THE SPRI CONFERENCE ON SUGAR PROCESSING RESEARCH: OBSERVATIONS, LEARNINGS AND THEIR APPLICATION TO THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY

THE 2008 Sugar Processing Research Institute (SPRI) Conference on sugar processing research, new sugar technology, products, processing and energy was held in Florida, USA in October 2008. The theme of the conference was ‘Diversifying Research in Sugar Processing’. The three day conference consisted of technical sessions, with 30 full papers and four posters presented and a site visit. Several mills in the region were also visited independently. Technologies, products and developments of relevance to the Australian industry include the ‘venturi’ wet scrubber for bagasse fired boilers, fluidised bed sugar conditioner, a solid bowl decanting centrifuge for clarifier mud filtration, a series of novel decolourants for liquid sugar streams and the use of polyaluminium chloride coagulant in juice clarification. The Okeelanta Mill cogeneration boiler and fuel stockpile management, the Clewiston Mill energy economy strategies and syrup clarification process and the uptake of NIR spectroscopy in factory laboratories warrant the attention of the industry here. Biotechnology, plant breeding for energy canes, biorefining and renewable energy issues also featured strongly. Some of the technology identified during the visit has since been applied at Harwood Mill and the results are discussed.