The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-12-12
Bone Charcoal Filters.

the bags the liquor is pumped to the char
cistern or char filter. This is a huge cast
iron tank standing on one floor and hav-
ing a manhole opening in its top on the
next floor above 1t is filled with animal
charcoal or bone black, each eistern hold
ing about $4,000 pounds. The animal char
coal is made by burning bones as coke Is
made by burning coal. When the filter
is filled with bone black the liquor is
turned in The purpose OF this process is
to remove the color from the liquor, the
carbon in the bone black being the chief
agent bringing this about.
If good raw sugar is being refined it
need not remain n contact with the bone
black more tina the time 1t requires to
pass through the filter, which is from
three to six hours. The pipes from all
the IS filters in the McCahan refinery run
to one room, called the testing room,
where an expert Is constantly taking SAM
pies. When the liquor from any filter be-
gins to show too much color no more
liquor is allowed to enter that filter. but
water at nearly the boiling point is in
Jected, which goes through the bone
black, cleaning up, as 1t We're The liquor
from the filters Is divided into different
grades according to color from which are
to make white, nearly white and yellow
sugars. The liquor which comes through
last contains practically no sugar. being
almost pure water. This sweet water
may be used for dissolving raw sugar or
1t may be boiled down into low grade
of sugar, which Is then refined. The used
charcoal is removed from the filter els
terms and revived by process of wash
ing and burning. Then 1t is used again.
Clear as Water.
The best syrup after Its contact with
the bone black Is as clear as spring
water. 1t is SO refined that 1t tries to
form itself into granulated sugar by
forming crystals on It's surface when
exposed to the air In a test tube. 1t
now goes to the vacuum pans, which
are not pans at all. but gigantic boilers
made of copper. Each is about % feet
high and twenty feet In diameter.
There is $4,000 worth of copper in each
one. This great boiler tapers off at the
top into a large pipe which leads to
the fan which exhausts the air and
steam from the mass within the vacuum
pan. The reason for this that syrup
mass can be boiled only very slowly
and with constant danger OF burning
under ordinary conditions. But If the
air pressure of 20 pounds to the square
inch Is taken off, 1t boils much more
quickly and at lower temperature and
with little danger OF burning.
The liquid or syrup, then. is sucked
into the vacuum pan through pipe
in its base and there boiled by means
Of steam heat In coils or pipes within
the pan. An experienced workman
tends the boiling and knows the exact
point to which the concentration should
be carried. He has 'proof-stick''
which is a metal rod with hollow
end extending into the vacuum pan. He
draws this out from time to time and
examines the sugar ON piece of glass
Soon granules appear. Then small
additional quality of liquor is allowed
to run in. This coats the granules al
ready there. More liquor is run in
from time to time until the granules
have attained the desired size When
the pan is full the upper layer of sugar
which is that first admitted, is re-
moved and the process continued. Each
portion Of the contents so discharged is
called a cutting The time between
each cutting Is generally about two
hours
Again Shaken Up.
From the vacuum pans the sugar goes
to centrifugal machines, where it is
again given a ride on the merry-go-
round at 1000 revolutions minute. This
drives out all remaining particles of
syrup and the sugar is now almost pure
white but rather moist. 1t remains only
for 1t to go through the granulator,
which is an apparatus designed to dry
the sugar. to remove the one per cent
of moisture which It contains
The granulator consists of two cyln-
ders. The outer one is called the con-
veyor. 1t Is six feet in diameter and
about Is feet long. Inside of 1t, and re-
volving with It, is the heating cylinder,
three feet In diameter and Is feet long
The cylinders are placed in nearly hor-
izontal position one end being about
foot higher than the other.
The sugar coming from the centrifugals
Is delivered into a hopper at the higher
end of the cylinder by means of an end
less belt carrier The hopper contains
on adjusting device by means of which
the sugar may be fed at any desired
sped The inside of the revolving cylin-
der contains narrow shelves so that the
sugar is lifted and dropped in a continu-
Gus shower to be carried up and dropped
again. Thus IT is dried and gradually
conveyed to the lower end of the cylin-
der, where it falls upon series of
screens and into hopper which leads to
one set of sugar barrels. The coarser
particles fall through into another hop
per while Jumps are delivered to still
other destinations.
Packing for Shipment.
This is the end of the refinement. It
only remains for the sugar to be packed
for shipment On the floor below we find
what might we'll be called the Dance of
the Barrels. Under the spouts leading
from the hoppers named above. are the
sugar barrels Each barrel stands on an
iron shaking-table. which operates so
that it first raises one side of the barrel
several inches and drops it, then raises
the outer and drops it and so on The
sight of 80 or 40 solemn-looleing barrels
engaging in this dance is droll in the ex-
treme. The purpose is, of course. to
shake the sugar well down into the bar
rels. When they are filed the heads are
put in they are passed upo nthe scale
marked with their weight and are then
ready to be shipped.
Other sugar is packed into bags and
this Is usually done with an automatic
weigher. which weighs lots of-100 pounds.
more quickly and more accurately than a
man could do II. Besides the barrels and
the 199-pound bags, sugar Is packed in
bags Of 30, Of Is and 10 pounds 1t is
also put up In cartons and bags of Ave-
pounds. two pounds and one pound each.
There are score Of different qualities.
also including the various sizes OF gran
ulated. the confectioners. the cube and
the loaf sugars. the powdered of various
quantities and half dozen different kinds