Sugar Refinery | Improving Syrup Clarification Quality

Client: A sugar refinery in South Africa
Application: Aeration tubes for syrup flotation clarifiers
Industry: Sugar

In sugar refining, syrup clarification quality directly affects final sugar purity and market grade. Clarifiers must perform consistently across changing throughput rates to avoid quality drift.

At this refinery, clarification performance was acceptable at low flow rates. However, when throughput increased, clarified syrup quality deteriorated, and purity targets were missed.

This exposed aeration as a system-level risk rather than a localised component issue. Bubble size and distribution inside the clarifier directly govern contaminant removal efficiency.

ActionLaser worked with the refinery on a solution that;

• Restored clarification performance at full production rates.
• Improved bubble distribution without redesigning the clarifier.
• Delivered a fast, low-intervention upgrade path.

The refinery experienced poor clarification performance at full production rates.
While the low-throughput operation met specifications, the high-throughput operation did not.

The root cause was traced to aeration performance inside the syrup flotation clarifier.
Existing aeration tubes used mechanically drilled holes of approximately 1.5 mm.

These large holes produced coarse bubbles with limited surface area for mass transfer.
As throughput increased, contaminant removal efficiency dropped below acceptable levels.

The refinery required finer, more effective aeration without modifying air supply or vessel design.

ActionLaser was engaged based on its proven experience in laser-drilling fine holes in sugar-industry tubing. This included prior applications such as vacuum pan Jigger Tubes.

Replacement aeration tubes were manufactured with 200-micron laser-drilled holes. An open area was set at approximately 2 per cent to balance airflow and bubble formation.

The tubes were produced at a small overall diameter to suit the existing clarifier. Installation required only a tube swap, with no changes to compressed air supply or vessel internals.

Clarification performance improved immediately after installation. Finer bubbles increased mass transfer efficiency within the flotation clarifier.

The refinery achieved effective contaminant removal at full production rates. Clarified syrup consistently met the highest sugar purity specifications.

Penalty pricing linked to off-spec sugar was eliminated. The upgrade was completed quickly and without extended downtime.

Laser drilling enabled precise control of aeration hole size at 200 microns.
This produced significantly finer bubbles than mechanically drilled alternatives.

Increased gas–liquid surface area improved flotation efficiency at high throughput.
Consistent hole geometry delivered a predictable aeration behaviour across operating conditions.

Because the solution addressed bubble formation directly, no system redesign was required.

The refinery regained full production capability without compromising sugar quality.
Clarification became stable across the entire operating range.

The solution avoided capital expenditure on redesigning or expanding the clarifier.
Aeration performance was improved through a targeted, low-risk upgrade.

By removing a throughput-related quality bottleneck, the refinery protected revenue and operational confidence.