August 5, 2015

Renuka Vale do Ivaí visit and Travel to Foz do Iguaçu

Shree Renuka's sugar plant in Vale do Ivaí 

Only a few miles outside of S[a]o Pedro do Ivaí is the Renuka Vale do Ivaí sugar processing plant and ethanol distillery. We were met by one of the plant's engineers, Clever Junio Mastelari (Clever is his first name, although he was a very smart guy). We started with a brief presentation of the site's history and the corporate structure. Then we were given an exclusive tour of the factory and distillery. Finally, we had lunch in the cafeteria with some of the workers on their lunch break.

Clever gave us some sugar cane to suck on

Renuka Vale do Ivaí is held and controlled by Shree Renuka Sugars, the fifth largest sugar producer in the world. Renuka Vale do Ivaí started out as an independent ethanol distillery, but a downturn in the sugar market forced it to become a sugar plant in 1993, processing sugar cane into table sugar, ethanol, and fertilizer. Shree bought the facility in 2010. Currently, Renuka Vale do Ivaí creates sugar in bulk and transports it via trains to various ports in Brazil (this is unique for Brazilian companies, which typically use trucking as the main form of transporting goods). The plant also produces ethanol which is either sold to fuel companies or burned in generators to power the processing plant. Whatever energy is not used by the facility is sold back to the national power grid. The plant has a power generating capacity of 18 MW, and uses an average of 7 MW. This power comes from their production of hydrous ethanol (at 450,000 liters/ day). The plant also produces anhydrous ethanol (300,000 liters/day) which is sold to fuel companies to be mixed with gasoline. The plant's main product is sugar though, producing almost 1,000 tons/hour. Renuka Vale do Ivaí's plant operates 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, utilizing 300 employees working in 3 shifts. In addition to the production of sugar, ethanol, and energy, Renuka Vale do Ivaí prides itself on its commitment to environmental production, managing the solid waste and other effluents, monitoring gas emissions, and managing 560 hectares of preserved forest. Most of the effluents from the sugar production are sprayed back onto local farms as fertilizer (sugar production kicks out a huge amount of waste, with almost 10 liters of bagasse, the structural plant fibers, created for every 1 L of crushed sugar). In addition to monitoring the effluents, the plant also minimizes its influents, replanting the sugar only every 6 years and relying on the natural climate to keep the crops watered, negating the need for an irrigation system.

The sugar production process can best be explained through this Discovery Channel video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWl141Bu7fc
It should be noted though, that Renuka Vale do Ivaí does not bleach its sugar like the plant in the video. It also relies on another company to do the packaging.

Basic Overview
Table sugar starts out on the farm as sugarcane. Juice is extracted from the cane. The juice is then either stuck into a centrifuge, drawing out most of the moisture to produce crush-able sugar, or distilled into a "wine", a mixture of ethanol, yeast, and bagasse. The ethanol is separated from the mix via evaporation.

No pictures were allowed inside the factory. Additionally, due to liability issues, Renuka Vale do Ivaí typically doesn't allow site visits anymore, but allowed our entrance because of the longstanding relationship between the factory and ISA.

No pictures allowed inside the plant. Outside the plant is fair game though