601

26

26.1

BAGASSE HANDLING, STORAGE AND DRYING

Bagasse characteristics

Bagasse contains most of the fibrous

in
the cane fed to the
from which a large proportion of the juice has been removed. It has a low bulk
density and being fibrous in
is
to
as a solid. Although it is free flowing, has
the propensity to choke, bridge and pack tightly if
not correctly handled. It also produces dust, which
can represent a serious fire hazard and a health hazard under certain conditions. It is not corrosive but
it contains sand
was delivered with the cane and
so can be abrasive. It may also choke quite readily
and any chutes used in transporting bagasse have to
be diverging to ensure that choking does not occur.
As produced, bagasse has a moisture content of
about 50 g water/100 g bagasse but, depending on
conditions, that can vary between 47 and 55
g
bagasse. Most of the bagasse produced is burned in
the boilers. Typical proximate and ultimate analyses used in
calculations,
well as a typical
breakdown of inorganic components in bagasse are
given in Tables 27.1 and 27.2.
of
bagasse
in by-product applications are
given in Section 31.2.
The average particle size is
between 1
and 5 mm as obtained from sieve analysis. It varies
considerably, depending on the type and degree of
cane preparation and the number of mills. Where
cane preparation is poor, some particles larger than
25 mm are evident. Bagasse from a diffuser system

is usually more fibrous in appearance because it has

been subjected to less size reduction in milling. As
a result it is also more
to shear and needs
more careful handling. The density of bagasse varies considerably, depending on conditions. The
physical properties of bagasse are covered in more
detail in Section 32.5.
The ash content of bagasse is very variable, being largely determined by the field soil or dirt in
the cane processed. It is also affected by the extraction process. In
et
(1982J have
determined that on average 36 % of the dirt in cane
is removed in the raw juice, a figure confirmed by
experience in Louisiana.
diffusion however the
proportion of ash in raw juice is much lower, with
only about 10 % extracted. Typically, cane containing 1.5 g
g cane will lead to 2.5 or 3.3 g
g bagasse for milling and diffusion respectively. Because of the dirt in the bagasse,
of bagasse can lead to substantial wear on equipment due to its abrasive nature.
is not a homogeneous material. It
consists of a mixture of fiber and pith having very
different particle shapes and aspect ratios. In hanthe pith tends to separate quite easily (and
is
of the dust problem). Classification in
handling needs to be recognized in any sampling
system; in sampling from a conveyor a full-width
hatch sample needs to be taken if a reliable and
representative sample is to be obtained. Methods of
sampling bagasse are described elsewhere (Anon.
1985).

602

26.2

26 Bagasse handling, storage and drying

Bagasse storage and reclaim

In Section 28.1 it is shown that the amount of

bagasse produced is of the order of 30 t
per
cane. Most mills attempt to be independent of
outside fuel sources, so a part of the bagasse produced,
5 to 10
is usually taken to a bagasse
from
it can be reclaimed at any
time, such as during start-up or shut-down or in the
event of a mill stoppage. Some of the bagasse may
also be taken in the form of bagacillo (Section 26.4)
for use in the filter
The value of bagasse as a fuel is increasingly being realized, so
storage of
for reclaim
for
use, or for by-product
is becoming more common. Likewise methods to reduce
the in-season usage of bagasse
improve the
fuel economy of a mill
in some instances
bagasse drying. By-product use sometimes requires
the de-pithing of bagasse used for the production of
puJp, paper and bagasse board.

26.2.1 Bagasse conveying

is
conveyed by a
slat
conveyor or a rubber
conveyor.
of belt
and drag-type
conveyors are given in
7.2. Belts are usually selected in preference to slat
conveyors where
allow their use, because
they are cheaper to
and
The belt
of
is limited 23, which means
that a longer distance is required if
has
to be elevated to a boiler, for instance. A
conveyor can operate at an angle up to 50 or even 60
and so is the only choice in many cases,
when modifications are made to existing plant. Belts
are normally selected in the case of new
with no plant layout constraints.
The particular application of bagasse conveying
to boilers is covered in Section 7.2.3. The bagasse
needs to be transferred from the conveyor to the
chutes above the feeders of each
Various types of fixed and adjustable ploughs
have been used to achieve that from flat belts but
there still seems to be a preference for slat carriers
feeding through holes cut into the lower deck (Moor
2000).

Calculations for the size and capacity of a belt

are given in Section 7.2.1. Belt conveyors are usually run on
idlers, to get the best capacity. However belt widths are often chosen according
to the need to avoid spillage rather than to achieve
capacity. Belts may also be arranged to run
a pipe, which gives a clean and cheap installation.
Aero belts are becoming more popular. this case
the belt runs on a flat deck, without idlers, above a
plenum chamber. There are a number of small holes
in the deck supporting the belt, through which air
is blown from the plenum and the belt effectively
runs on a thin layer of air. This reduces the power required and
totally enclosed construction provides
a clean solution. The direction of travel is reversible,
which is advantageous in some circumstances e.g.
transfer to storage in crop and reclaim in off-crop.
Use of
steel for the trough and plenum ensures a
maintenance-free life.
Slat carriers are generally of the same width as a
belt conveyor for the same capacity, but run at about
half the speed. They are more costly to install, by a
factor of about two. Because of (he abrasive nature
of
hardness of the chain used is more important than corrosion resistance. A good review of
the important issues in the design and selection of
conveyor chain is given by de
(1975).

26.2.2 Bagasse weighing

is
to
bagasse if it is to be sold
or
for by-product activities. It is sometimes also
necessary to weigh bagasse to
a mass balance for an extraction plant. This may be done using
one of a
of different types of belt weigher.
This may involve using load cells to
a section of belt and idlers, or may make use of a
device based on gamma ray absorption. The former
is now the favored
particularly because of the
cost of final disposal of a nuclear device.
Bagasse weighing is not an easy task because
of the low bulk density of the bagasse. This means
that the weight of the belt section may be more than
that of the bagasse and high sensitivity and low response to external disturbances is required. A system for checking the calibration and periodic zero
adjustment should be incorporated.
is particularly important if bagasse dust is able to
on the
weighed section and increase its weight over time.

603

Bagasse stores and

26.2.3 Bagasse stores and reclaim

systems
It is
practice to have a store for bagasse,
from which
may be
when the
stops or on startup or shut down. Since shut down
and boil-off may take up to six hours, and startup
with cool boilers may take 4 hours or more before
bagasse gets to the boilers, the
of the
store should be such that it can hold bagasse for
steaming at say 30 %
for hours. For a factory processing
this implies a bagasse store
holding about
Based on a bulk density
of 200
the
required is considerable
e.g. 750
for 150 t, Jackson (1984) reported on an
increase in bagasse
size at
from
500 to
t; this is equivalent to an increase from
to
bagasse for a
Two basic geometries for bagasse stores are used,
a circular silo store in wide use in Australia, and a
rectilinear shed in use in many other countries.

Ideally the storage and reclaim of

should be done totally automatically.
(1974) suggests the following sound principles for
a successful
system:
Conveyors must he generously proportioned to
cater for high, short duration surge loads, which
can
during reclaim operations.
With manual or partly
reclaim systems, the conveyor feeding the boilers must be
to handle at
twice as much bagasse as
the boilers require.
With mechanical reclaim systems, bagasse must
be
continuously at a rate greater
than that required by the boilers.
Conveyor drives must be
to start under
full load conditions and
be sequence interlocked.
A typical arrangement is shown in Figure
An
overhead traversing gantry supports a scraper conveyor capable of being raised or lowered on winch
ropes- The scraper is raised during storage opera-

Tripper

Elevation AA

Section

Distribution
conveyor

C
;

I
|
Boiler
U

Boiler

Hot well

Workshop
serving power
house and m II

Section CC

Central control

U
B

Power
Evaporator

tor

station

26.1: Rectilinear bagasse store

and conveyor system
p.

26 Bagasse handling, storage and drying

604

Reclaim

Figure 26.2: Bagasse store

system

avalanche screws

and lowered to reclaim bagasse onto the reclaim conveyor at the bottom of the bagasse store.
A problem with bagasse piles once they exceed a
is the tendency to
Although
angle of repose is stated to be between 45 and
50
1986), in practice much higher angles
of repose may be evident, particularly with
bagasse, which tends to have longer fibers and is less
free-flowing. Jackson
reports the average angle of repose to be
For this reason "avalanche
screws" are sometimes fitted as part of the reclaim
system, which always keep the edge of the pile at an
enough so that
do not occur, A
sketch of such a system
shown in Figure 26.2,
with avalanche screws
set to keep an angle of
47 at the reclaim side
of the bagasse pile.
Some designs route
all bagasse produced to
the bagasse store first,
the bagasse flowing to
the boilers from the
store. Routing
bagasse to the store first
results in a more consis-

26.3:
gasse store

tent flow of lower moisture content bagasse. However this makes the entire bagasse conveying system
a critical part of the operation, a problem with any
one conveyor
the mil). For this reason most
systems have the ability to route the bagasse from
the last mill directly to the boilers.
Circular bagasse stores are in use in many Australian factories. Details of some of the design aspects are given by Fry (1974). Feed of bagasse is
into the top center of the shed down through the hollow center pivot and
is stored and reclaimed
by two rotating stacker conveyors whose angle to the
is
The scraper conveyors

Feed conveyor

Rotating bifurcated
chute
Circular shed

baReclaim conveyor

26.2.4 Bulk pile storage of bagasse

the functions of storage, reclaim and avalanche prewith the conveyors hinged at the center
above the reclaim outlet. A sketch of a typical system is shown in Figure 26.3. The system is easy to
automate. The rotating arms rotate at constant speed
in one direction and the attitude or depth of cut of
the reclaimer conveyors is varied according to the
required on the reclaim belt. Bin diameters
vary from 20 to 35 m, containing 450 up to
t
bagasse. The main disadvantage of this geometry is
the inability to expand the capacity at a later date.

26.2.4 Bulk

storage of bagasse

A
of
attempt to store the maximum amount of surplus bagasse for off-crop use.
Because of the large areas involved, this usually
means storage in the open air. A system
possibly
incorporate a long belt conveyor across a concrete
slab, with the ability to tip bagasse from the belt at
any point, or to a boom stacker moving on rails.
some cases bagasse is transported in large
to
remote storage areas. Bulldozers or front end loaders are required to move the bagasse into large piles
to store the maximum amount of bagasse
hard
surface storage area. The bulk handling vehicles
travel up the piles and in so doing help to compact
the bagasse. These vehicles are essential too in reclaiming bagasse fed back to the mill bagasse store.
When the piles are completely formed and profiled,
they may be covered or partially covered with large
tarpaulins.
Bagasse
be stored on specially constructed pads with a hard surface and preferably profiled.
This is necessary to
that any rain water runoff or leachate is contained and treated or stored.
The bagasse may be stored on a single storage area
or on a number of separated storage pads. Separate
piles enable them to be more easily covered, assists
in first in-first out handling and helps contain fires.
Apart from the large area required, the main
problems associated with outside storage are rain
wetting the bagasse and the dust nuisance resulting,
particularly when bagasse falls a long distance from
the conveyor down to ground level. The net effect of
average
is not serious. The exterior surface
of an uncovered
forms a
impermeable
skin up to 30 mm thick
1988). A compact

605

usually results in most rainfall running off rather

than into the pile. Pile management becomes important in maintaining
piles and ensuring that
no "dams" form which can catch and hold water.
Because of the
dust nuisance problem,
storage sites are sometimes chosen some distance
away from the
The sites are chosen with regard
to prevailing wind directions and the proximity of
residential areas. A buffer area around the storage
piles is maintained, preferably planted with trees to
act as a screen.
Temperature in bagasse piles. Bagasse dries
out in storage, largely as a result of exothermic
reactions occurring in the
which lead to
increased temperatures. If the temperatures get too
high, this can lead to spontaneous combustion, but
the production of organic acids in the pile generally
limits
and Torres (2001)
report temperatures up to 60
in bagasse piles,
with moisture content reducing to around 40 %
within a few weeks. No visible deterioration of the
bagasse was evident. Nonetheless it is good practice
to operate a first in-first out system to minimize potential deterioration in storage.
Dixon (1988) measured temperatures in a number of bagasse storage piles and found a consistent
temperature and decomposition pattern. He reported
maximum
temperatures
to 2 m below the top
surface of a pile, irrespective of the
and shape
of the pile. The temperature was often found to rise
to about 67
and stabilize. Darkening of the
gasse in this region was evidence of
decomposition. However the moisture content seemed to be
little
from fresh bagasse and the calorific
value of the bagasse was unaffected. Spontaneous
combustion is not common but can occur if the bagasse dries out with an accompanying temperature
rise above 94
Factors which cause the bagasse
temperature to rise from the
of
65
to the onset of dry bagasse combustion have
not been established (Dixon 1988). Monitoring of
pile
can give advance warning of imminent
bagasse combustion.
Bulk density of bagasse. The amount of bagasse stored per unit area is a function of the height
of the pile and the moisture content. An average figure of 200
may be used for a rough estimate.
In order to eliminate the variable moisture content,

606

26 Bagasse

storage and drying

200

26.2.5 Baling

180

Because loose bagasse has

a low bulk dennumerous
have been made into
baling bagasse to
the volume of stored
gasse.
has generally been proven to be
than pelletizing, which requires
that
is expensive to maintain. Baled bagasse temperatures
are also found to increase in storage as a result of
crobial activity. Temperatures rise to about 60
after
a few days and remain
for about 30 days. They
are often
with air passages between them,
to provide a
of dissipating the heat produced.
et al. (1990) show that dried bagasse of less
than 20 g water/100 g bagasse is
after
age between 20 and 30 days. As a result the
is
and chemically
and most
suitable
use in by-products or as a boiler
Bales have a density, depending on the press
used, of about 600
i.e. roughly
times
that of loose bagasse (Section 32,2.2). However if
are often stored with air spaces between them,
the advantage of greater densities in storing bagasse
in bales is largely eliminated.
Dawson et al.
studied the populations of
in bales and in bagasse stored
They found that drying the bagasse prior to baling
reduced the
of spores
in storage,
but
that
of fresh
bagasse had little advantage over loose storage.

160

o
120
100
EC.
fcO

6
8
10
Pile height in

12

16

Figure 26.4:
bulk
bagasse as a function of
height bagasse pile (from Morgan et al. 1974)

it is
to consider dry
densities, A useful relationship between dry bulk density and
height was established by
et
and
is shown in Figure 26,4. Although this data was
tained for
bulk storage (discussed in Section
on By-Products), it appears to have more
general
for bagasse storage and at the
lower end conforms to other data on bagasse
The Figure shows the dry bulk
increasing from 100
at a 2 m height to
in a m high
At 40 % moisture, this implies a
density for moist bagasse varying from
to 300

26.3
Bagassosis. There is a potential
associated with the storage and handling of bagasse,
bagassosis, an allergic
of lung
sue to the presence of
spores. These develop
in stored bagasse and are
not
present in sufficient quantity to cause
problems in a normal mill
Further details are given by
et al.
Transport in
In some cases bagasse is
transported from one
to another in road vehicles. is important to design loading systems
contain the
and ensure that the trucks are sealed
before venturing out on the
general bulk storage of bagasse requires addimonitoring and management.

Bagasse drying

Final bagasse has a high

content
g bagasse), which both reduces its heating value and is the cause of the largest
loss in the
boilers because the
moisture carries the latent
heat of vaporization up the stack:
The equation for
gross calorific value of bagasse (equation
shows a decrease of 196
for every
of 1 % the
content.
It is
in Section 27.3.2
about 95 % of
the losses from a bagasse fired boiier are stack
losses and, for bagasse, the moisture loss is the
most
the extent of the loss is proportional to the final gas temperature.

Effect on boiler efficiency and capacity

Drying the bagasse is therefore beneficial to boiler

efficiency for several
(a) the lower amount
of water reduces the
air required, at least
down to a level of 40 % moisture, below which there
is no reduction in excess air required
et
2002); (b) it is possible to reach a higher
flame temperature; (c) a smaller flow of gases passes
to the stack. The ways in which bagasse moisture
and gas exit temperature affect
efficiency are
illustrated in Figure 27.4.
However, drying the bagasse with the flue gas
goes well beyond that as it effectively
the
final gas temperature passing up the stack, using residual energy to effect the drying. This equates to
returning some of
gas enthalpy to the boiler and
reducing losses accordingly. Driers, mainly rotary
drum and flash types, have been installed in America, Brazil, Philippines,
China, Cuba and
India, but consistent results and
have
not
been obtained and the degree of success
varies widely.

26.3.1 Effect on boiler efficiency and

capacity
The use of boiler exhaust gas to dry bagasse reduces the stack temperature and hence from an efficiency point of view is equivalent to adding more
boiler heat recovery surface. An economizer does
not give an efficiency gain as high as a
but has
been usually the preferred option because of lower
initial costs, better
and lower maintenance
requirements. However bagasse driers can reduce
stack temperature to a lower figure than
an
air heater or economizer. The
of an
enables a reliable and relatively cheap reduction in
gas temperature to be obtained with simple heat exchange equipment with no
fans, gas ducts
or conveyors. With no moving parts, operational
and
costs are lower. The limit on outlet
temperatures must be high enough to ensure that the
corrosion will be unimportant unless very abnormal
conditions occur (Magasiner 1996).
Drying of bagasse not only reduces the effective
gas exit
but also reduces the
amount of boiler gas produced, thus improving the
efficiency significantly more than additional heat re-

607

covery equipment on a boiler can achieve. However

it never makes economic
to pay for the energy
required to dry bagasse. This only makes sense if
waste heat in boiler flue gas is used for drying.
An economic comparison of the two options is
necessary to determine which is the most cost effective alternative between economizers and bagasse
driers in each case.
(1986) reported that
the
of installation of a bagasse drier represented
around 12 % of the value of the boilers, with a stack
temperature of
Magasiner (1996)
suggests that the cost of an economizer
6
to 8 % of the cost of the boiler with a slack temperature of 150
Thus it appears that an economizer
costs between
% of a bagasse drier.
Using information obtained in a prototype installed at the Nunorco sugar mill, Argentina, Cardenas et al. (1994) performed an evaluation concluding that diverting 50 % of the stack gases to the bagasse drier increases the boiler efficiency from 71.4
to 84.9 %, largely by reducing stack losses, and with
a smaller reduction in furnace loss.
et al. (1998) show that reducing the moisture content of bagasse has a substantial effect on the
capacity of the boiler. However they estimate that a
limit of 30 % moisture is necessary for safe conditions in conventional spreader firing. At this moisture
content an increase in steam
of just over 10 %
is expected.
and Rao (2002) report an
increase in boiler capacity between 5 and 8 % following the
of bagasse driers achieving
bagasse moistures in the
% range.

26.3.2 Types of drier

Initially, most driers were of the rotary type.
described some early installations
in Florida. These were not
satisfactory and
often gave considerable trouble. Subsequently flash
driers were developed, since it was established that
very quick drying of the order of seconds, could be
particularly with good cane preparation.
This type has now been
adopted. A review
of some of the bagasse drying plants used in several
countries showing the rotary drum and the pneumatic suspension drier as tbe most popular
is given by van
et al. (1998:458). Most of
them have achieved a drop in moisture content of

26 Bagasse

bagasse from 50 % or just over to somewhere the

range
The swirl burner developed by SRI in Australia
dries bagasse being fed
the boilers using furnace
gases. This falls
a somewhat different category
to the driers considered here, that it is an integral
part of the boiler and does not benefit from using
residual flue gas energy which would otherwise be
lost.
Rotary drum driers. This type of equipment
has been widely used for various drying duties, consisting of a rotating cylindrical drum, provided with
internal deflectors and
flow of bagasse and
hot gases. Airlock systems
be used on
of the cylinder feeding and discharging
to avoid air ingress which may cause a fire. These
driers have often proved troublesome, they are mechanically cumbersome, and the risk of fires is high.
A number of driers installed in the past have been
decommissioned and removed.

storage and drying

Moisture contents down to

% can be
achieved, in the process reducing the gas stack temto SO
just above the dew point. The inat Zaio mill in Morocco is reported to have
increased the boiler efficiency from 72 to 78 % and
the steam production from 1.6 to 2.7 kg steam/kg
bagasse (van
Pod et
Pneumatic flash driers. Direct contact with
hot flue gases gives high heat transfer rates, short
residence times and uniform drying. Although difdesigns are available, in general a fuel feeder
is used at the bagasse inlet, which simultaneously
acts as a seal preventing the entrance of air. Bagasse
is transported in the hot gases in long heating tubes
and direct contact heat transfer takes place. The bagasse is subsequently separated from the gas in a
cyclone. The wet gases go to the stack, while the
bagasse separated in the cyclone is discharged via a
rotary air-lock valve onto a conveyor or directly into
the combustion chamber.

Driers

Figure 26.5:
1986)

suspension
drier at Santo Antonio

609

26.3.3 Operational issues

The
described by
involves the use of an auxiliary fan to direct part of
gases before or after the air preheater to the front of
the boiler through an underground pipe, to the drier
located just before the bagasse feeding system
ure 26.5). Bagasse is separated from the hot gases
in
from which it discharges into the boiler
furnace. The
of this system is the absence
of
conveyors. However wear on most of
the components in the system is significant, requiring ongoing
A limit is imposed on the temperature of the
gas leaving the drier, which is in contact with metand therefore must be kept below the dew point
of the combustion gases to avoid the formation of
acids that cause corrosion. As bagasse has a low
sulfur content, the temperature is lower than in the
case of boilers which use fossil fuels. For conventional bagasse boilers the dew point is
90
1996).
After 7 years of experience with three pneumatic
bagasse driers installed
the Santo Antonio sugar
mill,
described briefly the units
and results observed, summarized in Table 26.1.
The initial boiler efficiency was low and so siggains were possible with only an air heater.
The comparison shows how much more the efficiency can be improved with a drier, with the best
performance obtained with a combination of air preheater + bagasse drier. The reduction in excess of
air from 93 % to 35 % has a considerable influence
on the
apart from the reduction in stack
temperature.
The main concerns with bagasse driers are the
and susceptibility to blockages. Careful design can minimize these
This requires that
particle impacts occur at a shallow angle to minimize erosion. Erosion is not an issue on bends on vertical
but all other bends

need to be very long radius or have easily replacewear plates at the bends. It is
to
have oversized rotary valves. It is reported
the
valves have a working life of four seasons.
A potential environmental advantage of bagasse
driers in a well-designed system is the retention
in the moist bagasse of
particles entrained
with the flue gas, reducing the particulate emission
the stack (van
et
India
it is reported that the gas exiting the cyclones has a
loading
and Rao 2002). This also means a smaller quantity
of sand in the gases, which together with lower velocities (because excess air is reduced) has
in a longer service life of exhaust fans and stacks
(Maranhao 1986).

26.3.3

issues

The main operational issue is the

of
equipment, particularly related to wear. Even though
the concept has been around for many years, so far
technology has not proved
and drier
projects have not been consistently successful. Reports of successful
of bagasse driers exist, but
of the
failed experiences have
been published. In Colombia for example, a bagasse
drier was installed in the late 1980s, which led to a
and efficient operation of the boiler,
nating supplementary fuel consumption. However,
wear of some elements and problems with
the rotary seal valves were so severe that the drier
became a maintenance problem and jeopardized the
reliability of the plant. Finally it was dismantled.
Popular opinion in places like
and South
Africa suggests that an economizer is better than
a bagasse drier because of fewer problems, even
though the efficiency is inferior. Whilst bagasse driers can reduce stack temperature
Table 26.1: Results with bagasse driers in San Antonio sugar mill,
to a lower figure than either an air heater or
Brazil (Mamnhao 1986)
economizer, they are expensive,
Boiler
+ Drier + Air
ly complicated, use additional power and are
alone preheater
preheater
difficult to integrate successfully into a con+
ventional boiler station.
of the
Stack
in
drying technology selected, conveyors to and
Bagasse moisture in %
from the bagasse driers are usually required,
Excess air in %
which may represent a significant additional
Boiler efficiency in %
cost.

610

26 Bagasse handling,

26.3.4 Other alternatives for bagasse

drying
Drying using superheated steam. A fluidized
bed drier for beet
has been described (Jensen
2003), which is in use in a number of European beet
sugar
Essentially, superheated steam (e.g.
2.8
250
is used to evaporate moisture,
yielding a stream of vapor
the drier with
energy to be used as the healing media in
the first effect of the evaporators
370
150
The vapor generated in the drier is recovered
in the factory. In this way, almost all the energy and
water is recovered, but the energy level of the steam
is lowered.
The main complication with high pressures is
the feeding and sealing of the drier, which in the
case of beet pulp has been solved by employing
rotary
used in the paper pulp industry. The
major change required within the factory is the split
of the first effect evaporator into two bodies, or the
addition of a steam transformer or another effect, to

and drying

avoid contamination of the exhaust condensate with

the vapor coming from the drier.
Other designs for beet pulp based on the principle of
drying are
by van
et
These rely on fluidization of
beet pulp, but for sugarcane mills, fluidization
gasse is impossible, and initial trials have made use
of superheated steam flow through stationary packed
beds, at atmospheric pressure
and
stone 2005). A further problem
be coping with
wear due to sand in the bagasse.
would also
to be
to operate with
at
to
% moisture.
Solar
energy has been used for
the drying of beet pulp California and other
products (e.g. coffee), and is an option
for bagasse. A pilot plant test in the
Republic showed a reduction in moisture from 50 %
to
but it i.s noted that on a larger scale the
results can vary considerably (van der
et al.
It
be an interesting option in the right
circumstances.

26.4

0.1

Figure 26.6:

0.2

03

0.40.5
size in mm

distribution of bagacillo

2.0

Bagacillo collection

A fine fraction of bagasse termed bagacillo is

used as a
aid in the filter station. It
generally conceded that fine is better than coarse bagacillo; a commonly accepted quality criterion is that
at least 85 % of the material should pass through a
20 mesh screen (0.83 mm opening).
(1967)
recommended that 80-90 % should pass through a
14 mesh screen
mm) and not more than 5 %
should pass through a 36 mesh screen.
has shown that the finer bagacillo improves
filtrate quality
does not improve the rate of filtration. The bagacillo should be free of long fibers,
which do not help achieve good filtration.
Bagacillo
follow a
size disrange of particle sizes encountered is shown in Figure 26.6.
Bagacillo is separated from the bagasse produced by perforated screens in the bottom deck of a
bagasse carrier, or by pneumatic separation through
louver or perforated screens, or by sucking fine parout of a bagasse

611

screens

Bagacillo screens
Part of the bottom deck of an inclined
conveyor is replaced by screens through which the bapasses. This is usually a perforated plate with
holes between 4 mm and
mm, but other types of
which are reported to give a better separation with an increased open area may be used.
recommends 6
screen area for a mill
crushing 100
Sliding gates are sometimes fitted under sections of the screen so that the amount
drawn off can be regulated. Bagacillo may be transported
or in a
conveyor to the
mud mixer.

by sucking air through the louvers.

Figure 26.7 illustrates the
The bank of louvers is angled at 80 and best results are obtained
with a gap between the louvers of 38 mm. Because
only 2 to 5 % of the bagasse produced is required
as
a
efficiency of
is not
required so
air flow
be adjusted to suit the
quality required. High quality bagacillo can be obtained with a bagacillo production rate of 550 to
1300 kg/h per m width of screen
and
1976). However this system generally requires additional bagasse conveyors and has
advantage
over other methods of producing bagacillo.

26.4.3
26.4.2

Pneumatic extraction

Pneumatic louver separation

It is possible to extract bagacillo from bagasse

by cascading bagasse over an angled bank of

feed

hopper

Adjustable guide plate

Feed
guide plate

Louvers

Air inlets

Bagacillo suction duct

to cyclone

Bagasse
to con

outlet

26.7: Louver screen pneumatic bagacillo separator

Fine bagacillo easily separates from a bagasse

as evidenced by the bagasse dust problem in
most sugar mills. It is possible to take advantage of
this in extracting a bagacillo stream
bagasse.
This is most effectively done by sucking air through
a stream of bagasse at a conveyor transfer point, if
necessary adding a kicker to facilitate
of
the fine fraction. This
is described by Sanders
et
and a sketch of such a system is shown
in Figure 26.8. A kicker is included in the air space
to tease out the bagasse and enhance the
of small particles. The rotational speed of the kicker
does not appear to be important and somewhere in
the range of 100 to 300
is typical.
The quantity of bagacillo produced can be controlled by regulating the amount of air admitted
through the bleed line damper. As this is opened,
less air is sucked through the separator and the
quantity of bagacillo reduces. In addition the kicker
can be
if necessary, which
affects the
quantity produced. Adjustment of the air bleed and
the kicker should enable both quality and quantity to
be controlled.
The cross-sectional area should be designed to
give a maximum air velocity of 3
In practice,
a velocity of about 2
gives the right quality of
bagasse (Cullen
This corresponds with the
velocities of the sizes of particles required
in bagacillo. There is a trade-off between quality and
quantity. The higher the air velocity, the higher the
quantity but the larger are the particles withdrawn.
general it may be necessary to have a

p. 616

612

26 Bagasse

and drying

Air velocity

m/s

Transport air

belt
conveyor to

Figure 26.8: Pneumatic baseparator

extraction system on more than one transfer

to
provide
of the right quality.
This arrangement is simple and cheap to install
and operate. In addition it helps keep the premises
free of bagasse dust by
and drawing it
off at the
problematic transfer points. This arrangement has worked well at a number of South
African sugar
reported
the
quality of bagacillo is superior to that from vibrating
or fixed screens.

26,4,4

132.4

(26.2)

where:
velocity in m/s;
particle density in
of the largest particle to be conveyed in

Pneumatic transport

Cullen (1967) reported terminal velocities in

the range of
to 3 m/s for various
particle sizes. In-house work in Tongaat-Hulett Sugar
showed that the
velocity of the
fraction of bagacillo is 2.5 m/s. This corresponds to a
cylindrical
of average cylinder diameter of
0.6 mm.
This is consistent with what might be expected
from the equation derived by
and
for fibrous particles dried to an "equilibrium"
moisture content of 9.2
g:
.

the terminal velocity to ensure that panicles do not

settle out in the duct,
in the case of bagasse with particle interactions more complex than
with regularly shaped particles. Perry and Green
give equations for the velocity at which particles should be conveyed, as a function of the density
and
diameter of the particle. For flow in a
duct:

(26.1)

where is the terminal velocity in

and
the
equivalent cylinder diameter in mm.
is considered necessary in conveying bagacillo
in a duct to have an air velocity at least three times

For a vertical duct, a slightly different equation is required;

(26.3)
It is not obvious what value should be used for the
density of the particle. The no-void particle density
for fresh bagasse is 1250
(Section 32.5) but
it is likely that the envelope of the
some air. As an approximation, a value of
can be assumed. For a particle size of 3 mm,
the conveying velocities calculated from these equations are 6.5
for
ducts and 8.7 m/s for
vertical ducts.
Anderson
proposed an equation for the
velocity required to entrain bagasse particles, as a
function of the maximum sieve aperture, in mm;

26.4.6 Bagacillo cyclones

26.4.6

=
This equation indicates that a lower
can be
used for bagasse with a lower
content
Using
equation, for
passing a 20 mesh
screen (b = O.S4 mm), the velocity required is 2
For an 8 mesh screen (b = 2.38 mm), the required
velocity rises to 3.4
According to Anderson, a
flow velocity of 5 m/s will
entrain
bagasse particles.
Cullen (1967) recommends a minimum carrying
of 17.8
Perry and Green (1984) report
that in practice a velocity of at least 15
is used.
Velocities of about 20
are not uncommon, providing a safety factor of about 3 on the
of Perry and of
(1988). A velocity in the
range of 15 to 20
seems reasonable, with slightly higher values used for whole bagasse and lower
values selected for fine bagacillo or drier material.
It is desirable to keep the velocities as
as
possible, to minimize the fan requirements but also
to minimize wear in the
which can be considerable if there is significant sand in the bagacillo.
practice a bagacillo
of about 500 mm
is common in an average sized factory.
(1986) cites a value of 2 kg air required for
pneumatic transport of 1 kg bagasse. This is likely to
be different with bagacillo. Cullen
proposed
an air/solids ratio of 3.3:1 to 6.6:1. It is not known
what the limiting ratio is; in practice air/solids ratios
of
to
have proved to be
Pressure drop does not appear to be affected
by the solids loading of bagacillo in the
stream
in this application. Theoretically the pressure drop
should be higher, but
of pressure drop
for air in a duct are close enough in practice.
fan
motor required on a bagacillo pneumatic
and cyclone system
be between 25 and 75 kW
depending on the size of the

26.4.5

Screw conveyors

In cases where the mud mixer is not too far from

the bagacillo screens, a screw conveyor may be
used to transport bagacillo. In most cases however
pneumatic transport is preferred as the suction of air
through the screen is one of the major variables used
to adjust the quantity of bagacillo achieved.

613

Bagacillo cyclones

Cyclones are inexpensive devices and with

proper design, cyclones can do a good job of separating bagacillo or pith from an air stream. Particles
>5
can usually be
from a gas stream.
The main
in the design are the pressure drop
through the cyclone and the particle cut size i.e. the
average or the smallest particle size which
be
separated. Unfortunately best efficiency is obtained
with a high pressure
and a
compromise
is required. In general a
diameter cyclone
gives a higher pressure drop and a higher collection
efficiency.
The pressure drops throughout the cyclone owing to several factors: (1) gas expansion, (2) vortex
(3) friction loss, and (4) changes in kinetic energy. The pressure drop depends on the
velocity. More specifically, the pressure drop
is
expressed as a number of inlet velocity heads:
(26.5)
The number of velocity heads K is a function of the
geometry of the cyclone and can have a value between 1 and 20. Using an accepted geometry enables
the pressure drop to be estimated fairly accurately.
In the case of a standard
cyclone shown in
Figure 26.9, has a value of 8 (Darby 2001).
Because of fan and pressure drop considerations,
the velocity in the inlet duct is normally in the range
of 10 to 25
Perry and Green (1997) recommend
an
velocity of 15
Based on this velocity, a
typical pressure drop in the cyclone will be 1 kPa or
mm water.
For the cyclone shown in Figure 26.9, the gas
flow is related to the cyclone diameter (Darby 2001)
by the

where the volumetric flow V is expressed in

and
the cyclone diameter in m.
The standard
in Figure 26.9 has been
proven to work well in separating pith or bagacillo.
The equation for the empirical cut-off particle size
of which size 50 % of the particles are separated
is (Perry and Green

26 Bagasse handling, storage and

614

Gas out
!

Gas in

\ i

b. =
rf/2

ft

a/2

loading to a small multi-tube unit. Two cyclones in

parallel
be a good
particularly in large
sugar mills.
Consideration should be given to using materials
of
are wear
Wear can be
particularly severe at the cyclone entrance where the
velocity and the solids loading are high. Rubber
or hard steel sections are recommended. It is better
to use an induced draft fan located after the cyclone.
This minimizes wear on the fan blades and keeps the
system slightly below atmospheric pressure, so that
any slight leaks do not create a dust problem.

arbitrary, usually

26.5

Section A-A

Solids

Figure 26.9: Standard cyclone geometry (Perry and Green

1997)

where:
air viscosity in Pa s;
diameter of central outlet in
number of turns made by air stream in
velocity of incoming air in
density of
here assumed to be
The lower the value of
the higher the
efficiency. The efficiency is higher for a higher inlet
cyclone. An average value of
= 5 may be assumed for estimation purposes. For
sugar mill
a value of the cut-off
diameter between 10 and
urn is expected.
Because of the relationship between pressure drop
and efficiency, cyclones in
may be justified
if a
efficiency is to be obtained
excessive pressure drop.
On the other hand, cyclones in series may be
used the
has a broad
distribution, in which
case a single large diameter cyclone may be used to
collect the coarse fraction and reduce the velocity

De-pithing of bagasse

Some of the uses for bagasse as by-products require that the bagasse be processed prior to use, in
applications such as
paper and particle board
manufacture as outlined in Section
process of separating
pith from the fiber is usually carried out at the sugar mill. The depithed fiber is sent to by-product use and the
is
returned to the bagasse handling system and burnt
with bagasse in the boilers. There is little difference
in
value between pith and whole bagasse
and modern bagasse boilers have no problem burning pith.

26.5.1

split

Bagasse is arbitrarily divided into two components, pith and fiber, on the basis of its visual
appearance. Pith originates from the soft-walled
parenchyma cells of
cane
and comprises
smaller particles. Fiber originates from
the fibro-vascular bundles and the fibrous rind tissue, and comprises mostly fine fibers with a length
of anything up to 50 mm. The ratio of
is
usually accepted to be in the range 40:60 or even
30:70. This varies somewhat depending on the type
of cane and the cane preparation and extraction plant
conditions.
Separation of pith from fiber generally makes use
of the difference in characteristics of the two components, particularly
differences in shape factor.

615

26.5.3

26.5.2

Pneumatic separation

It is possible to effect a separation pneumatically, providing the cane preparation has been intensive
and very few "chunks" are visible in
bagasse. If
bagasse is allowed to cascade down a set of angled
louvers or a section of angled screen perforated with slots, the pith can get sucked through
and the fiber falls down the screen to be collected
at the bottom. The pith is removed and transported
pneumatically. The equipment is similar to that used
for
shown in Figure
but may be set
at a
angle between 60 and 70 to achieve a
higher pith rate through the screens.
This separation is cheap and easy and requires
very little maintenance. However the efficiency of
separation is not high and
more than one
stage of separation is required to upgrade the quality
of the fiber produced. Sand or grit
be separated
with the pith fraction.

26.5.3

De-pithers

In most cases it is necessary to resort to mechanical de-pithing, particularly if some additional size
reduction is required to free pith remaining attached
to fibrous pieces. The
of dc-pithers
and details of the
used in the past are
cataloged by
Most
are
shredders with either a vertical or horizontal shaft,
fitted with fixed or swing hammers, and shrouded
by a perforated
The pith is sucked through
the screen and conveyed
to a cyclone
and the fiber is
separately. In most cases
the bagasse is fed either from the top or side along
the axis of the
with the fiber
at the
opposite end to the feed.
De-pithers are supplied by Peadco, SPM and
The vertical rotor machines have generproved to give best results. The largest machine
sold by Pallman has a screen 2 high and 1.6 m

Figure 26.10: Bagasse de-pithers

A Peadco: 1 Standard foot-mounted motor; 2 Spiral bevel gearbox; 3 Lubrication system; 4 Enclosure and mounting base;
5 Hard-faced hammers; 6 Balanced rotor; 7 Perforated screen; 8 Access doors
Pallman: 1 Bagasse
2 Rotor; 3 Hammers; 4 Perforated screen; 5 Fiber outlet; 6 Pith outlet; 7 Casing; 8 Drive pulley

References p. 616

616

26 Bagasse

diameter and is fitted with a 400 kW motor. Power

consumption can be
of the order of 20
bone-dry fiber produced. This excludes the
fans required. Wear can also be significant, particularly if there is a significant amount of sand in the
Figure
the principles of a
vertical axis

26.5.4

Fiber quality assessment

Measurement of the quality of fiber produced is

necessary in a deal where fiber is sold on the baof its quality as well as the quantity. The major
parameters are the amount of pith remaining
with the fiber and the amount of sand or grit in the
fiber. The latter may be measured by determining
the ash content, but the former requires a specialized laboratory procedure. The procedure used at the
Felixton Mondi paper mill involved ball
a
dried sample of fiber and measuring the amount of
fines generated. The ball milling process needs to be
standardized to achieve reproducible
which
are representative of the quality determined by the
paper maker. The Mondi test involved ball milling an oven dried sample for 25 minutes, and then
screening to determine fines which pass through a
44 mesh screen.

References
C.N.
Aerodynamics of
Proc,
Aust, Soc. Sugar Cane Technol. 10, 235-240.
Anon. (1985):
Manual for South African Sugar Factories. S.
Sugar Technol. Ass. 3rd
J.E.
Review of bagasse
Proc. Int. Soc.
Sugar Cane Technol.
Torres J.S. (2001):
in green cane
residue during
Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar
Technol.
24, 197-201.
Cardenas
E. (1994):
y exde un
de bagazo. Int. Sugar
J. 96.
Cullen R.N. (1967): Pneumatic separation and conveying bagacilProc. Queensland Soc. Sugar Cane Technol. 34, 161-170.
Darby R. (2001): Chemical Engineering Fluid Mechanics. 2nd ed.
Marcel Dekker, New York.
Dixon
(1990): Moisture loss
from baled bagasse during storage. Proc.
Soc.
Technol. 12, 199-206.
Dawson
Cox
Dixon T.F. (1994): Storage of bagasse:
loose covered piles or bales? Proc.
Soc. Sugar Cane
Technol.

storage and

Dawson
C.J. (1995):
Developments in bagasse spore detection methods. Proc. Aust.
Soc. Sugar Cane Technol. 17, 279-284.
de
L. (1975): The proper
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