By
Arnie Coro
 The
topic ENERGY and the SUGAR INDUSTRY, continues
to attract the attention of scientists,
engineers and environmentalists all around
the world. The discussions are centered
on the very good possibilities for the sugar
cane industry to produce much more of what
is very properly described as value-added
energy.
In
other words, BIOMASS, that is a surplus
after producing sugar and molasses, is used
more and more as fuel to power thermoelectric
power plants, and this is already increasing
the production of electricity here in Cuba,
as demonstrated very effectively during
the past several sugar harvest seasons.
According
to experts who have presented recent research
papers on this topic, in the case of Cuba,
BIOMASS will make an important contribution
to the nation's energy budget by means of
a much more efficient use of the bagass
and dried leaves that are left overs after
the sugar cane is crushed.
Both
the bagass and the leaves will be compacted
and burned in
non-conventional highly efficient steam
generators, which can convert much more
of the fuel's energy into heat.
As
a matter of fact, a project for a full size
BIOMASS power plant is
now under study and according to its design
parameters. it may provide up to 40 megaWatts
of electricity during peak load hours to
the western part of the island., saving
the nation significant quantities of imported
oil.
Bagass
is already the industry's own prime energy
source, but the
typical Cuban sugar mill uses low pressure
steam generators that are
inefficient and waste a lot of the available
energy.
Havana
Province's Hector Molina Sugar Mill will
be the test bed for all
the new technologies. Their engineers will
run sometime in the future
the first highly efficient electricity generating
plant that uses
biomass as its fuel...
Biomass
is renewable energy -- each and every yearly
crop will provide the power plant with all
the fuel it requires to power the sugar
mill, and a surplus amount of electricity
that will be sold to the national power
company.
BIOMASS
will provide the industry with an additional
source of income, making the production
of raw brown sugar much more viable from
an economic point of view.
Synchronizing
the sugar mill's electrical generator with
the national
electrical system has required the installation
of sophisticated
telecommunications facilities, the training
of the operating personnel
and redesigning the electricity generating
grid to make the best
possible use of the much lower cost fuel.
BIOMASS
electricity is now a reality here in Cuba,
and during the next several years more highly
efficient high pressure steam generators
and steam turbines will be installed in
order to benefit as much as possible from
what someone at the meeting called, very
properly GREEN ELECTRICITY...
If
you want to know more about Cuba's national
program for producing electricity from non-conventional
sources, just send me an e-mail to inforhc
at enet dot cu, and I will be very happy
to send you a computer file with the GREEN
ENERGY INFO PACKAGE. If you do not have
e-mail, just send a post card to Arnie Coro,
Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba and ask
for the GREEN ENERGY INFO PACKAGE, and don't
forget to include your return address.
From Havana, this was another edition of
Breakthrough; I'll be back
with you next week. Havana. This is Arnaldo,
Arnie Coro, RHC's science editor, now saying
goodbye to you all.
|
