US1068758A - Method of producing sugar. - Google Patents

Description

LOUIS GATHMANN, or wasnmd'ron, onn'rmmn ,gnnnw YORK,

mszrnjroror COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR T GUANICA N. Y., A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OF PRODUCING SUGAR.

No Drawing.

I Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 21, 1911. Serial No. 609,999.

Patented July 29, 1913.

To all whom, it may concern Be it known that I, Louis GATHMANN, a

,citizen of the *Unite'd Staten-residing at Washington, in the District of Golumbia,

have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in the Method of Producing Sugar, of which the following is a full, v clear, and exact specification.

The invention which forms the subject matter of this application relates to a new and useful method for producing sugar pri- .marily designed for the treatment of cane and sugar beets, although applicable to such other materials as may possess similar properties and be susceptible of responding to "-the'same process.

Under the conditions heretofore obtainingiin this industry, the active operations of raw sugar factories or mills are practi cally confined to the season during which the cuttingof the cane is feasible, from which it results that such mills, so-far as the grinding of cane is concerned, are partly or entirely idle for perhaps onehalf of each year, while their capacity may be'overtaxed during the other.- l The primary object of my present invention is to obviate'this objection by making proper provision for the continued operation of raw sugar factories, and thereby not only to distribute the work more uniformly throughout the year, but to verymaterially increase the efiiciency and capacity of existing plants.

The improvements I have made secure other and important incidental advantages,

some obviously resulting from thenovel procedure which I have devised, and 0t ers which 'I have discovered to 'result adopted y .me 'in carrying'out the objects in view.

- l The following statement of the processes heretofore followed andof the novel steps introduced by me will serve to convey a clear understanding of the nature and purposesj my invention and the a dvantages secured The plan generally followed in the extraction of the juice from cane, is toexpress the traction of the juice or recovery of sucrose from the cane is carried out as completely as considerations of economy and efficiency permit, by what may be regarded as a single or continuous process, and the bagasse used for fuel or converted to other uses not directly concerned with the production of sugar. According to my invention,.h6w: ever, I extract, by the use of shredders or crushers and mills, a certain percentage only of the juice usually recovered from the cane, thus reducing the amount of liquid in the "cane to approximately fifty per cent. of the original amount byweight. -The juice expressed or recovered is then treated according to the present or any approved methods for the recovery therefrom of crystallized sugar. The cane residue passing from the mills and containing the residual sugar is then subjected to a preservative process, preferably and chiefly by drying, and suitably treated to permit its being conveniently handled, stored and indefinitely preserved. Preferably, it is dried and baled or compressed,in which formit is most economi cally stored until such time, after the canec-utting season, as it may be conveniently treated for the extraction of-the remaining sugar either by the milling or by the difi'u sion process. It is well known thatcane, after a large percentage of 'the liquid constituents have been eliminated in this becomes so friable that it may be reduced,

with little difficulty to a coarse powder. It

is also known that drying under known temperatures results in the coagulation of the .albuminoids in the cane, wvhich renders them, as well as certainwaxy, gummy and coloring matters more or less insoluble, particularlyin cold water, andallows the sucr'ose. tocrystallize. in which state it is readilv soluble even in cold water.

ing dried, as above described, is not only in condition to be baled transported, .and-

stored *for an indefinite period without de- It will, there fore, be seen that the cane residue, after be-' terioration,but is actuallyin a very desir-v 2 able conditionfor treatment by'either the milling or diffusion process at any time be-- tween the cane cutting seasons, when the capacity of the factories is not so severely taxed.

'- If desired, the cane residue eit-her before or after drying m'av be reducedta any deof comminution by machinery suitable yell known for such purposes. Although such treatment may not be-desirable, except when the dried residue is to be subjet-ted to the diffusion process. p it is ob'\ ions that when only fifty to sixty per cent. of the juice is primarily extracted from the cane a larger quantity can be putthrough mills of a given capacity, perhaps double the amount that could be passed through the mills in the same time when the. extraction of the whole proportion of available juice is attempted. The same holds true in regard to the dried cane residue; that is to say, twice the usual amount can be profitably passed tln'ougheither the mills or the (llllllr-ltill batteries. it being understood, of

course, that in the former case the residue is thoroughly saturated with water While undergoing the milling treatment.

' A very important feature of this invention, which materially reduces the cost of known processes, is the fact that the quantity of the juice expressed from the cane in the first step of the process, is in a higher state of purity, and in a more concentrated form. than where the entire quantity of the uices is extracted from the cane in the usual milling process. The purity results from the fact that a very large proportion of the albuminoids and associated impurities remains in the cane residue; it is more concentrated because no water has been added, as is usually done in roller presses, to facilitate-the ex traction of the sucrose in i the juice. As stated above, the drying of the partially expressed cane, because of the coagulation of the albuminoids and solidification of the gummy and waxy matters, decreases the solvent effect of water for these substances. It

'will, therefore, be observed that the defecation and subsequent treatment of the juices are quite simplified, both with respect to the juice expressed in the first step of the process and the juice extracted from the cane residue.

It will be seen from the above that the process of evaporation of cane juice may, by this means, he continued throughout the year on an eflicient and economical scale. This results largely from the fact that about fifty to sixty per cent. of the total amount of juice in the cane is extracted in the first, and the equivalent of' the remainder, in Water and sucrose, in the last step of the process. It is to he understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the extraction of this precise proportion of the'total amount of juice from the cane before drying the residue. This specified proportion of extraction is preferable because it is found that the evaporating apparatus, when double the amount of cane is passed through the present mills, can readily take care of this quantity of juice. It will be evident, however,

therefrom. This is invariably done in those factories in which the diffusion process is practised. It has also been proposed to shred or slice both cane and sugar beets and dry thesame before subjecting them to the processes for recovering the sucrose, and it has also been proposed to subject bagasse containing a certain proportion of sucrose to special and further treatment for the recovery of this sucrose from the same. My process, however, differsfrom all. or any combination of these processes and is dis tinctive in Riga bout one-half of the juice is extracted from the cane in the first step and immediately treated, while the cane residue is then dried, and baled, stored or otherwise ")reserved in convenient form to be subsel quently treated for the extraction of the remaining sucrose thbrefrom. This process, so far as I am aware, is distinctly new andresults in great economy. An important advantage results also from primarily expressing a substantial proportion of the juice and then drying the cane, inasmuch as the moisture expressed from the cane does not have to be eliminated in the drying process for the preservation of the cane residue. Moreover, as explained above, a larger total percentage of sucrose can be obtained from the cane by this process. liVhere about ninety five per cent. only could be obtained heretofore by the millingprocgss, an additional two per cent. or more may be recovered by my improved process, particularly so when the cane residue is subjected to the diffusion process. I

It is understood by those skilled iii the art that sugar cane or beet pulp czinnot be dried on a large or commercial scale without some deterioration. My invention therefore has also for its object to eliminate the cause for this loss as much as possible by deoxidizin the air to a certain extent which is used for the drying medium. This is to say, by removing the oxygen as nearly as practicable which is contained in the air by causing the same-to flow preferably through a fire or furnace by which the oxygen combines withthe carbon and is thus eliminated. It is also advisable to pass the said air or gases from the furnace through a dust catcher in order that the free carbon and cinders may be eliminated or segregated before the gas comes into contact with the sugar pulp. The final residue of the cane may be used for fuel, or material for paper pulp, or any other known purpose.

I claim:

1. The method of increasing the working l ri at and ili w, l r n has been partly removed, and subsennrntl c extracting sugar from the dried nu; l. h The method of manufacturing sugar which consis s in reducing the beet or cane to pulp. separating a' portion of the Water or fluid l'roiu the pulp, extracting the sugar from this; l'luid. drying the pulp with a tic-oxidized medium as nearly as practicable, and then extracting sugar from the dried pulp h saturation and diffusion.

I). in the method of manufacturing sugar which cousixts in reducing the sugar beet or cane to pulp, separating a portion of ll f. fluid from that pulp, extracting the .-.1:;3-ni i-mu the Fluid, dehydrating the pulp or prawnanion. subsequently extracting the m nr from the pulpand again dehydrating --fllfl pulp for preservation.

l. the herein described process of recovertau-nae from sugar cane. which (3011- partially extracting the juice from in re-filly ut cane and treating the cane imam; i0 priernit in a condition in which I and its sucrom extracted :2 a :-i1i:.u';'ili1t period of time.

herein described process of extract- (wl'i an sugar cane. which conshfs r extracting the juice from the 1;: ace. drying and suhsequehlly' c remaimlcr (it the nut-roar; from l l l l l i l each. by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Magical). I.

1 1 ital} patent may in: e ruined or M.

(5. The herein described prccec; for ex w iting SUCTOaQ from sugar illlt which cons'nte in partially extracting the juice from the cane by the usual i'nechaulcal applimices. drying and storing the cane residue and subsequently extracting the remainder t the sucrose from the cane residue by the dill'u- .sion process.

T. The herein described process of extracting sucrose from sugar cane, which cone is in extracting approximately 50% of the juices contained in the cane when cut, drying and storing the cane residue for future use and extracting at a subsequent time the remainder of the sucroee from the cane residue.

As a new article of manufacture, a sugar-producing .materi'al, composed of a vegetable residue from which a partof the original juice has been extracted, dried and in condition to withstand deterioration or decomposition.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a. v ngar-producing material composed of a vegetable reeidue from which the original uice has been partially expressed; dried and treated so as to he indefinitely preserved.

.10. As a new article of manufacture a sugar-producing material composed of cane residue from which the original juice has heen partially-extracted, dried, andtreated so as to preserve the sucrose therein in con- ;diticn for recovery.

Lotus Gii'rI-IMANN.

Witnesses; V

Erma GATHMANN,

GEO. M. COPENHAVER.

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