Bagasse

Bagasse

Bagasse (sometimes spelled "bagass") is the biomass remaining after sugarcane or sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice and is not used currently as a renewable resource. [ [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9011737/bagasse bagasse -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia] ]

Agave bagasse is a similar material which consists of the tissue of the blue agave after extraction of the sap.

Production

A sugar factory produces nearly 30% of bagasse out of its total crushing.

Use

Many research efforts have attempted to use bagasse as a renewable feedstock for power generation and for the production of bio-based materials. One successful example has been to cultivate edible mushrooms, such as oyster or shiitake, on blocks or bags of chopped up bagasse.

Fuel

Bagasse is often used as a primary fuel source for sugar mills [ [http://energyconcepts.tripod.com/energyconcepts/bagasse.htm Burning Bagasse] ] ; when burned in quantity, it produces sufficient heat energy to supply all the needs of a typical sugar mill, with energy to spare. To this end, a secondary use for this waste product is in cogeneration, the use of a fuel source to provide both heat energy, used in the mill, and electricity, which is typically sold on to the consumer electricity grid.

The resulting CO2 emissions are equal to the amount of CO2 that the sugarcane plant absorbed from the atmosphere during its growing phase, which makes the process of cogeneration greenhouse gas-neutral. [http://www.floridacrystals.com Florida Crystals Corporation] , one of America's largest sugar companies, owns and operates the largest biomass power plant in North America. The 140 MW facility uses bagasse and urban wood waste as fuel to generate enough energy to power its large milling and refining operations as well as supply enough renewable electricity for nearly 60,000 homes. The facility reduces dependence on oil by more than one million barrels per year.

Ethanol produced from the sugar in sugarcane is a popular fuel in Brazil. The cellulose rich bagasse is now being tested for production of commercial quantities of cellulosic ethanol. Verenium Corporation (VRNM) is currently building a cellulosic ethanol plant based on cellulosic by-products like bagasse in Jennings, Louisiana. They are using a biotech approach to improve ethanol production above and beyond the midwest corn based ethanol production method. This will allow regional cellulosic ethanol production getting around the problem of ethanol transportation. The Verenium approach will get ethanol and E85 fuel to the important markets in California and the Northeast.

Paper

Bagasse is also used as a tree-free alternative for making paper. This process requires no bleaching, is more biodegradable, easier to recycle, and overall has less impact on the environment.Fact|date=January 2008 As in sugar production, the sludge left over after removing the cellulose fibers, is used to power the paper-mills. A number of commercial sites advertise such uses. [ [http://www.fullcircleplanet.com/ Home :: Full Circle Planet ] ] [ [http://www.stalkmarket.net/ Stalk Market - Earth Friendly Disposable Tableware ] ] [ [http://www.tree-free.com Tree-Free Greetings: Earth-Friendly Cards and Gifts, Wholesale Sales ] ] [ [http://www.excellentpackaging.com/pages/1/index.htm EPS Home Page ] ]

Food containers

Bagasse is used to make insulated disposable food containers, replacing materials such as styrofoam, which are increasingly regarded as environmentally unacceptable (see styrofoam bans). Insulated disposable food containers made of bagasse are commercially available. [ [http://www.apacbiopaperplastic.com APAC Bio-Paper and Plastic ] ]

Medical problems

Workplace exposure to dusts from the processing of Bagasse can cause the chronic lung condition pulmonary fibrosis.

References

See also

* Biofuel

External links

* [http://www.columbia.edu/~kjh2103/US-Bagasse-Cogen-Potential.pdf "The Potential of Bagasse-Based Cogeneration in the US"] , Kevin Ho, Columbia University, 2006.


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • bagasse — [ bagas ] n. f. • 1719; esp. bagazo « marc » ♦ Techn. Résidu des tiges de canne à sucre dont on a extrait le jus, qui sert de combustible, d engrais, etc. « je vois le groupe d hommes qui enfourne la bagasse des cannes broyées dans la fournaise » …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • bagasse — 1. (ba ga s ) s. f. 1°   Canne passée au moulin et dont on a extrait le sucre. 2°   Tiges de la plante qui fournit l indigo quand on les retire de la cuve après la fermentation. ÉTYMOLOGIE    Espagn. bagazo, marc. bagasse 2. (ba ga s ) s. f.… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • bagasse — BAGASSE. s. f. Terme populaire et malhonnête, qui signifie, Une femme prostituée. Vieille bagasse …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • Bagasse — Ba*gasse (b[.a]*g[a^]s ), n. [F.] Sugar cane, as it comes crushed from the mill. It is then dried and used as fuel. Also extended to the refuse of beetroot sugar. [1913 Webster] || …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bagasse — Bagasse, die Rückstände beim Auspressen des Zuckerrohrs, s.u. Zuckerfabrication I. A) a) …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Bagasse — Bagasse, s. Zucker …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Bagasse — Bagasse, ausgepreßtes Zuckerrohr, dient als Brennmaterial und Rohstoff in der Papierfabrikation …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • Bagasse — (frz.), Begasse, span. Bagāzo, die ausgepreßten Stengel des Zuckerrohrs …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • bagasse — ☆ bagasse [bə gas′ ] n. [Fr < Prov bagasso, refuse from processing of grapes or olives < Gallo Roman * bacacea < L baca, berry] the part of sugar cane left after the juice has been extracted, or the residue of certain other processed… …   English World dictionary

  • Bagasse — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Bagasse (homonymie). La bagasse est le résidu fibreux de la canne à sucre qu on a passée par le moulin pour en tirer le suc. Elle est composée principalement par la cellulose de la plante. Ce terme désigne… …   Wikipédia en Français

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