Thailand is one of the sugar cane exporters in the world market and it offers a great contribution to the country’s national income. It is important for sugar factory to operate efficiently in milling against its competition to achieve a better performance. This study investigated the effects of pressure and speed of the tandem mill in sugar cane crushing based on extraction (EXT), power requirements (POW), specific energy consumption (SEC) and specific extraction per energy consumption (SEE) which are important parameters for sugar factory. Testing was performed using a small milling machine. The compressed pressure was adjusted by using the hydraulic pressure and the inverter was used to change the speed. After the test, the polarization meter was used to measure sugar in juice. It was found that when the compressed pressure increased, the EXT of the tandem mill had a tendency to increase from 2.7 to 6.0 x 106 N/m2 and slightly increased from pressure 6.0 to 10.0 x 106 N/m2. The POW of the tandem mill slightly increased. The SEC of the tandem mill tended to increase its tendency. The SEE slightly increased from pressure 2.7 to 6.0 x 106 N/m2 and severely decreased from pressure 6.0 to 10.0 x 106 N/m2. When the speed of the tandem mill increased, the EXT of the tandem mill had a tendency to decrease, the POW tended to increase their tendency, the SEC slightly decreased from 0.0844 m/s to 0.1 m/s and slightly increased from 0.1 m/s to 0.1631 m/s. The SEE slightly decreased. The maximum extraction (%) is earned at the intermediate compressed pressure and the lowest speed. The minimum power requirement (W) is earned at the lowest compressed pressure and the lowest speed. The minimum specific energy consumption (kWh/t) is earned at the lowest compressed pressure and the intermediate speed. The maximum specific extraction per energy consumption (%.t/kWh) is earned at the intermediate compressed pressure and the lowest speed. The results found in this study can benefit sugar factory to find performance and to make the decision on process operation.
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