| |
Sugarcane Farming
Sugarcane is a high yield crop and in India it is an essential item of mass consumption & the cheapest source of energy.
Sugarcane holds a prominent position as cash crop in sugar producing regions of India where most of the farmers have diverted towards the sugarcane farming.
Suggested Sustainable Practices
- Adoption of integrated pest management, avoidance of overuse of fertilizers and pesticides, avoidance of improper irrigation methods like flooding and following the same crop cultivation pattern for prolonged periods are some of the measures which can make sugarcane farming more sustainable.
- It is important to improve the sugar quality and increase the production, which can be done by growing high sucrose varieties of sugarcane.
- It important for the sugar industry to switch over to modern technologies and to adopt such practices which will increase sugarcane production, conserve water and reduce chemical use in farming practices.
- Following are some alternative farming technologies being practiced/developed in different sugarcane producing regions of the world :
Sugar Industry
-
The sugar industry is the second largest agro-based industry next to textiles in India.
-
Sugar mills in India have capacities ranging from below 1,250 tonnes crushed per day (tcd) of sugarcane to 10,000 tcd.
-
Indian sugar industry sector is well organised and also associated with traditional cottage industry like Gur/Khandsari
-
Sugar industries produce byproducts which are a source of raw material for different industries - distilleries, chemical, paper and pulp, etc.
Suggested Sustainable Practices
Following are some alternative technologies being practiced/ developed in different sugar manufacturing areas of the world:
Molasses
- Molasses is a by-product of sugar industry which is generated during sugar manufacturing.
- It is the basic raw material for the distillery industry where it is used to produce various industrial chemicals, alcohol, power biofuels,
- Molasses is directly used as a fertilizer and animal feed.
Suggested Sustainable Practices
- To prevent water due to waste water from the distillery, can be further treated in the Composting system.
- To avoid ground pollution, spent wash can be sprayed in a controlled manner on the windrows, which are formed on the fields by composting machine driven by tractor.
- A proper leachate management system in and around the compost plot to take care of flooding in rainy season should be considered in advance.
- A well-designed Bio-composting process can ensure zero pollution when enough Press Mud as filler material is available and process norms are strictly adhered to. It is the most cost-effective solution available when weather conditions are favorable.
Bagasse
- Sugarcane bagasse is an important source of power in the sugar mills.
- At present most of the bagasse generated is used as a fuel in the boiler in sugar industry itself and rest is used as filler material while composting.
- Bagasse is also used as a tree-free alternative for making paper. This process requires no bleaching, is more biodegradable, easier to recycle, and overall has less impact on the environment.
- It is used to make insulated disposable food containers, replacing materials such as styrofoam, which are increasingly regarded as environmentally unacceptable
Suggested Sustainable Practices
- One of the byproducts of sugar industry is press mud, a solid residue, obtained from sugarcane juice before crystallization of sugar.
- For every 100 tonnes of sugarcane crushed about 3 tonnes of press mud cake is left behind as by-product. It has been estimated that 2.7 million tonnes of press mud is produced every year in India.
- Press mud contains trace quantity of micronutrients and prevents soil erosion, crusting and cracking, adjust soil pH, improves drainage and promotes normal bacterial and microbial growth in the soil. It is used as both soil reclamant as well as soil conditioner.
- The major use that has recently been developed in India is in biocomposting (usually trade named as Bioearth) where it is treated with the spent wash from the distillery.
Suggested Sustainable Practices
There is a need to explore new areas where press mud can be used efficiently, as it is a nutrient rich source.
Refined white sugar
- Sugar comes under the category of essential commodity of the government of India.
- Sugar industry has got a flexibility to produce different types of sugar depending on the market demand.
- Sugar products produced worldwide are divided into four basic categories : granulated, brown, liquid sugar and invert sugar.
- Factors like high prices in international markets, diversion of sugar cane for production of Ethanol, and increased demand from the Chinese market very much affect sugar production and its market.
- India’s sugar year is October-September. India’s domestic sugar market is estimated at Rs. 250 billion.
- Maharashtra holds the lead in the production of cane and sugar in the country. The consumption level of sugar in India reaches up to 18.5 million tons annually making India the largest consumer of sugar in the world.
- Global market scenario of Sugar
- Market scenario of sugar in India
- Trends in Indian sugar market
Gur/ Khandasari
-
Indian sugar industry sector is well organised and is also associated with traditional cottage industry like Gur/Khandsari units. Gur is produced by continuous direct heating of crude extracted juice in open pans - till it turns solid paste. Khandsari is sugar produced from unrefined cane juice.
-
Presently, India produces about 280 million tonnes of sugarcane in an area of 4 million hectares. Of this, about 46% goes for the manufacture of white crystal sugar and around 42% for gur/khandsari production.
-
This produces white crystalline sugar suitable for direct consumption. The modern sulphitation Khandsari plants are extremely efficient and produce sugar of quality like white sugar manufactured in vacuum pan plants. The optimum capacity of such a plant varies from 100 to 500 TCD (Tons of cane crushing per day).
-
The major advantages of this sugar cottage industry include the following:
- Minimum investment project vis-à-vis a sugar mill.
- Low operational cost.
- Sugar is an essential commodity and requires no marketing.
- Technical upgradation effected almost every year in the industry. It makes the machines more efficient and less labor intensive.
- The older units depend on grid supply or diesel generators for mechanical/electrical power or both when grid power or both when grid power supply is erratic and diesel gensets are kept as standby power sources. This increases the cost of production of Khandsari.
- During shortage of sugarcane supply, the amount of the cane diverted towards this cottage industry affects sugar demand supply ratio
Suggested Sustainable Practices
- The process and the products should be refined for greater competitiveness and there is a need to realize export potential especially where people of Indian origin are located.
- Energy efficient furnaces, concentration pans, clarificants, moulds and storage are needed for Gur. Khandsari units used open pan in place of vacuum pans for concentration and the sugar obtained is of lower quality compared to white sugar from mills. Sugar recovery in Khandsari is much lower. So there is veru much scope of improvement in these areas.
- The benefits, sustainable practices and limitations of Indian Sugar and Cottage industry have been discussed in detail in “The Importance of Special Trading Arrangements in the Promotion of Growth and Stability in Developing Countries” by Dr Arvid Boolell, ACP Ministerial Spokesman, EU.
Waste
-
There are several waste materials coming out of sugar industrial network like spent wash from distillery, ash form co-generation unit (boiler) and press mud if, it is not being utilized to produce compost.
-
Molasses based distilleries produce large amount of wastewater, called spent wash. Depending upon the processes used in fermentation and distillation, it's volume varies from 6 to 15 liters per liter of Alcohol.
Suggested Sustainable Practices
| |
