It is an organization of technical workers and others directly interested in the technical aspect of the South African Sugar Industry. ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH AFRICAN SUGAR TECHNOLOGISTS iv ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH AFRICAN SUGAR TECHNOLOGISTS iv.
INTERIM REPORT ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION
FACTORY)
One of the most serious was the apathy displayed in certain areas towards the course and the students. Fournond thought that the course should be organized so that the students go from the laboratory to the various departments of the factory in the sequence of the production processes.
TECHNICAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE (AGRICULTURE)
It is the intention of the Technical Education Committee (Agriculture) to endeavor to improve the existing courses in the light of experience and the needs of the industry. The Technical Education Committee (Agriculture) has the full support of the South African Sugar Association and is very grateful for the financial support.
THIRTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL SUMMARY OF MILLING RESULTS OF SUGAR FACTORIES IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
THE PERFORMANCE OF THE BOILING HOUSE
The amount of non-sugars present in the finished molasses and bagged sugar is typically 81 percent of the amount of non-sugars present in the blended juice. 78 per cent, and the exhaustion of the finished molasses (apparent purity) is satisfactory, unspecified losses have been caused to B.H.P.
Massecuite and Final Molasses
Kudos for the excellence of the Report and for the efficient way of presenting it. Perk noted the abnormally low purity of the liquids, which heavily burden the bottom of the factories.
WEATHER REPORT FOR THE YEAR 31st MAY, 1963
This, however, was the start of one of the driest periods the industry has ever experienced - a dry spell that continued until the end of August and had a drastic effect on cane yields. In September, December, February, and May, the monthly evaporation was more than 3 inches greater than the rainfall and accumulated deficit of the year, viz.
PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT IN MELT-SULPHITATION REFINING AT UMFOLOZI
This can thus be considered as a correction vessel to make the final adjustment to the pH of the beverage. Thaumann replied that in molten sulfiting, the Brix of the liquor was about 69 degrees.
STEAM CONSUMPTION TESTS ON VACUUM PANS
Douwes Dekker (the chairman) said the paper provided practical data of interest to all connected with the production of steam in the factories. You couldn't stop a pan for an hour or so if you wanted to get the maximum flow in the boiling house.
A LOW COST, LOW POWER TELEMETRY SYSTEM
After the signal is removed, the relay trips and connects the power to the other motor through the limit switch. Douwes Dekker (chairman) asked if the author had in mind the use of the system on electrical instruments in a factory.
THE BULK SUGAR TERMINAL BEING CONSTRUCTED AT MAYDON WHARF, DURBAN
SOUTH AFRICAN SUGAR TERMINALS (PROPRIETARY) LIMITED
- Intake of Sugar transported by Rail
- Intake of Sugar Transported by Road
- Outloading of Sugar in bulk to Ships
- Outloading of Bagged Sugar
- Outloading Sugar in bulk to Rail or Road vehicles Sugar conveyed from the silo to the top of the
- Re-distribution of Sugar in the Silo
- Control of Operations
- Sugar Silo
- Administration Building
- Public Relations Building
- Garden Layout
- Conducted Tours by Visitors
From the tipper building, the sugar will be transported by belt conveyors via the connecting tower "A" to the top of the silo, where it will be discharged to a. From the junction pit, the sugar will be transported to the top of the Servo-Balance scale tower and will be automatically weighed as it passes down the tower. Separate washrooms and toilets will be provided in this building for all tradesmen and workers employed in the operation of the terminal.
ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN CANE CARRIERS
Douwes Dekker indicates that he would like to know what the effect of feeding the feed to the first mill more regularly is on the extraction of this mill. The killer plate can be adjusted by the operator to the depth of the stick on the carrier. He also felt that the speed of the main bearer was not that important and that other factors such as the preparation of the stick should be taken into account.
MUTUAL MILLING CONTROL PROJECT
Continuing the discussion of factors affecting relative performance, Table 3 shows that larger tandems occur in the high performance group. In the low performance group, several tandems with unusually high mill and feed ratios appear. As pointed out in the previous section, the good performance of the first mill is conducive to a high total per-.
AVERAGES OF WEEKLY MILLING
DATA 1962/63
REPORT ON A TOUR OF THE QUEENSLAND SUGAR INDUSTRY
MILL SETTINGS
The table will show that in Queensland the quality of sugar cane is much better than in South Africa. It is clear that Darnall's line follows a completely different pattern to the Queensland mill lines. Analysis of this table clearly shows that:. (a) the installation of a chipper before the first press mill significantly reduces the residual juice in the bagasse from the first mill.
IMBIBITION
- Reduction of friction over trash plate
Only a few mills show a gradual decrease in bagasse moisture content from mill to mill. Regarding the performance of the tandems, Table VII will allow us to draw some more conclusions: In one of the factories visited they claimed to have a good method, as shown in Figure 2.
CLARIFICATION
- FUEL CONSUMPTION
It is very clear that the viscosity of the final molasses is lower than in South Africa. Two papers covering the subject were presented at the 11th Congress of the I.S.S.C.T. in Mauritius and will be published in the Proceedings. All bagasse in excess of this is burned in the giant furnace of the Reilly boiler.
P. ON MILL ENGINES AS GIVEN BY MILL ENGINEERS
In Australia more emphasis was placed on the performance of the first and last mills than on that of the intermediate mills. Increased roller pressure would result in higher bagasse density, but more important was mill feed. He wanted to know if there was a big difference between the method of calculating the first mill output, as recommended by the Mutual Mill Control, and that commonly used in performing grinding tests.
CALCULATION OF MILL SETTINGS
The opening between the heel of the bin and the top roller should vary between 1/2" and 1" larger than the toe opening, depending on the size of the mill. A very important observation from the above is the enhancement in the heating value of the bagasse. This was one of the author's simplifications for which there was no justification.
IMPROVING THE CANE KNIVES
The knives reached within 2 ins. of the holder and was mounted on the same center as the smaller knives had been. Hulett said the blades at Darnall cut to within two inches of the carrier and the engine used was only 450 hp. Usually knives were mounted in the form of a helix, and he wanted to know if the result was that the cane pooled on one side of the carrier.
THE FEEDING VALUE OF MOLASSES
The value of molasses in mixed rations can be easily and accurately summarized as follows. Cleasby said the keeping quality of a molasses/bagasse mixture depends largely on the amount of molasses in the mixture. Grice asked if the author had any information on the use of molasses in conjunction with pineapple.
A LAND CAPABILITY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM IN RELATION TO FARM PLANNING IN THE NATAL
CANE BELT
Land Characteristics
Mann said that a certain amount of climate effects showed up in the type of soil formed in different climates. When creating the final plan of the farm, we used all the climate data at our disposal. Grice felt that there was a lot of room in the industry to use much of the information provided by the author.
THE MOSAIC TOLERANCE OF FIVE SUGARCANE VARIETIES IN NATAL
This variety has shown a greater degree of tolerance to mosaic than the others with the exception of N:Co.339. This is in contrast to observations in the other cultivars (except N:Co.339) where the negative effects of the disease were greater in the ratoon crop. The results shown in the tables indicate that, on average, of the two crops, N :Co.339 is the least affected by the disease in this trial.
COMPETITION IN FERTILISER TRIALS
Introduction
For the two-line graphs, the average yield reduction when end effects are eliminated is 6.4 tons or 11 percent, but closer inspection of the data from Tables 5(A) and 5(B) shows that this reduction is inconsistent for the treatment agents. consideration. These differences, expressed as percentages of the average yields in Table 5 (A), are shown in Table 6. The eleven percent yield reduction caused by the elimination of end effects illustrates why yields from experimental plots are invariably higher than yields obtained in practice on large tracts of land.
FLAME PHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATIONS OF CATIONS IN CANE LEAVES AND STALKS
Sufficient sulfuric acid was added to each solution to correspond to that used in the wet digestion process, where 2 gms. Phosphate depression was counteracted as effectively as it had been in previous tests. Stewart asked if high calcium concentrations could affect the determination of phosphate in the colorimetric assay.
THE ESTIMATION OF THE WATER REQUIREMENTS OF SUGARCANE IN NATAL
The insufficiency of natural rainfall to supply all crop moisture requirements is shown in Figure 1 for three crops harvested at Chaka's Kraal. However, the initial results with the radiation integrator Gunn Bellani are also encouraging and this aspect of the research should be continued. Dicks for help with the statistical processing of the experimental results and Mr.
THE RESULTS OF HERBICIDE TRIALS CONDUCTED IN THE CANE BELT OF NATAL, 1962/63
The scores show that Paraquat consistently achieved the best postemergence weed control of the group, and the optimal treatment appears to do so as well. Of the pre-emergence treatments, Kuron provided largely good weed control, but caused some suppression of sugarcane growth. Proceedings of the South African Sugar Technologists' Association – April 1963 149 The weed population in this experiment was pre-.
THE GREEN LEAF-SUCKER OF SUGARCANE NUMSCIA VIRIDIS, MUIR
This disease is present in the relatively mild, chronic phase in much of the cane at Tambankulu. It is independent of the insects and does not appear to have been an important factor in the weakening of the cane. A few eggs from the leaf-sucker were found to have been parasitized by small wasps.
A SUMMARY OF THE FIELD TEST RESULTS OF THE HYDROGRAB CANE LOADER
A bumper is fitted to the front of the tractor and a hook to the rear to facilitate better and more efficient operation when maneuvering golovans. The rest of the data recorded included the individual cutter's performance and the performance of the loader. After the 1961 test it was found that sufficient data had been obtained on the labor's performance and it was decided to concentrate the 1962 test on the performance of the machine.
