The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1900-08-17
MAKING SUGAR FROM BETS.
The Tedious Process Introduced In
this Country Explained.

The raiser of sugar beets has a decid-
ed advantage over the grower Of sugar
cane. Beets can be shipped In any
quantity to points miles distant. The
cane is so bulky and the Juice SO liable
to fermentation that it must be han
died on the plantation where it Is rails
ed.
The juice is extracted from sugar
cane by heavy iron rollers, operated by
steam and exerting enormous pressure.
In the extraction of beet juice no
crushing is done. The beets are topped
before being brought to the factory. On
arriving there they are placed in large
circular tank, the bottom of which is
fitted with a knife, which is whirled
around like an auger, slicing the beets
to pieces, and dropping them into con-
e below. The edges of the knife are
wavy, so that the slices are corrugated.
exposing the greatest possible amount
of surface. These slices or cosettes, as
they are called, are then placed in what
is called the diffusion battery, a circle
of great iron tanks, each holding about
connected by pipes. Hot water is turn
ed into the first tank, and after perco-
lating through the tank of cosettes, is
turned into the second tank, and so on.
until it has completed the circuit. This
water extracts almost every particle Of
sugar from the sliced beets. When this
water has been the rounds of all the
tanks it is drawn off and fresh supply
of water started in. AS soon as the
fresh water has passed from the first
tank the pulp remaining is taken out
and a fresh supply is put in this tank.
water is started into tank No. 2, and
the pulp taken out of that tank, and
so on.
When the sugar-bearing juices have
been thus extracted from the beets, it
is clarified with lime and carbonic acid
gas. The big factories use eighteen to
twenty tons of lime a day.
The clarified juice. after being filter
ed, is ready to be boiled. 1t is placed
in immense tanks, usually four them
connected by pipes. The temperature
is never allowed to go above ITO de-
grees.
The juice is thus converted into q
syrup Of whatever consistency desired.
This syrup is then placed in what are
called strike pans and boiled into sugar
grains or crystals. These enormous
pans hold all the way from 80 to 1870
barrels of sugar. The man in charge,
called a sugar boiler. fills his pan about
fifth full of liquor. He turns on the
steam and boils it until it begins to
form grain. Then, at intervals. he
draws in more and more liquor, SO reg
ulating his heat as to keep charging
the grains already formed instead of
forming other smaller grains, until the
pan Is full. Then che vacuum pump Is
stopped, the air admitted. the valve in
the bottom Of the pan opened and the
sugar, with Just enough syrup to make
1t a mushy mass. is poured into the
mixer.
The mixer is great tank, very like
q churn Of modern make, with dasher
Of series Of iron paddles mounted on
steel shaft. with a belt and pulley.
They prevent the sugar hardening in
the mixer. The bottom Of the mixer is
fitted with pipes leading to the floor
below, and emptying into the centrifu-
gal machines. Each centrifugal holds
about barrel of dry sugar. The ma
chine consists of steel cylinder sus-
pended in an upright position by a shaft
with belt and pulley. The cylinder Is
a steel frame, supporting screen of
brass so fine that, while syrup can pass
the meshes, grains of sugar cannot.
The machine is filled with the mass Of
sugar and syrup, the machinery Is set
in motion and the cylinder revolves at
the rate of 1900 times a minute. The
centrifugal motion forces the syrup
through the mesh Of the screen and the
sugar is retained. A spray Of water is
then turned into the machine, which
passes through the screen after the syr-
up, washing out all vestige of the
syrup. In two or three minutes the
sugar is dry, the cylinder is stopped, the
bottom Of the centrifugal opened and
the sugar poured into conveyors below,
whence 1t is taken to the granulators.
the drying room or other destination
according to its grade.
The syrup from the centrifugals. call
ed second liquor, or seconds, is caught
by jacket of iron which surrounds
the cylinder and is conveyed to tanks
set apart for 1t. It Is tested by the
chemists, and If found of sufficient
strength is used in the pans again in
the manufacture Of granulated sugar.
After being used the second time it
is called third liquor, and is usually
too dark and of too little strength to be
used again. Then the liquor is filtered
and is mixed with lime and blood fresh
from the slaughter house, and is again
used. BY this time the liquor is Of
such low grade that It is impossible to
use 1t in the manufacture Of commercial
sugar..
When liquor is Of too low a grade
to be used in the sugars of commerce
1t is boiled to grain and put through
the centrifugals. The grain Is called
raw sugar, and is melted up and treated