The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1874-01-30
New Era i'm Sugar Making.
THE DIFFUSION PRocEss-1Ts PRACTICAL
(. WORKING,
tFrom the New orleans Times.1

-, l o OF Saecllarlne matter from sugar
cane, has been worked with great sue
cess in India. A party of capitalist
. resolved to introduce the system int
Louisiana, and had constructed a com
plete apparatus in Europe and erecteC
On the Belle Alliance plantation, nea
DOnaldsOnville, La.
/ This process consists in o Deculia
=, mode OF extracting the sugar from tn
vegetable matter in the cane withou
mechanical power.
1t sugar cane is cut into thin slices AM
covered with water for some time, al
exchange of the liquid contents of til,
cane and h surrounding water will TAX
place. After a certain time the waite
Will contain the same percentage of dis
solved sugar as the cane itself. By thu
usual method of crushing the cane, tn,
cellular structure of the membranes i!
destroyed, and the albumen and othel
mncilaginous impurities are thereby per
United to enter into the cane juice.
Again, the greater quantity of cells
containing sacclarlne matter being il
the centre OF the cane, by pressure the
free exit of the. saccharine matter is pre-,
vented, it having to pass through the
surrounding thick fibrous cells.
In the diffusion process, the slices are
brought into immediate contact withthe
diffusiye liquid.
The advantages of this process of OBJ.
tanning the ~saccharine matter from the
cane Over the old one by pressure are:
! l. Greater amount of s%accharine mat
ter obtained from the same amount OF
cane.
2. The juice is only slightly charged
with impurities, and needs, therefore,
less DELEGATION.
8. No receiving boxes needed, less
skimmings and no settings.
4. The cane may be rich, healthy OF
old, sour, frOstbitten, windrOwed, yetall
the amount of %saccharine matter in it
will be obtained in a comparatively pure
condition.
With the apparatus worked, the fol-
lowing result was obtained:
The cane at disposal had been frost
bitten twice. The first time on the oath
of October, and the second time a month
later, on the 23d of November. 1t had
been windrOwed since the end of No
vember, and presented a very bad ap-
pearance, so that fully one-third had to
be cut off and left in the field, that third
being more or less rotten.
Work began on the 18th of December,
1878, and was finished with five inter
ruptions of more or less duration, owing
to the holidays and other causes, on the
Sd of January, 1874.
The cane was carefully weighed under
the superintendent of Mr.. Archibald
Mitchell, of Leeds 81, Co., in this city,
and in presence of any chance visitor.
On 40 arpents, OF 81 $40 acres, there was
obtained in all $4,000 pounds of cane for
the h { cutters, which makes an average Of
28,630 pounds per acre. The Juice press
| n6 from rho co mr. aann uyninhaH e RR do
grees Beaume. The average weight Of
| the canes for the cutters was two
pounds.
The juice coming from the diffusers
and going into the CHARTERS weighed $50
Beaume. The total amount of Juice oh
tanned vas 84.39 pounds from 100 pounds
Of cane, the latter containing 80 per cent
of juice therefore, Il loss of only 5.61
pounds of cane juice. The best results
| obtained from the rollers showed a loss
of "a pounds of juice from 100 pounds of
cane under the most favorable scircum-
| stances. .
From the CHARTERS it went through five
open kettles, was boiled down to 2 deg.
Beaume, and went from thence to the
Vacuum pan in the usual way.
The amount of saccharine matter OBJ
| tanned was as follows:
81 $40 acres at 28, T50 pounds
cane per acre: !...-:-: 1915 BIS cane.
81 hhds net production of
35, 1856 lbs.
1870 bbls mOlasses, 5542 gals,
j gal, mOlasseS at IL lbs. &C, 1904 lbs.
Total of pounds of sugar and
which makes on 957,6O0 pounds of cane,
| 1857 pei cent of sugar and mOlasses. :
The great prepOnderance of molasses
over sugar is due to the deteriorated
| condition of the cane and to not having
made second and third sugars.
For the purpose of comparison, the re-
suits obtained this season with the old
process by Messrs. Mccall Brothers and
| Col. Amedee Bringier are annexed:
STATEMENT OF MEssRs. M'CALL ROs
$50 acres Of cane, a8,051 pounds at 7;S
| Beaume. Total amount of cane rolled,
15,061 1884 pounds. Result obtained 440
| hogsheads, at 1850 pounds each. Total
| amount. of sugar, pounds, 506,500. 1000
barrels of molasses, at As gallons, 10
pounds per gallon, equal to $4,000
pounds. Sugar aAd molasses, total
pounds, 1,092,5O 0 The production. of
! saccharine matter was GAO per cent of
| the cane worked. Now, fthe result oh
tanned has been the same as that by diff
| fusion, 1907 per cent (frOm very inferior
and d%eteriorated cane, the juice of which
weighed only 6.66 sBeaume) the result
would have been: Sugar and molasses
total pounds, ], 703,0 79, which is q surplus
gained of 680,579 pounds.
To SUM up, If the cane IN Messrs. Nc
Calls plantation had been worked by
diffusion, and would have had only the
same weight of Beaume,. $3.50, apa had
d~eteriorated besides, the result obtained
would have been 293 hogsheads of sugar
and 665 barrels of mOlasses, more than
was obtained under the old process.
Col. Amedee Bringier stated that he
| had chosen the finest zane on his place
in order to test as exactly as possible how
much could be obtained by one of the
best mills in the State, and one Of the
most economically conducted sugar
houses. t~ "
Fifty-one acres, at 57,794 pounds per
acre, are 2,947,5 800 pounds the caneiuice
weighed 8 deg. Beaume.
Production of sugar. pounds. 1922
Production of molasses 74,S76
Totalgreen Sugar, ...:-.----.-.. 21o,24s
of 7.13 per cent OF s~acoharine matter to
cane worked.
The great preponderance of sugar over
mOiasses in this result is due-frst, to
the good condition of the cane; second
ly and principally, to superior hand
ling and working of the cane juice after
leaving the rollers. a3s
Assuming he had obtained the result
obtained by the diffusion process, he
would have had 314, 496spOunds of sugar
and mOlasses, which is q, surplus over
this result of 104,250 pounds; or calcu-
lated in the ans proportion. as his rela-
tive quantities of sugar and molasses-
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