Gramercy Sugar Refinery Gets Safety Upgrade

A major safety upgrade is nearing completion at Imperial Sugar Company’s sugar refinery located in Gramercy, Louisiana – one of the oldest sugar refineries in the country.

Several of Imperial’s consultants, including the Dennis Group, Fluor and Chilworth Global, were partners in designing and installing the capital equipment.

Bob Christensen, Gramercy projects E&I manager, checks a Fenwal suppression unit at the base of the plant's silo.

“Our CEO, John Sheptor, has been pushing hard for more safety improvements in our plants, our procedures and everything else,” said Bob Christensen, Gramercy projects E&I manager. “There’s been a tremendous amount of plant upgrades done since.”

Walls in the packing area were reinforced with steel tubing to withstand the blast of an explosion.

With sugar being moved constantly throughout the plant, safeguards must be put in place to reduce the accumulation of sugar dust and keep it from being ignited by a spark or heat source such as friction between moving parts.

According to Christensen, who is overseeing the project, the way the old plant was constructed presented some unique challenges. For example, because the small packaging room is located in the middle of the building, the plant couldn’t be vented for explosions through an outside wall, which is preferable. So, vents were put in the ceilings.

With vents in the ceiling, in the event of an explosion, the blast would vent through the roof to the outside and not propagate through adjacent high-traffic rooms. The plant also set up chemical suppression and chemical isolation systems to head off explosions before they can occur.

Explosion protection devices also were installed on bucket elevators, which convey raw and refined sugar and are a common source for deflagration. These devices let operators know if belts and buckets are getting out of alignment, which could trigger a heat reaction.

If an elevator gets out of alignment, an alarm sounds. If the situation continues, it will shut the elevator system down.

Upgrades at the plant included moving the electrial panels at the raw sugar warehouse outside.

“We’ve done a tremendous amount of wiring and equipment upgrades, and we know the upgrades are working,” said Christensen.

Take, for example, the temperature sensors that prevent bearings from overheating. Recently, a bearing on one of the elevators was getting too hot and set off an alarm, giving the team a heads up to address the situation before it became serious.

Lonnie LeBlanc , capital projects liaison at the plant, has been helping with the upgrades, working closely with Christensen on day-to-day construction management, reports and mechanical items. “Lonnie is very involved.
He’s been a tremendous asset,” said Christensen. “He interacts frequently with the consultants and contractors, zeroing in on mechanical issues while I deal with the electrical ones.”

Other safety upgrades at the Gramercy plant include:

• New switches on elevator discharge chutes to keep them from backing up.
• Flame and spark protection on granulator systems.
• A central vacuum system to remove spilled sugar.
• Reinforcement of a wall with structural steel tubing to withstand the blast of an explosion.

Safety initiatives at Imperial Sugar Company will continue into the future. As Christensen said, “Safety is a moving target.”