IS INVESTMENT IN A BAGASSE DEWATERING MILL ECONOMICALLY JUSTIFIABLE FOR COGENERATION?

In light of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce green house emissions, the Australian government has made a commitment to ‘increase the contribution of renewable energy sources in Australia’s electricity mix by 9500 GWh per year by 2010’ (AGO 2001). A substantial penalty, $40/MWh, will be applied to non-complying electricity producers. Depressed crystal sugar commodity prices and the federal green power legislation, are acting together to move Australian sugar millers towards increased co-generation and electricity export. One significant opportunity to increase the value of power exported is to increase the calorific value of the bagasse by mechanical dewatering prior to combustion. Dewatering is defined here as the removal of water from bagasse to levels below 50% moisture (wet basis). The focus of this paper is to determine how moisture content affects exportable power and, thus, determine whether mechanical dewatering is economically justifiable in the Australian context, particularly in relation to future high pressure boiler plant.