Arizona republican., 1901-10-03
MAKING BEET SUGAR
Interesting Description of the Mech
 anical Process Employed.

The sugar beets are received at the factory either.by wagon or car. They are first weighed and unloaded into the beet sheds or storage bins. These bins have shaped bottom, and in the middle and under the beets is To- cated a channel about 16 inches wide and on a slope toward the factory Water is run through this channel and the beets are dumped in and the cur rent brings them into a huge wheel with buckets that elevate them into the washing machine. This machine IS composed essentially of u long semi cylindrical tank containing water, and in which revolves d shaft with iron arms. tumbling the beets over each other and throwing them into a verti- cal bucket elevator that takes them to the top of the factory From this ele- vator the beets pass through a very ingenious scale which weighs them au- tomatically and registers every pound worked. A steel chute under the scale receives the weighed roots and leads them into the slicing machine This cutter contains a revolving horizontal disc, set with sharp knives of special shape. which cut the beets into small shreds. of the size of common shoe strings. The shredded beets slide into large. round. closed tanks. arranged in a battery and connected by pipes and valves through which water at differ ent temperatures is circulated TAe hot water percolating through the beet slices washes out the sweetness and when saturated is drawn off. The res idue of exhausted beets or pulp is then emptied. pressed and discharged into the farmers wagons put into cars It is used as cattle feed and is. found to be very valuable for fattening stock and sheep and for feeding milcb cows.
 The juice or sweet liquid extracted from the diffusion battery Cfor such is the name of the preceding appara cls) is mixed with lime water to be purified As an excess of lime is necessary II, order 10 obtain the complete precipita- ton of organic matter and salts and as this lime would be injurious to the crystalliza tion of the sugar. il is re- moved by q current of carbonic acid gas drawn from the lime kiln The juice containing the precipitates of organic matters. salts and lime carbon ate is sent to the press room. where it is filtered by pressure through bur laps and cotton cloths. The sediment or lime mud is emptied ans the clear pale yellow colored liquid obtained Is again treated by lime and carbon;- acid and refiltered and is now ready to be evaporated. This takes place un- der vacuum in specially designed ap- rafatus. which use as heating power exhaust steam that has already done duty by running the engines and pumps. When the juice attains the conscience of syrup it is S mt to the vacuum pan. where il is boiled to crys- tals. The mass of boiled sugar obtain ed contains crystals and molasses or II r1r -eI be removed. The separation of syrup and sugar is done in huge separators some forty inches in diameter with basket and revolving about twelve hundred times per minute and called centrifugal machines. The siIes of these machines are perforated and lined with brass sheets punctured gith small pinlike hclss. The speed of the centrifusals forces the syrup through the perforations and leaves the grains of sugars on the inside of the basket Before bringing the machine to standstill the sugar Is washed with d stream of cold. clean water. aII when perfectly white and still wet it is emptied into a conveyor that takes It to the dryer or gTanulat0r. The gran uiator consists of a double steel drum: on 1he inside Of the smaller one stean is introduced. The granulator revolve7 and the sugar. coming in at one end, is elevated by the outside drum or shell, dropped onto the heated cylin- der. gradually dried and conveyed slowly towards the other end. where it comes to a sieve. that removes all Jumps. The granulated sugar result ing (such as you use daily) is then bag Ged or barreled, weighed. branded and shipped.
 It takes ordinarily sixteen hours from the time the beet is washed until the sugar is made. A five hundred ton factory employs some one hundred and fifty to two hundred laDorers daily, and works two shifts. running day and night. week days and Sundays, stop ping only through breakdowns. until every beet has been worked up