INGENIO CENTRAL CASTILLA
Compostaje de la cachaza |
Sugarcane mills usually consume large amounts of water and for this reason
are major polluters.
However, when the sugarmill process makes use of closed water circuits
and a suitable re-engineering process, a refinery that mills 5,000 tons
of cane can limit its wastewater discharge to 20 liters per second. In
these conditions, the cost of the treatment plant will only be some US$
500,000, which is US$ 100 per daily ton of milling. These values do not
include management of the cane washingwater for mills that use this system
(sedimentation, recirculation, sludge management).
The recovery and agricultural use of the filter
cake is a key stage because it both reduces the organic content of wastewater
and prevents the contamination of surface and ground water by leachate
from the filter cake landfill.
Máquina volteadora de compost
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The filter cake is a sugar-cane juice residue.
It represents between 2 and 7% of the milled cane. It leaves the "
vacuum drum filters " with 20 to 35% of dry matter that looks like
brown earth. It can be directly applied to the cane (renewal crop) at
certain periods of the year when there is an “available” plantation
in the vicinity of the mill, weather-permitting. Application in lower
doses to annual crops (shoots) involves a prior composting process. Composting
breaks down organic matter and reduces the weight and volume of the filter
cake by 50 to 70%, thereby reducing transportation and application costs
by the same amount. A composting plant for 300 tons per day of filter
cake requires an area of 6 hectares and costs in the region of one million
dollars, including the machinery for application to the cane.
SUGAR MILLS REFERENCES IN COLOMBIA
INGENIO MAYAGUEZ, Candelaria
INGENIO CENTRAL CASTILLA
INGENIO RIO PAILA, La Paila
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