Lautoka Mill’s Diffuser to Undergo Renovations
Fiji Sugar Corporation’s Lautoka Mill is undergoing major renovations to its diffuser plant.
The diffuser, an integral part of the sugar extraction process was initially installed in 1996.
Unlike the sugar milling process, which squeezes the sugar from the cane, sugar extraction by diffuser is done through a washing process, and the sucrose contained in the fibre cells is washed out over 16 stages of gradually diminishing sucrose concentration.
FSC chief executive officer Graham Clark said: “Although a new chain was last fitted to the diffuser in 2009, since the diffuser installation was done over twenty years ago we have had an accumulation of some very tired and worn out structural parts both inside and outside of the diffuser which required replacement.”
The repairs and maintenance to the plant this off-crop should ensure better reliability, and the enhancements made to some of the sub-systems help to improve extraction rates increasing from 95 per cent to above 97 per cent.
Diffusers are able to extract two per cent more than sugar milling tandems. The Lautoka Mill diffuser holds up to three hundred tonnes of cane per hour when in operation, and the extraction process lasts about fifty minutes while the cane is inside the diffuser.
After this renovation process, the diffuser is expected to extract sugar more reliably, as FSC tries to focus on bettering tonnes of sugar from tonnes of cane (TCTS).
All the critical renovation parts required are already on site and are being installed. Currently there are around fifty workers involved on the diffuser project, who are all working towards getting it operational by mid-June and ready for the new crushing season. “While all these mechanical improvements are being carried out, we also need to reinforce technical training for our team to operate and maintain the machine with the best possible care and attention at all times.”
FSC is optimistic of a better functioning diffuser plant this year.
While all these mechanical improvements are being carried out, we also need to reinforce technical training for our team to operate and maintain the machine with the best possible care and attention at all times. Graham Clark Fiji Sugar Corporation CEO