BAGASSE TRANSPORT AND STORAGE FOR THE PIONEER COGENERATION PROJECT

THE PIONEER COGENERATION plant commissioned in 2005 provided the driver for a radical change to the traditional bagasse handling operations at Pioneer Mill. The reliable supply of good clean fuel for generation suddenly became paramount and a range of new processes and equipment types were evaluated and then implemented. The project involved the transport of bagasse from the surrounding mills and the storage and reclaiming operations necessary to meet the new project’s demands. More than 130 000 t of bagasse (fuel) are now handled each year at Pioneer Mill with the bulk burnt in the new boiler which provides steam to the condensing turbine. This paper outlines the new processes that have been developed to meet the fuel handling needs of the Pioneer cogeneration project since the plant came on line in the crushing season of 2005.