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Issues Associated with Using Trash as a Cogeneration Fuel

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Abstract

Considerable work has been undertaken to determine an economical process to provide sugarcane trash as a fuel for cogeneration. This paper reviews efforts to provide that trash fuel by harvesting, transporting and processing the trash with the cane. Harvesting trash with the cane has the advantage that cane that would otherwise be lost by extracting it with the trash is captured and sugar can be produced from that cane. Transporting trash with the cane significantly reduces the bulk density of the cane, requiring substantial changes and costs to cane transport. Shredding the trash at the harvester and compacting the cane in the bin prior to transport are possible methods to increase the bulk density but both have considerable cost. Processing trash through the sugar factory with the cane significantly reduces sugar recovery and sugar quality. Although considerable knowledge has been gained of these effects and further analysis has provided insights into their causes, much more work is required before whole crop harvesting and transport is an economically viable means of trash recovery.

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Acknowledgments

The author particularly acknowledges the efforts undertaken by the New South Wales sugar industry, particularly New South Wales Sugar Milling Co-operative Limited, in initiating and conducting much of the research discussed in this paper.

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  1. Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, QLD, 4001, Australia

    G. A. Kent

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  1. G. A. Kent
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Correspondence to G. A. Kent.

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Kent, G.A. Issues Associated with Using Trash as a Cogeneration Fuel. Sugar Tech 16, 227–234 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-013-0272-3

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