Replacement after more than 25 years
BMA equipment has an extremely long service life – as demonstrated by the VKT for C-product installed in Nordzucker‘s Clauen plant in Lower Saxony. Originally delivered in the late 1980s to the Rethen sugar factory near Hanover, the VKT was moved to Clauen when the Rethen plant closed down in 1993. It was still running during the 2014/2015 campaign.
But more than 25 years of service had left their mark. During repairs, some leaks in the heating pipes of the fourth chamber were initially fixed. Since more leaks were likely in the other calandrias, however, Nordzucker decided against a part exchange of the fourth chamber, opting instead for the purchase of a new continuous BMA crystalliser with a higher capacity.
The new 4-chamber VKT for C-product has a diameter of 4.8 m and a total cylinder height of 31 m. With a massecuite flow rate of at least 35 t/h, its capacity exceeds the old machine‘s performance by about 25 %.
The new VKT is currently being manufactured. It will be commissioned in time for the 2015/2016 campaign, and the first components were delivered in early April. A BMA team will have sole responsibility for assembly and installation on site. Assembly is due to be completed at the end of May.
Henning Griebel
BMA AG
henning.griebel@bma-de.com