Mr Rod Steindl

Biography

Rod Steindl is recognised as the world's leading expert in cane juice clarification and mud filtration through his numerous research projects and the application of the research outputs into cane sugar factories around the world.
He has specific expertise in:

• cane juice processing


• juice and syrup clarification


• rotary drum and membrane filtration


• evaporation


• sugar drying.

This expertise has evolved from investigations into:

• saccharate preparation and dosing


• flocculant formulations


• the design and operation of flash tanks


• flotation and sedimentation type clarifiers and evaporators


• improvements in filter cake porosity


• applications and benefits of micro– and ultra–filtration and ultrafiltration in raw sugar factories and refineries


• design, modelling and operation.

Rod has been involved with research and development into cane-sugar milling processes for more than 40 years, firstly with the world renowned Sugar Research Institute and, more recently, with the Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities at QUT.
Research projects
Rod's Research projects have dealt with all facets of cane sugar manufacture ranging from post harvest deterioration of cane and cane juice purification through to:

• continuous boiling technology


• sucrose crystallisation and centrifugal operations


• molasses exhaustion and cooling


• the development of the swirl burner combustion system for bagasse fired boilers.

In 1984 he developed the first fully automatic crystal sizing system based on image analysis technology.
Key skills

• mathematical modelling


• process design and control


• equipment design


• computational fluid dynamics


• solids separation technologies


• workplace health and safety.