Long term bagasse storage at sugar mills has traditionally involved quantities of
less than 4000-5000 tonnes. Future development of alternative uses for bagasse on a
major scale, e.g., electricity co-generation, would require year-round bagasse usage
and storage of quantities far in excess of current limits. Storages greater than
100,000 tonnes would not be uncommon.
This paper reports the results of a study of the large-scale storage and reclamation
options for bagasse. The study was based on the continuous storage during a
crushing season of 100,000 tonnes bagasse, with reclamation back into the mill
bagasse system during the off season.
Nine handling options were identified for study as being representative of the
range of techniques that were or could be used for bagasse. These included truck
operations, belt conveying, stackerlreclaimers, pneumatic transport and hydraulic
transport. Preliminary designs were prepared for the nine options, in sufficient detail
to generate representative cost estimates and establish the capital and operating cost
relativities. A selection procedure was developed to determine a preferred handling
option. Included in the selection criteria were aspects such as capital cost, proven
technology, operability and maintainability of the systems and changeover
complexity.
The study concluded that two options are preferred: a main outloading/reclaim
conveyor supported by truck operations; and a main conveyor coupled with a
stacker/reclaimer of the existing circular bin type but mounted on horizontal rails.