Dec.,
1920
THE JOURNAL OF'INDUSTRIAL A N D ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
1179
f t . in diameter by I O f t . high, and containing two trays or transverse diaphragms, equipped with slowly revolving scraper mechanisms, handled practically all the juice from the 1500 tons of cane ground daily. The cold juice was limed as usual, heated in the Deming heater t o near the boiling point, and fed t o the central loading-well of the clarifier. The sedimentation was very satisfactory and the clarified liquor flowing out of the peripheral pipes was much cleaner than t h a t previously obtained from open defecators. There was practically no inversion, and t h e juice thus treated was so clear it produced decidedly cleaner raw sugar t h a n before. The mud. was twice as concentrated a s t h a t ordinarily settled, carrying only about's per cent of the total juice. After diluting, it passed directly t o the filter presses, with little or no further liming or heating. The asbestos lagging on the tank retarded loss of heat so efficiently t h a t the liquor entering a t 207' F. left a t 2 0 2 O F., and the economy i n coal, over what SUMMARY had been burned previously t o maintain the temperBrief descriptions are given of the two processes ature of juice in open defecators, amounted t o about used t o produce orange vinegar, one in a small way by 8 tons per day. the roller process, and the other on a commercial scale, Comparative records in defecating by the ordinary by the well-known generator process. This paper takes method from January I t o March 20 and by the Dorr up the experimental work carried out on the latter clarifier from March 20 t o May 1 5 showed t h a t alprocess with five different lots of oranges, two of them though there was much more burnt cane during the sound fruit and three frozen. second period, the milligrams of insoluble matter per I O O Tables of analyses showing the changes t h a t take g. raw sugar dropped from 8 7 t o 63,on the average, and place during the process and the composition of the 37 a t the lowest. Cleanliness of raw sugars, on an vinegar obtained are given. Analyses of the vinegar arbitrary scale having I O for the best, rose from 5.5 after several months aging are also included, and com- t o 7.5 average, and g a t best; sucrose in press cake parisons made with apple vinegar. fell from 6.75 to 5.5 per cent average, and 3.4 lowest; The cost of manufacturing orange vinegar, including consumption of coal daily fell from 16.2 tons t o 8.8 equipment, material, and production costs, is estimated tons. from figures obtained from apple vinegar manufacturers. The Williamson clarifier is designed t o separate all suspended and precipitated bodies from a sugar soluACKNOWLEDGMENT The writer wishes t o express his appreciation of the tion by flotation, with the aid of multitudes of minute air bubbles, which attach themselves t o t h e insoluble valuable assistance of Mr. E. M. Chace, under whose matters and carry these impurities- t o the surface in supervision the work was carried out, t h e form of a very persistent scum. Thus far, the principal demonstrations have been afforded in the RECENT ADVANCES IN DEFECATION1 treatment of refinery washed sugar solutions a t full working density of 60' Brix or over. By W. D. Home NATIONAL SUGARRERININGCOMPANY 08 NBW JERSEY, YONKERS, N. Y. The sugar solution is defecated in some suitable Among the most recent improvements in defecating manner, as with phosphatic preparations and milk of sugar solutions, two new clarifiers have been developed lime, and a t a temperature of 1 3 5 ' t o 140' forced which give promise of good continuous separation of through an aerating vertical pipe with a n air blast insoluble matters from sugar solutions, both in raw a t 20 lbs. pressure, all entering a t the bottom and sugar making and in refining. The greater economy emerging above in a n emulsified condition. This of time, labor, and fuel, as well as the smaller loss of aerated liquor passes through a controlled feed pipe sucrose, make these methods worthy of attention. into the settling tank, 6 X 1 2 f t . and 2 ft. deep, with The Dorr thickener, long and favorably known in about 20 transverse steam heating pipes near the botmetallurgical work, has been developed under the tom and 6 vertical baffle plates evenly spaced and name of the Dorr clarifier, so as t o treat cane juice; extending entirely across the tank, from the steam and the initial run this spring a t Central Mercedita, pipes t o within a few inches of the liquor level. The of the Cuban-American Sugar Company in the Province temperature of the liquor rises gradually t o zojo, of Pinar del Rio, Cuba, was of great interest. A single causing the air bubbles to expand and rise t o the surunit, consisting mainly of a cylindrical apparatus 18 face, carrying the defecant and the fine, suspended, insoluble matters along with them. The baffles insure 1 Presented before the Section of Sugar Chemistry at the 60th Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Chicago, Ill., September 6 to 10, 1920. the even and slow passage of the liquor toward the
gal. of juice per ton, so t h a t the figures obtained from vinegar manufacturers, which also included the cost of apples, are not comparable for oranges. However, all things considered, I O cents a gallon should cover the cotjt of production, including overhead. Table I V shows the cost of production per gallon under various conditions, based on a yield of 7 0 gal. per ton. Where frozen oranges are used with a 40 t o jo gal yield, the cost per gallon of raw juice would be about seven cents. Apple vinegar in bulk retails as low as 3 j cents per gallon, so t h a t with oranges a t over $5 per ton, there is little chance t o compete with cider vinegar. But p u t up in quart bottles under well-established brands, there is no reason why the product cannot compete with the fancy grades of cider vinegars, which retail in quart bottles from 80 cents t o $1.40 per gallon. I t is necessary, because of the alcoholic ferrpentation, t o obtain a permit from the Bureau of Internal Revenue in order t o manufacture vinegar.
