Food Engineering logo
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • MEDIA
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Latest Headlines
  • Manufacturing News
  • People & Industry News
  • Plant Openings
  • Recalls
  • Regulatory Watch
  • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
  • New Plant Products
  • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
  • Alternative Protein
  • Automation
  • Cannabis
  • Cleaning | Sanitation
  • Fabulous Food Plants
  • Food Safety
  • Maintenance Strategies
  • OEE
  • Packaging
  • Sustainability
  • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • Plant Construction Survey
  • Plant of the Year
  • Sustainable Plant of the Year
  • State of Food Manufacturing
  • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • White Papers
  • EVENTS
  • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
  • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
  • eNewsletter
  • Custom Content & Marketing Services
  • FE Store
  • Government Links
  • Industry Associations
  • Market Research
  • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
  • eMagazine
  • Archive Issue
  • Advertise
Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Sustainability

Digitalization

Finding a digital strategy to manage electrical consumption at sugar plants

Not only do sugar plants consume a huge amount of power, their carbon footprint is generally not so enviable

By Wayne Labs, Senior Contributing Technical Editor
Discussing energy management with an ABB engineer
Initial discussions between sugar plant engineers and ABB food and beverage experts can set the plans for finding ways to reduce energy usage and improve a facility’s carbon footprint. Source: ABB
July 10, 2020

No question about it, sugar plants consume vast amounts of electricity, and with a lot of aging equipment, there’s no doubt that several motors and the mechanical systems they drive are probably consuming more power than they should—due to worn bearings and a general lack of maintenance. In many instances, motors are probably not using variable speed drives, and large inrush currents place a big demand on electrical utilities.

Unfortunately, in many facilities, managers have grown accustomed to high energy usage and carbon emission levels. But today, it’s becoming easier to install sensors to monitor motor currents and vibration due to worn bearings. With digitalization, it’s easier to “pick the low-hanging fruit” and get some big returns.

ABB has a lot of experience worldwide with helping food and beverage plants manage their utilities, equipment and energy usage. We asked Robert Glass, ABB’s global food and beverage manager to describe the situation in sugar plants.

FE: So what’s the issue—why can’t sugar plants get control of their energy usage?

Glass: There’s a famous management mantra that goes, “what gets measured gets managed.” While the source of this quote is subject to debate, the sentiment behind it isn’t: you can only effectively manage and improve things that you have sufficient data about. Without insight, you can’t act or make an informed decision.

This has never been truer than in modern times, as food and beverage businesses increasingly realize the value and benefits of digitalization. Likewise, few facilities are as primed to benefit from it as sugar production and processing plants, where navigating the energy-intensive processes to identify areas for improvement can be challenging without insight.

FE: How much power do sugar mills typically use?

Glass: Sugar mills generally demand considerable amounts of electricity to run smoothly due to the intensive process of refining sugar. From ABB’s experience in the sugar industry, using 45–50GWh of electricity every year is nothing unusual for a typical sugar cane plant. But when you consider that this could power approximately 12,000 households across Europe, the scope of the problem becomes apparent.

FE: What about the impact on climate?

Glass: It becomes even more concerning when you consider this alongside reports from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in the UK, which projected that 2017 would see carbon emissions reach a record high after years of stability. The official figures have yet to be confirmed, but an increase could form the basis of tighter emissions rules across UN countries, given the importance of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

With that in mind, energy efficiency for sugar plant managers is as much about establishing a competitive advantage as it is reducing expenses. In order to improve efficiency, managers must understand what is causing their plant to consume so much power.

FE: How do you get at the root causes of power consumption in a sugar plant?

Glass: Often, ABB’s engineers will conduct a plant assessment and find that inefficient electrical equipment is the cause of the excessive power consumption. This could mean modernizing an electric motor or installing high efficiency drives could be the solution, but there is no one size fits all approach to managing a sugar plant. So, how can you determine where your plant’s specific inefficiencies lie?

As the management mantra suggests, monitoring and measuring operational data will give a strong indication of what is causing high energy usage. However, this has traditionally been a long-winded and time-consuming process of manually retrieving and compiling data before analyzing it.

FE: Isn’t there a better way to get a handle on the energy usage in the plant?

Glass: Fortunately, that’s where the digitalization of sugar plants helps managers take control of processes. By using equipment and sensors designed with connectivity in mind, sugar plant managers and engineers can automate the data collection process. But this data must then be collected into a central operational management system, such as the ABB Ability manufacturing operations management (MOM) system.

FE: How does the use of a MOM system benefit the plant?

Glass: Using ABB’s MOM system, sugar plant managers have an extensive overview of the performance of their plant’s operations. The MOM system features an energy monitor app that allows managers to analyze not only current levels of energy usage and emissions, but to also compare it against historic data. Managers can use this to see, in near real-time, changes in usage to determine if anything out of the ordinary has happened with any equipment, such as if it has an elevated electrical draw that may indicate maintenance is required.

ABB has also drawn from its extensive experience in the sugar industry to develop its sugar application library, which provides engineers with a comprehensive databank of all sugar production processes. Engineers can use this to control variables in processes across the factory, as well as benchmark energy costs.

With these systems offering greater transparency of energy usage throughout the plant, managers can act accordingly to reduce costs and emissions. In the age of digitalization, monitoring operational data isn’t just a precursor to better management, it’s also a forerunner to better operational efficiency and lower operational expense.

For more information on ABB’s MOM system, visit the ABB Website.

KEYWORDS: digitalization energy management sensors

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Wayne labs 200px
Wayne Labs has more than 30 years of editorial experience in industrial automation. He served as senior technical editor for I&CS/Control Solutions magazine for 18 years where he covered software, control system hardware and sensors/transmitters. Labs ran his own consulting business and contributed feature articles to Electronic Design, Control, Control Design, Industrial Networking and Food Engineering magazines. Before joining Food Engineering, he served as a senior technical editor for Omega Engineering Inc. Labs also worked in wireless systems and served as a field engineer for GE’s Mobile Communications Division and as a systems engineer for Bucks County Emergency Services. In addition to writing technical feature articles, Wayne covers FE’s Engineering R&D section.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    With a CAGR of 12.07%, Bonafide Research estimates this...
    People & Industry News
  • skilled MEP worker

    Predicting Food and Beverage Manufacturing Trends for 2024

    The two words that should be kept in mind are labor and...
    Automation
    By: Derrick Teal
  • cleaning and sanitation

    The basics of cleaning and sanitation in food plants

    Sanitation maintains or restores a state of cleanliness...
    Cleaning | Sanitation
    By: Richard F. Stier
Subscribe For Free!
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Customer Service

OT Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Food Manufacturing Facilities

OT Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Food Manufacturing Facilities

Understanding Impacts of OT Cybersecurity Events in Food Manufacturing

Understanding Impacts of OT Cybersecurity Events in Food Manufacturing

Food Plant Openings and Expansions April 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions April 2025

FA&M 2025 in Rewind

FA&M 2025 in Rewind

More Videos

Popular Stories

Conagra Logo

Conagra Brands to Sell Chef Boyardee Brand to Hometown Food Company

Salt

FDA to Amend Standards of Identity to Include Salt Substitutes

Vilter IHP in plant

Industrial Heat Pumps: Sustainable Energy Solutions for Now and the Future

CHECK OUT OUR NEW ESSENTIAL TOPICS

Alternative ProteinAutomationCleaning/SanitationFabulous Food Plants

Food SafetyMaintenance StrategiesOEE

PackagingSustainability

Events

June 5, 2025

Mass Customization Driving Innovation in the Food and Beverage Industry

The food and beverage industry is at the nexus of transformative global manufacturing trends, driving a shift toward personalized, customer-centric solutions. 

June 5, 2025

How Cafe Spice Uses Automation to Propel Private Label

Learn about Cafe Spice’s new, state-of-the-art, highly automated manufacturing facility in Beacon, New York. 

View All Submit An Event

Products

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

See More Products

Plant of the Year

Related Articles

  • Bottling line

    Finding new AI-based methods to boost productivity requires digital data

    See More
  • Broken supply chain-6181098_1170x658.jpg

    Tools to Manage Overtaxed Supply Chains Can Be the Basis for Digital Transformation

    See More
  •  keep track of maintenance

    Make Maintenance Part of Your Digital Transformation Strategy

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • food-book.gif

    The 10 Principles of Food Industry Sustainability

  • handbookfoodscience.jpg

    Handbook of Food Science and Technology 2: Food Process Engineering and Packaging

See More Products

Events

View AllSubmit An Event
  • September 1, 2009

    Food Plant of the Future: Building Realistic Sustainability into Food and Beverage Plants

    On-Demand: Using cost-effective design solutions, food and beverage processing facilities can meet the rigorous performance demands required in a processing and production environment and, at the same time, focus on sustainability.
  • August 18, 2020

    How Digital Transformation Impacts the Operational Efficiency and Sustainability of Your Business

    ON DEMAND: Over the past years, the manufacturing industry has experienced massive changes worldwide and the situation continues to evolve further. Highly informed and demanding consumers are shaping the market, supply chains keep remodelling into complex ecosystems and digital transformation keeps being a key player in revolutionizing the way manufacturer sites work.
View AllSubmit An Event
×

Elevate your expertise in food engineering with unparalleled insights and connections.

Get the latest industry updates tailored your way.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Food Master
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!