Sugarcane being crushed in Engenho da Calheta, Madeira. The bagasse falls down a chute and is removed on a conveyor belt below
For every 10 tonnes of sugarcane crushed, a sugar factory produces nearly three tonnes of wet bagasse. Its high moisture content, typically 40–50 percent, is a challenge in its use as a fuel. Generally, bagasse is stored prior to further processing. For electricity production, it is stored under moist conditions, and the mild exothermic process that results from the degradation of residual sugars dries the bagasse pile slightly. For paper and pulp production, it is normally stored wet in order to assist in removal of the short pith fibres, which impede the paper making process, as well as to remove any remaining sugar.
The word comes from from bagage (French) and bagazo (Spanish), meaning refuse or trash. Referring once to the material left from pressing olives, palm nuts, and grapes, the word eventually came to use in the processing of plants such as sugarcane and sugar beets. Today, bagasse usually refers to by-products of the sugarcane mill.[1]
Bagasse is derived from plants that are processed for their liquid products. Making up much of the core of the plant, this heterogeneous "pith" fibre is primarily parenchyma tissue along with "bast", "rind", or "stem" fibre, (the sclerenchyma).
Chemical analysis of washed and dried bagasse might show:[2]
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