Studying the Process of Sugar Extraction from Sugarcane and Proposing Solutions to Reduce Water Consumption through Water Reuse

About 95 billion m3 of water is used all over the country every year, 1.8% of which is consumed in industrial sector. Sugar factories are among consumers with high water demands. In Iranian sugar factories, between 22 and 27 m3 of water is used per ton of sugarcane which is much higher than the world’s average which is about 11 m3 per sugarcane ton. Besides, the organic load in the wastewater of these factories is high. Therefore wastewater treatment and water reuse are essential for such factories. Water reuse is an effective solution to reduce the consumption of freshwater entry and prevent the environmental consequences. This study introduced a process of sugar production from sugarcane and analyzed the water consumption and feasibility of water reuse in different sections of the production process. Four main methods for reducing water consumption and wastewater production are: rainwater harvesting, using the humidity of sugarcane, water recycle and wastewater treatment and water reuse which are studied and important parameter in each case are introduced. In case of wastewater treatment, application of new methods of treatment such as aerobic granulation will be most efficient.