (200 kg/h)
concentrated juice coming from the FCS. Vapor generated in the boiling pan at 118 C is used to
heat the concentrated juice at the exit of the FCS. With an approach of 6 C, the concentrated
juice is heated from 112 C before entering the boiling pan.The juice is heated from 112 to
118 C in the boiling pan. Total heat load in the boiling pan is
QT;heat mw hfg mSyrup c T f T i
100=3600 kg=s 2300 kJ=kg 200=3600 kg=s 3 kJ=kg K118 112
64:8 kW 19
Caloric value of bagasse with 50% moisture and 12% sucrose content is calculated as [7]:
Gross Calorific Value 4600 1 w 1200 s 4:187 9027 kJ=kg 20
Bagasse consumption is
QT;heat
mbagasse 25:8 kg=h 21
CVbagasse
Assuming combustion eciency to be 60%, actual bagasse consumption is 41.2 kg/h. Thus, total
bagasse consumption for producing 1000 kg jaggery in 10 h using FCS is 412 kg.
The total energy consumption for producing 1000 kg jaggery in 10 h constitutes the following:
a. Electrical energy consumption for concentration of the juice from 20 to 40 Bx using FCS is
34.4 kW h.
b. Bagasse consumption in the boiling pan for further concentration is 412 kg.
The bagasse consumption per kg of jaggery produced is in the range of 1.52 kg. An average value
of 1.75 kg is considered for the analysis. The jaggery production rate is 100 kg/h, that is 0.03 kg/s.
Bagasse consumption rate is
mbagasse;con mbaggase;jag mjaggery 1:75 0:03 0:05 kg=s 23
From Eqs. (20), (22) and (23)
Qin;con 415:3 kW
2134
As indicated by Tiwari [9], natural convection boiling of sugarcane juice is up to 90 C and pool/
nucleate boiling starts at 9095 C. Fig. 7 shows the temperature ranges with corresponding sen-
sible and latent heat loads. It may be noted that in practice, sugarcane juice is heated in pan from
about 27 to 118 C in a single stage. Three stages and corresponding temperature ranges consid-
ered in Fig. 7 are assumed for calculation of sensible and latent loads.
Total heat load is summation of latent and sensible heats in three stages. Thus
Qtot Qs;I Qs;II Qs;III QL;II QL;III
mjuice cavg 90 27 mjuice cavg 109 90 mjuice cavg 118 109
mw;e hfg @ 99:5 C mw;e hfg @ 113:5 C 216:6 kW 24
Ratio excess air weight to weight of air theoretically necessary is calculated as [7]:
0:871 w
c 25
4:451 wm 0:0561 w
Assuming CO2 content per unit volume of ue gas to be 0.13, from Eq. (25)
m 1:52
Syrup
90 oC,400kg/h , 20 Bx
Syrup
109 oC,250kg/h , 32 Bx
Jaggery paste
118 oC,100kg/h , 80 Bx
Heat loss is
Qf 1 w 1:4m 0:13 0:5 T 4:18 mbagasse;con 125:5 kW 26
Other losses include unburnt and radiation loss. Unburnt loss is assumed to be 10% of the total
heat input. The result of the energy balance is indicated in Fig. 8(a).
8. Comparison of the FCS integrated jaggery making with the conventional process
Fig. 8 shows that, bagasse consumption in FCS integrated process is 41.2 kg/h as against
175 kg/h in conventional process. Saving in bagasse is
175 41:2 133:8 kg=h
Other Loss
Loss in Flue Gas 73.2 kW
125.5 kW
Juice Evaporation
(a) 216.6 kW
Ice Water
200 kg/h
0o C
Concentrated Juice
200 kg/h
Sugarcane Juice 1o C
400 kg/h 40 Bx
27o C 112o C Jaggery Paste
20 Bx 100 kg/h
Freeze Concentration Boiling Pan
System (FCS)
Water Vapor
100 kg/h
118o C 64.8 kW
Condensate Other Loss
100 kg/h 9.5 kW
Electrical Energy Input 34.4 kWe 118 oC,
Loss in Flue Gas
28.7 kW
Fig. 8. Comparison of energy consumption of the Freeze Concentration System integrated jaggery making and
conventional process.
2136
The FCS consists of two latent heat exchangers, a sensible heat exchanger, multi way valve and
controls. A boiling pan of juice holding capacity 500 kg is used to further concentrate the juice
from the FCS. The initial cost of FCS and boiling pan is about Rs. 2 Lakh. Conventional jaggery
making unit essentially consists of a furnace, chimney and a boiling pan of juice holding capacity
1000 kg. Cost of the complete unit including construction of the chimney and furnace is about 2
Lakh.
The boiling pan in the proposed unit is half the capacity of the conventional jaggery making
unit. Reduced size of the boiling pan facilitates proper stirring of the juice. This reduces localized
hot spots. Further, time for which juice is exposed to high temperature reduces because 50% of the
concentration is carried out in the FCS. This reduces caramelisation and improves jaggery color
and quality.
9. Techno economics
As indicated in the results of the experiments, loss of sucrose is 4%. During 10 h working,
2000 kg ice is separated. Loss of sucrose in this ice is (2000 0.04) 80 kg. It is assumed that
80 kg jaggery forms out of 80 kg sucrose loss in ice. Considering rate of jaggery as Rs. 3 per
kg realized by the farmer [10], Rs. 240 is the loss due to sucrose inclusion.
Saved bagasse can be sold to various industries like sugar factory, paper and pulp industry at
the rate in the range of Rs. 0.60 to Rs. 1.2 per kg [10]. Considering an average value of Rs. 0.9 per
kg, revenue generated per day by sell of the 1338 kg saved bagasse is Rs. 1204.2.
Electrical energy consumption of the FCS for 1000 kg jaggery production is 34.4 kW h. Con-
sidering electricity rate of Rs. 5/kW h (in Maharashtra), electricity cost is Rs. 172.
10. Conclusion
A heat pump based Freeze Concentration System is proposed to concentrate sugarcane juice
from 20 to 40 Brix in a jaggery making process to save bagasse and enhance jaggery quality. Eect
of operating parameters on ADC is studied through experiments. Use of heat pump facilitates
rejection of a major part of the condenser heat at about 10 C while melting the ice. COP of
the FCS is estimated as 6.8 using mathematical model and considering heat losses and mismatch
of evaporator and condenser duty. Comparison of the conventional and FCS integrated jaggery
making process is presented. FCS integrated process results in better quality jaggery by reducing
hot spots and caramelisation due to reduced size of the boiling pan. Bagasse saving of 1338 kg per
day or for 1000 kg jaggery can be achieved.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the help and support oered by Dr. J.P. Patil, Director,
Regional Sugarcane and Jaggery Research Station, Kolhapur, Dr. B.S. Patil (Kolhapur) and Mr.
Hanumant Shinde from Rahu Pimpalgaon.
References
[1] S.I. Sandler, Chemical and Engineering Thermodynamics, second ed., John Wiley, New York, USA, 1989.
[2] P. Chen, X.D. Chen, W.F. Kevin, Solute inclusion in ice formed from sucrose solution on a sub-cooled surface
an experimental study, Journal of Food Engineering 38 (1998) 113.
[3] P. Chen, X.D. Chen, W.F. Kevin, An experimental study on the spatial uniformity of solute inclusion in ice
formed from falling lm ows on a sub-cooled surface, Journal of Food Engineering 39 (1999) 101105.
[4] A.L. London, R.A. Seban, Rate of ice formation, ASME Transactions 65 (1016) (1943) 771778.
[5] S.I. Finer, A.C. Cleland, S.J. Lovatt, Simple mathematical model for predicting the transient behaviour of an ice-
bank system, International Journal of Refrigeration 16 (1993) 312320.
[6] A.G. Patil, Freeze concentration: an attractive alternative, International Sugar Journal 95 (1993) 349355.
[7] E. Hugot, Hand Book of Cane Sugar Engineering, Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands,
1986.
[8] R.H. Perry, Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, seventh ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1997, pp. 642.
[9] G.N. Tiwari, P. Om, K. Subodh, Evaluation of convective heat and mass transfer for pool boiling of sugarcane
juice, Energy Conversion and Management 45 (2004) 171179.
[10] Personal communication with Mr Hanumant Shinde, jaggery unit owner at Rahu Pimpalgaon.