CFD simulation and field data assessment of open pan jaggery making furnace

Abstract

Jaggery is India's traditional sweetener prepared from sugar cane. Jaggery has many health benefits compared to white sugar and is produced by the concentration of sugarcane juice heating at elevated temperature. Bagasse is obtained after crushing of sugar cane which is used as fuel in the furnace producing jaggery. The modeling and simulation of heat transfer between the combustion gases and the juice are very important in order to improve the thermal efficiency of the process. It enables to understand with a high level of detail the heat transfer phenomenon occurring from bagasse combustion flue gases to sugarcane juice. This paper presents the results of the CFD modeling and simulation of heat transfer phenomenon in the open pan jaggery furnace and those results are compared with field measured data. Numerical results about temperature variation of sugarcane juice and Flue Gases with time are in good agreement with field measurements, validating the predictive capacity that CFD model offer in the detailed representation of the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of such a furnace, which will help in the design of thermal efficient furnace to increase heat utilization for boiling of juice and jaggery production.