, 1891-05-16
BAGASSE DIFFUSION.
From the Louisiana PlanteT)

Editor Louisiana Planter. I have read with
great interest the article in the LOUISIANA PLAN.
TER AND SUGAR MANUFACTURER of the 21st inst.
on diffusion versus mill and maceration" and
the excellent paper of Jos. Albrecht on the Her
wig Bower diffusion apparatus, and desire to
call attention and, if possible, emphasize the
important point brought out when he says that
" a good and complete DELEGATION can be made
if the roller Juice. say two-thirds Of the juice
in the cane, is mixed with the diffusion juice
this can not be done with the diffusion juice
alone, and every sugar maker knows the I'M
portance Of good DELEGATION"
Nv own experiments entirely accord with
the above opinion, and in this connection l de-
sire to call the attention of the sugar manufac-
turnrs Of YOUR state to the results obtained by
Sigmor Larrios, at the sugar factory atIolre del
Mar. in southern Spain, which are so clearly
set forth by Professor Wiley in his Bulletin
No. S page 20 and following, where the ac-
count Of his visit to and inspection Of the pro-
cess carried forward at this factory are very
fully detailed.
quote from the report Of Professor Wiley,
who SAYS:
Before I had seen the arrangement Of the,
apparatus at Tore del Mar, and learned from
the resident director Of the gratifying success
which had been secured. ! was exceedingly
skentical in respect Of the advantage Of at
tempting the diffusion of bagasse.
During the season Of 1884, half the crop
was worked by diffusing, the cane chips d-
rectly and half by subjecting the canes to dou-
bic and triple pressure, ard afterward ditfus-
ing the bagasse. The general results OF the.
trial led 70 the Abandonment of the direct
diffusion of the chips, and, therefore, during
the campaign of 1855, only the bagasso was
diffuscd. The director Of the works Signor
Alizandro Delorme, gave mea very full exposi-
ton Of the reasons which led hun to adopt
this course.
The chief reason which led to the aban-
donment Of the direct diffusion of the chips
was the absence of the apparatus for carboniza-
ton. Sienor Delorme found that the defeca-
ton Of the juices of diffusion by the ordinary
process gave less satisfactory results than were
obtained with the mill juices. The diffusion
Juices did not contain q sufficient percentage of
albuminous matters to produce a good defeca-
ton"
Professor Wiley gives a table showing the
average composition Of the mill and diffusion
juices, which he says gives a fair idea Of the
general results obtained p. and adds, "As is
shown in the above analyses the proportion of
glucose in the diffusion juice of the bagasse
was less than in that of the mills, a fact which
is rather surprising"
Again he says that 1.-The results Of the two
seasons work at Tore del Mar are c%onvinc-
ing ofthe fact that the juice obtained from
the bagasse is fully equal in purity to that obtain
ed from the Mills and he adds "the important
point here to be considered is, however. that
with a mill and a battery it is quite possible
to work very we'll without a carbonization
apparatus"
Finally, Professor Wiley says: my visit tC
Tore del Mar has caused me to modify some.
what the views ! exposed in my preliminar!
report to you, written in Paris ON Decem
ber15, 1886, in which strongly discouraged thu
idea of erecting a battery for the purpose of ex
tracing the sugar from the bagasse. At tina
time 1 supposed it would be necessary tt
erect in connection with a battery a complet
carbonation plant. l am now convinced that it j
not necessary, and that in view of the fac
that such an installation would involve tn
purchase of a small battery only, it might b